Jewish biographies in the parliamentary founding generation after 1945
This exhibition documents the diverse, now largely forgotten Jewish biographies of the founding generation of the German Bundestag. It recalls the moving fates of the members of parliament who were persecuted under National Socialism as Jews or because of their Jewish origins, and honours their work in the controversial debates about German guilt and lasting responsibility.
Image gallery
An eine Zukunft glauben_Ausstellungsplakat
They survived the Nazi reign of terror and believed in a future in Germany – determined to take on responsibility: in Parliament.
Creating a better Germany: this was the motive that drove them – in both East and West. The political new beginning took place in a divided country. German-Jewish history after 1945 must therefore also be told as a German-German history, shaped by political interactions and personal relationships.
The parliamentary engagement of these women and men reflects optimism, hope and the will to shape the future. But doubts and disappointments, political setbacks and political failures are also evident – the resistance of a society that talked a lot about the war but little about personal involvement in the dictatorship.
It is a story of social continuities and personal ruptures, of contradictions and contrasts – and it is precisely this ambivalence that makes it so revealing about the challenging path of a society of perpetrators, followers and victims into the new democratic order.
The exhibition was developed by the History, Politics and Culture Department (WD 1) of the Scientific Services of the German Parliament. It was financially supported by the Federal Foundation ‘Places of German Democracy History’.
A catalogue in German and English will be published to accompany the exhibition, with a foreword by Bundestag President Julia Klöckner and a greeting from the President of the Central Council of Jews in Germany, Dr Josef Schuster.
Educational materials enable school classes to explore the exhibition themselves in search of biographical clues. In addition, it offers numerous resources for school lessons on the topics of National Socialism/the Holocaust, the East-West conflict and the history of the Federal Republic of Germany for grades 9-12/13.
Additional information
Exhibition in the lobby of the Paul Löbe House
28 January 2026 to 6 March 2026
9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
free admission
Advance registration is required.
All information about registration and public tours can be found at: www.bundestag.de/zukunft
28 January 2026 to 6 March 2026
9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
free admission
Advance registration is required.
All information about registration and public tours can be found at: www.bundestag.de/zukunft
