Rathausausstellung 2026 - Tafel 24: Ausgrenzung und Selbstbehauptung | Town-hall Exhibition 2026 - Panel 24: Marginalised yet asserting itself

Hamburg’s Jewish Kulturbund As of 1933, Jewish performing artists were excluded from cultural life, and many lost their livelihoods as a result. As a means of mutual support, they came together throughout the Reich as part of the Jewish Kulturbund [Cultural Federation]. They were only allowed to perform in front of purely Jewish audiences. The Nazi regime supported the Kulturbund as a means of isolating Jewish artists culturally and of maintaining surveillance. Hamburg’s Jewish Kulturbund was known for its theatre productions as well as its concerts, dance and cabaret evenings. By May 1936, it had 5,208 members, about one third of Hamburg’s Jewish population, who were thus able to continue to participate in cultural life. Hamburg’s Kulturbund was dissolved by the Nazi regime in 1939. Deportations of the members who were not able to flee the country began in 1941.