Acting Jewish: Between Identity and Attire

A lecture series organised by the Leo Baeck Institute London in cooperation with the German Historical Institute London.

This season’s lecture series investigates the complex nature of what it means to act or appear Jewish and for whom this appearance is important. Examples are drawn from a wide range of performative settings: on stage, on screen, in daily life. Under which conditions do certain elements of fashion and attire appear as ‘Jewish’? How do Jews consciously showcase or hide their identity by way of ‘acting’ and dressing in certain ways? And how were these elements conceptualised in the wider discourse: as ‘natural’ – self-expressions of an ethnical identity, as attire communicating a social role, or ‘prejudiced’ – as a ‘costume’ hiding the wearer’s true identity?

For more information on the lecture series please refer to the leaflet here

Dr Daniel Wildmann (Director, Leo Baeck Institute London) has the pleasure of inviting you to the second lecture in the series:

Professor Kerry Wallach

(Gettysburg College, USA)

‘Coming Out’ as Jewish in Weimar Germany 

6.30pm, 23 January 2020

In the 1920s and early 1930s – as today – Jews in Germany were concerned about growing anti-Semitism, and many took precautions to conceal their Jewishness by dressing and behaving in certain ‘assimilated’ ways. Yet there were still occasions when it was beneficial to be openly Jewish. This lecture explores the tensions that came with being visible as a Jew – an identity play that often involved appearing simultaneously non-Jewish and Jewish. Drawing on a wide range of images and films, this presentation explores controversial aspects of German Jewish visibility and invisibility, as well as the complex reasons why Jews chose to appear distinctly ‘Jewish’.

Kerry Wallach is Associate Professor and Chair of German Studies and an Affiliate of the Judaic Studies Program at Gettysburg College in Pennsylvania. She is the author of Passing Illusions: Jewish Visibility in Weimar Germany (2017) and a number of articles on German-Jewish literature, history, film, and visual and consumer culture. She serves as co-editor for the German Jewish Cultures book series published by Indiana University Press and sponsored by the Leo Baeck Institute London.

Lectures will be held at the German Historical Institute London, 17 Bloomsbury Square, London WC1A 2NJ and begin at 6.30pm.

Admission is free but places are strictly limited and must be reserved in advance on Eventbrite.com or by contacting the Leo Baeck Institute, London (email info@leobaeck.co.uk or phone 020 7882 5690).

Underground: Holborn, Russell Square; Bus: 1, 7, 8, 19, 25, 38, 55, 59, 68, 91, 98, 134, 168, 171, 188, 242, 243, 521, X68