August-Gottschalk-Haus

About the museum

The house on Esens' Burgstraße was built in 1899 as the community house of the Jewish congregation. It is named after August Gottschalk, the congregation's teacher, cantor and ritual slaughterer, who lived here with his family from 1899 until his death in 1927. Immediately next to it stood the synagogue, which was burned down during the November pogrom of 1938; its remains then served as a garage for decades. In 1940 the last Jews had to leave East Frisia.

In the mid-1980s the town of Esens already had permission to demolish the building for a car park. Resistance formed against this, from which the Ecumenical Working Group of Jews and Christians in Esens emerged in 1987. In 1988 the house was placed under heritage protection, and on 29 August 1990 it opened as a memorial and museum in the presence of former Jewish residents of Esens and their families. Volunteers looked after the house until 2007; since 2008 there has been a full-time museum director.

The permanent exhibition, completely renewed in recent years, covers the eleven Jewish communities of East Frisia, religious life with its festivals and dietary laws, as well as exclusion, persecution and murder during the Nazi era. The centrepiece is the restored mikveh, the ritual immersion bath preserved in its original state. The museum sees itself above all as an extracurricular place of learning for school classes.

Highlights

• Originally preserved, restored mikveh
• Remains of the synagogue burned down in 1938 on the grounds
• Former classroom with an introductory film
• The Gottschalk family's kitchen illustrating everyday Jewish life
• Digital trail "Mit dem iPod durch das jüdische Esens" (Through Jewish Esens with the iPod)

Permanent exhibitions

• Geschichte der jüdischen Gemeinden in Ostfriesland – In the former classroom, a film introduces the history of the Esens community; the mikveh forms the centre of the section on the Jewish religion, with ritual and everyday objects.
• Glauben im Alltag – In the Gottschalk family's former kitchen, the focus is on festivals and dietary laws in everyday Jewish life in East Frisia.
• Ausgrenzung, Verfolgung, Vernichtung – This section documents the persecution of East Frisian Jews during the Nazi era and recounts individual life stories of Holocaust victims as examples.

Founded

1990

Operated by

Ökumenischer Arbeitskreis Juden und Christen in Esens e.V.

Director

Anke Kuczinski

Admission & discounts

Members of the Ecumenical Working Group have free admission.

Accessibility

The museum hasn’t published any information on this.

Kids & families

Only partly suitable for kids

• Hands-on stations

The museum is aimed above all at school classes; tours are already available for primary school. In the kitchen, a display lets visitors playfully "cook kosher". Children up to 14 years have free admission.

Getting there & parking

From the pedestrian zone (Steinstraße), a narrow passage next to the Metzner clothing shop leads directly to the house.

Amenities & dining

The museum hasn’t published any information on this.

Events & venue rental

The seminar room, reference library and tea kitchen on the upper floor can be used by arrangement, for example to prepare and follow up school visits.

Plan your visit