School life through the ages

In 1881, the Israelite elementary school was recognised as a municipal institution with the same status as the city’s Protestant and Catholic elementary schools. Lessons followed the general curriculum and the (exclusively Jewish) teachers were state-certified. The only difference from other schools was in the subjects Religion and Hebrew. The school’s religious orientation was liberal.

In the 1920s, it was the largest public Jewish elementary school in Germany. Overall, however, at this time only around half of Cologne’s Jewish students attended a Jewish school. During the Nazi era, when Jewish children were increasingly denied access to non-Jewish schools, the number of students grew significantly.

Documents and interviews with contemporary witnesses provide insights into everyday school life.