Jewish
Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...
orphanage
An orphanage is a residential institution, total institution or group home, devoted to the care of orphans and children who, for various reasons, cannot be cared by their biological families. The parents may be deceased, absent, or abusi ...
and a listed building in
Berlin-Pankow
Pankow () is a locality (''Ortsteil'') of Berlin in the district (''Bezirk'') of Pankow. Until 2001 it was an autonomous district with the localities of Karow, Niederschönhausen, Wilhelmsruh, Rosenthal, Blankenfelde, Buch and Französisch Buchh ...
. It was built in 1882 to house refugee children. It was later destroyed by fire and a new building was erected on the same site in 1913. The orphanage was closed down in 1940 and the building fell into disrepair after Germany's reunification in 1990. It was acquired and restored by a charitable foundation in 1999 and now houses a
school
A school is the educational institution (and, in the case of in-person learning, the Educational architecture, building) designed to provide learning environments for the teaching of students, usually under the direction of teachers. Most co ...
and a district
library
A library is a collection of Book, books, and possibly other Document, materials and Media (communication), media, that is accessible for use by its members and members of allied institutions. Libraries provide physical (hard copies) or electron ...
.
History
The orphanage was originally intended to be a home for refugee children who had escaped the
pogrom
A pogrom is a violent riot incited with the aim of Massacre, massacring or expelling an ethnic or religious group, particularly Jews. The term entered the English language from Russian to describe late 19th- and early 20th-century Anti-Jewis ...
s following the assassination of Emperor Alexander II of Russia in 1881. Due to the fact that many of the children had lost their parents, the Jewish community of Berlin converted the home into an orphanage in 1882. Later it was destroyed by fire, so a new building was erected on the very site following Alexander Beer's plans, who was the
Architect
An architect is a person who plans, designs, and oversees the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to provide services in connection with the design of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the buildings that h ...
for the building.
Following the
November pogrom
( ) or the Night of Broken Glass, also called the November pogrom(s) (, ), was a pogrom against Jews carried out by the Nazi Party's (SA) and (SS) paramilitary forces along with some participation from the Hitler Youth and German civilia ...
s of 1938 the director of the orphanage, Kurt Crohn succeeded in saving the lives of many children by the means of
kindertransport
The ''Kindertransport'' (German for "children's transport") was an organised rescue effort of children from Nazi
Nazism (), formally named National Socialism (NS; , ), is the far-right politics, far-right Totalitarianism, total ...
s to the
Netherlands
, Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...
and
the United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...
, among these was Leslie Baruch Brent. The orphanage was forcibly closed in 1940 and the last residents were put into
concentration camps
A concentration camp is a prison or other facility used for the internment of political prisoners or politically targeted demographics, such as members of national or ethnic minority groups, on the grounds of national security, or for exploit ...
in 1942. Between 1943 and 1945 the building was used by
SS-Reichssicherheitshauptamt
The Reich Security Main Office ( , RSHA) was an organization under Heinrich Himmler in his dual capacity as ''Chef der Deutschen Polizei'' (Chief of German Police) and , the head of the Nazi Party's ''Schutzstaffel'' (SS). The organization's stat ...
for its central endorsement department ().
After 1945 the building briefly served the district's administration and East Germany's sports association. Between 1951 and 1971 it housed the embassy of
Poland
Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...
, followed by the embassy of
Cuba
Cuba, officially the Republic of Cuba, is an island country, comprising the island of Cuba (largest island), Isla de la Juventud, and List of islands of Cuba, 4,195 islands, islets and cays surrounding the main island. It is located where the ...
until 1991. The building fell into disrepair and was acquired from its owner (the state of
Israel
Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...
) by the ''Dr. Walter and Margarete Cajewitz Foundation'' in 1999. After extensive restoration, the building has housed the district's
Janusz Korczak
Janusz Korczak, the pen name of Henryk Goldszmit (22 July 1878 or 1879 – 7 August 1942), was a Polish Jewish pediatrician, educator, children's author and pedagogue known as ''Pan Doktor'' ("Mr. Doctor") or ''Stary Doktor'' ("Old Doctor"). He ...
library since 2001 and also a comprehensive school, SchuleEins, since 2007.
The memory of the Jewish orphanage is preserved by an association of friends and sponsors, among these are
Jutta Limbach
Jutta Limbach (27 March 1934 – 10 September 2016) was a German jurist and politician. She was a member of the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD) and served as President of the Federal Constitutional Court of Germany from 1994 to 2002, the ...
,
Wolfgang Thierse
Wolfgang Thierse (; born 22 October 1943) is a German politician of the Social Democratic Party (SPD). He served as the 11th president of the Bundestag from 1998 to 2005.
Early life and career
Thierse was born in Breslau (Wrocław in present- ...
and the late
Christa Wolf
Christa Wolf (; Ihlenfeld; 18 March 1929 – 1 December 2011) was a German novelist and essayist. She is considered one of the most important writers to emerge from the former East Germany.