Constructions of Jewish Cultural Heritage reflected in Contemporary Discourses on Jewish Architecture and Space - Internal and External Perceptions

• Applicants: Dr. Andreas Brämer; Privatdozent Dr.-Ing. Ulrich Knufinke
• Subject Area: Architecture, Building and Construction History, Construction Research, Sustainable Building Technology ; German Literary and Cultural Studies (Modern German Literature) ; Religious Studies and Jewish Studies
• Term: since 2022
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 497336599

Jewish architecture and space have become relevant social, political, and economic resources in cultural heritage processes. Current discourses on the construction of new Jewish community centers and synagogues reveal a broad spectrum of public and private stakeholders, such as Jewish communities, authorities (building authorities, monument offices, etc.), architects, private initiatives, political decision-makers, and funding bodies, who contribute to the debates at various levels. Former Jewish spaces, their architectural remains, or even voids have also become a contested heritage after the Shoah. This project adopts an interdisciplinary approach to explore Jewish architectures and spaces as constructions of Jewish cultural heritage in the present. Building on the first phase of the SPP 2357 “Jewish Cultural Heritage” project, it integrates architectural theory/history, literary and cultural studies, Jewish history and Jewish studies. The project examines the interplay between architecture and its discursivization through case studies. It investigates the motives, narratives, and (de)constructions of Jewish identities used in the self-perception and external attribution of various interest groups. The methodological basis is the evaluation of public discourse contributions from multiple stakeholders, complemented by expert interviews and surveys. The project focuses on present-day spaces, contrasting them with those from the time after the Shoah. In line with the social constructivist perspective of Critical Heritage Studies, the project views Jewish cultural heritage architecture and space as physical manifestations and a stage for real, virtual, past, or imagined Jewish action. It critically questions the concept of heritage in the context of a diversifying, religious and secular Judaism and its appropriation by the non-Jewish majority society. With a transfer-oriented approach, the project aims to provide a reliable information base beyond individual (sometimes) provocative opinions in public discourse, which not only reflects the perspective of the majority society but, above all, shows the diverse Jewish and migrant perspectives on the Jewish cultural heritage of architecture and space. In this way, these can be given greater consideration in cultural heritage processes.

• DFG Programme: Priority Programmes
• Subproject of: SPP 2357: Jewish Cultural Heritage