The name "Kohlfurter Str." is crossed out before the ceremonial renaming of Kohlfurter Straße to Regina-Jonas-Straße.
© dpa
A street in Kreuzberg will be renamed in memory of Regina Jonas, a rabbi murdered by the Nazis.
To this end, the former Kohlfurter Straße will be renamed. The Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg district office has invited guests to attend the event in the early afternoon. The first part of the event is planned to take place at the new Regina-Jonas-Straße, on the corner of Fraenkelufer, and the second part at the Künstlerhaus Bethanien.
"This street should remind us that progress always begins where people have the courage to stand up for their convictions," said District Mayor Clara Herrmann (Green Party). "Regina Jonas was the world's first female rabbi. Her commitment to equality, education, and humanity remains an inspiration to us today."
Jonas was born in Berlin in 1902. She studied at the College for Jewish Studies in Berlin. Her thesis dealt with the question, "Can women hold rabbinical office?" After completing her studies, Jonas worked in pastoral care and as a religious education teacher, at times also in a synagogue not far from the street that now bears her name. She also worked at the Jewish Hospital and in various liberal synagogues in Berlin. In November 1942, she was first deported to the concentration camp in Theresienstadt and from there to the Auschwitz-Birkenau extermination camp in October 1944, where she was murdered shortly afterwards.
Regina Jonas is considered the world's first female rabbi. The street that bears her name was called Britzer Straße for decades. In 1949, it was renamed after the Silesian village of Kohlfurt in what is now Poland, which is now called Weglinec. Plans to honor Jonas have been in place for years. As early as 2021, the district parliament (BVV) decided to name a street after her. In December 2023, the BVV decided on Kohlfurter Straße, which was confirmed by the district office at the end of May.
The Citizens' Office is offering residents three special appointments for the corresponding adjustment of personal documents. Citizens do not need to make an appointment and can also take advantage of other services. The following dates have been announced: