Germany’s Young Jewish Leaders Gather to Learn from the Past and Explore Their Community’s Future

To commemorate the 70th anniversary of the Warsaw Ghetto uprising, some 300 Jewish students and young adults from Germany will gather in Warsaw today for the Fifth Annual Holocaust Education Summit held by The Jewish Agency for Israel.

Throughout the three-day conference, which is one of the largest annual gatherings of German Jewish young people and will take place in the heart of what was once the Warsaw Ghetto, participants will attend a series of workshops and vigorous discussions addressing core dilemmas relevant to today’s German Jewish community and exploring aspects of the Holocaust from political, philosophical, and historical perspectives. A large majority of the attendees are alumni of Israel experience programs, including Taglit-Birthright Israel; Masa Israel Journey; Onward Israel; and WAHL, a unique Jewish Agency program tailored for German Jewish young people. This is the fifth annual gathering of young German Jewish leaders, held in a different location each year and organized by The Jewish Agency with the support of the Claims Conference.

Leading scholars, activists, journalists, and government officials from both Germany and Israel will lead sessions at the Warsaw conference, which will also be attended by prominent German Jewish leaders. In addition to the sessions, the event will feature a communal Shabbat experience and a tour of the Jewish history of Warsaw.