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Weekend Tips: What to Do This Weekend in Berlin
February 13 to 15, 2026: Events, festivals, exhibitions and more things to do for your perfect weekend in Berlin. more
Emotional things
How to Listen to Objects?
Gefühlsdinge
© (c) Centrum Judaicum
What happens when we listen to objects instead of owning them?
Our world is spinning faster than ever before – and posing new challenges to our social cohesion. Our reactions are often very emotional. Gefühlsdinge brings together the emotions and memories of Jewish communities with objects in the museum. In this exhibition, Jewish Berliners from 14 countries of origin enter into dialogue with historical objects, the stories of which were mostly lost in the Shoah or disappeared in the turmoil of wars and other crises. Together we examine fundamental questions about memory and belonging. The exhibition showcases the museum as a living space of encounter in which past and present converge – and in which listening becomes an essential form of understanding.
Connect with the emotions that the experience of coming into contact with these objects stirs in Jewish artists and activists today – feelings such as pride, affection, anger, and fear. These feelings are not passive; they motivate people, driving them to action. Whether this means taking a stance against the war in Ukraine or against the xenophobic and antisemitic violence in Germany – discover the issues that move Jewish communitys today.
What feelings do things evoke?
Immerse yourself in the animated film Transformation. Experience the power of objects that connect past, present, and future. The film is an invitation to feel the moments, memories, and associations that the objects in the museum collection evoke in Jewish Berliners today.
In a series of six workshops, Jewish Berliners “listened” to objects from the museum collection and responded with their own stories and things. After all, objects are resonant bodies. Their sounds and smells, their forms and colours talk to us. They build bridges that lead us through broken (hi)stories.
Experience the destroyed main prayer room of the New Synagogue Berlin, which has been now virtually reconstructed. Before this prayer room was damaged in 1943 and the demolition that followed in 1958, it could accommodate 3200 people and was such an important place for the Jewish community. Now it has been resurrected in the virtual world.
Our world is spinning faster than ever before – and posing new challenges to our social cohesion. Our reactions are often very emotional. Gefühlsdinge brings together the emotions and memories of Jewish communities with objects in the museum. In this exhibition, Jewish Berliners from 14 countries of origin enter into dialogue with historical objects, the stories of which were mostly lost in the Shoah or disappeared in the turmoil of wars and other crises. Together we examine fundamental questions about memory and belonging. The exhibition showcases the museum as a living space of encounter in which past and present converge – and in which listening becomes an essential form of understanding.
Connect with the emotions that the experience of coming into contact with these objects stirs in Jewish artists and activists today – feelings such as pride, affection, anger, and fear. These feelings are not passive; they motivate people, driving them to action. Whether this means taking a stance against the war in Ukraine or against the xenophobic and antisemitic violence in Germany – discover the issues that move Jewish communitys today.
What feelings do things evoke?
Immerse yourself in the animated film Transformation. Experience the power of objects that connect past, present, and future. The film is an invitation to feel the moments, memories, and associations that the objects in the museum collection evoke in Jewish Berliners today.
In a series of six workshops, Jewish Berliners “listened” to objects from the museum collection and responded with their own stories and things. After all, objects are resonant bodies. Their sounds and smells, their forms and colours talk to us. They build bridges that lead us through broken (hi)stories.
Experience the destroyed main prayer room of the New Synagogue Berlin, which has been now virtually reconstructed. Before this prayer room was damaged in 1943 and the demolition that followed in 1958, it could accommodate 3200 people and was such an important place for the Jewish community. Now it has been resurrected in the virtual world.
Runtime: Thu, 22/05/2025 to Sun, 26/04/2026
Price info: Admission includes permanent exhibition, temporary exhibition, dome (in summer)
Price: €7.00
Reduced price: €4.50
Reduced price info: Admission includes permanent exhibition, temporary exhibition, dome (in summer)
Price: €7.00
Reduced price: €4.50
Reduced price info: Admission includes permanent exhibition, temporary exhibition, dome (in summer)
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