UToledo Historian to Discuss Berlin’s New Synagogue in April 22 Markowicz Lecture

UToledo Historian to Discuss Berlin's New Synagogue in April 22 Markowicz Lecture

The University of Toledo's Dr. Barry Jackisch will discuss Berlin's New Synagogue during the Philip Markowicz Annual Lecture in Judaism and Jewish Biblical Studies.

Presented by the College of Arts and Letters and supported by the Jewish Federation and Foundation of Greater Toledo, the free, public lecture is at 7 p.m. Tuesday, April 22, in UToledo's Center for Performing Arts Recital Hall.

In his lecture titled "Berlin's New Synagogue: An Historical Appreciation, 1850-Present," Jackisch, an associate professor of history and the Philip Markowicz Endowed Professor in Judaism and Jewish Biblical Studies, will explore the history of the well-known synagogue in the broader context of the history of Judaism in Berlin.

Berlin's New Synagogue was built in the mid-19th century as a prominent house of worship for the city's growing Jewish community, and its history spans Nazi attacks, Allied bombings and four decades in Communist East Berlin. Today it houses both a small-scale religious space and the Centrum Judaicum, a museum and center that preserves Jewish memory and tradition in Berlin.

The Philip Markowicz lecture and endowed professorship honor their namesake Toledoan, who with his wife, Ruth, emigrated to the United States after losing nearly all of his family in the Holocaust. Markowicz went on to establish a thriving electronics business in Toledo and publish two books through the UToledo Press: "My Three Lives," an autobiography, and "Losing God in Translation," a study of the Hebrew Bible.

Visitor parking for the annual lecture is free in Area 12, excluding disability, metered and reserved spaces.

For more information, go to the Philip Markowicz Annual Lecture in Judaism and Jewish Biblical Studies website.