German Campers Discover Jewish Roots and Summer Fun

Although many Jewish communities have long-embraced the tradition of a Jewish summer camp for children, the idea has just recently been introduced in Germany, with astounding success. JDC and the Chais Foundation are continuing their support for the second Jewish day camp in Aachen, a community of 2,000 members.

An exceptional feature of this camp is that it was organized and staffed by local and regional madrachim (youth counselors) from the ages of 17 to 19. These young men and women have devoted their time and energy this summer into creating a community which fosters and develops a sense of Jewish culture and history in children while being fun and exciting.

The young staff sought guidance from professionals at JDC to help them form the direction of the camp and realizes its objectives. They then selected which activities to pursue with the campers. These include: making special visits to beautiful parks, various outdoor games and group Shabbat activities.

The counselors chose the word Shorashim, meaning "roots", to be the name of the camp. It is intended to evoke the journey from present to past; from discovering one's Judaism to learning more about the ancient history of the Jewish people: Juda as a territorium (land), the original tribes, and the stories of Genesis.

The strong presence of immigrant children is apparent at the camp. This presence is significant, as it shows the growing confidence of an immigrant population (the majority from Gus states) in the value of an informal Jewish education and helps integrate children from all backgrounds in to a unified community.

The community met the challenge of preparing the facilities for the children head-on. While there was a tremendous amount of work for the counselors in organizing and running the camp, the children's enthusiasm for learning about their Jewish history and community made the effort worthwhile. With such unbridled success, the camp is sure to continue for a third year and beyond.

October 2006