Twelve Years of the New Synagogue in Mainz: To mark this occasion—its bat mitzvah—on September 4, 2022, the new brochure “Women’s Lives Today in Magenza: The Female Face of the Jewish Community of Mainz,” published by the Women’s Office and the Office for Migration and Integration of the state capital, presents a collection of twelve portraits of female members of the Jewish community. The “female face” of the Jewish Community is presented through a wide variety of text formats—as transcripts of conversations, in interview form, or as self-descriptions. The youngest of those profiled is in her early 20s; the oldest is nearly 100 years old. 

The editors owe this multifaceted insight into the lives of young and older Jewish women in Mainz to Anna Kischner, chairwoman of the Jewish Community, and Nina Shpolyanskaya, a member of the community’s board. Both sought out female members to serve as interviewees and were able to secure their participation in the project.“Without Nina Shpolyanskaya’s dedication and knowledge of Russian, it would have been difficult for us, for example, to record all the memories of life in one of the former Soviet republics and of the time of their arrival here in the city,” the editors note. Many of the texts were translated from Russian by Ina Kasemir-Sattler.

For Mayor Michael Ebling, who also wrote a foreword to the brochure, the collection of portraits is an encouraging sign of active Jewish life in the city. “The World Heritage designation, which since 2021 has also recognized Mainz as a SchUM city, stands not only for the great historical legacy, but also for the present and the future—and, not least, for our collective responsibility to combat all forms of antisemitism. That is why I am delighted that the city can present the Jewish Community with this publication as a Bat Mitzvah gift.”

For the Women’s Office, this look at the lives of Jewish women in Mainz today is a continuation of the numerous historical works on the lives and sufferings of Jewish women in Mainz. The Mainz Women’s Calendar, which has been published for more than three decades, serves this purpose in particular.

“For the dedication of the New Synagogue on September 3, 2010, we published our collection of biographies of Jewish women from Mainz—spanning from the 14th century to the end of the 20th century—for the first time, and have since revised and reprinted it several times. For the Bat Mitzvah, however, the focus should be on women’s lives today—and also on whether Mainz is truly the cosmopolitan and diverse city where Jewish life is a matter of course,” said Eva Weickart, director of the Women’s Office. “We are therefore very grateful to the twelve women who, despite their awareness of—and indeed because of their experiences with—anti-Semitism, are sharing insights into their lives with us.”

For Carlos Wittmer, director of the Office for Migration and Integration, this includes, in particular, memories of the time of their arrival in Mainz and the efforts they made to settle in here. “Many of today’s community members come from one of the former Soviet republics and had to completely reorient themselves here. This is also true for the female members of the congregation. Being invited as quota refugees does not automatically mean that one is also welcome.” However, it is also important to give a voice to those who were born and raised here. 

The brochure will be available for free in the foyer of the Stadthaus Große Bleiche starting September 4, 2022, or can be downloaded from the Women’s Office website at www.mainz.de/frauenbuero.