COMING HOME: CHANGING CONCEPTS OF CITIZENSHIP IN POSTWAR AND REUNITED GERMANY

Who were the Jews who settled in Germany after World War II and what kinds of communities did they build? How did their children, the generation of baby boomers, perceive and reflect on the historical situation in which they lived? And how have the communities changed in the aftermath of the German reunification in 1990? Instead of looking at this period from a historical angle, this paper will turn to examples of contemporary Jewish art in Germany, comparing and contrasting the cultural productions of the early postwar generations to the contemporary works of photographer Peter Loewy, writer Wladimir Kaminer and cinematographer Dani Levy. 60 years after the Shoah, how do these artists portray Jewish life in Germany? What are their feelings towards their country, their religion? Have they ?built houses? and do they intend to stay?