Around one third of all students in Germany attend a vocational school. As such, vocational schools are key sites of socialization with significant societal reach. At the same time, they serve a disproportionately high number of young people with migration backgrounds or disrupted educational trajectories, while opportunities for cultural and civic education remain limited. This is precisely where the project “AntiAnti - Museum Goes School” comes in: developed specifically for vocational schools, the programme strengthens antisemitism prevention and democratic education through an accessible, real-life-oriented approach.
A Programme Designed for Long-Term Engagement
As part of the project, classes take part in a programme that runs across an entire school term. Through six connected workshops, students engage with themes such as identity, belonging, Jewish life, antisemitism and racism in ways that relate directly to their own experiences and everyday lives. The Jewish Museum Frankfurt works with museum objects, art and creative methods to encourage discussion on the diversity of Jewish life — also beyond an exclusive focus on antisemitism and the Holocaust. In line with a primary prevention approach, the programme creates an accessible entry point to Jewish culture and history, helping to counter antisemitic stereotypes and prejudices. Critical media literacy — including how to respond to fake news, conspiracy narratives and social media content — forms an integral part of the programme as well.
By combining creative formats with a solid grounding in historical knowledge, the project helps reduce antisemitic and racist prejudice while fostering empathy, openness to complexity, and the confidence to participate actively in democratic society. Because school classes and teaching staff meet repeatedly over the course of the programme, trust develops over time and ensures lasting impact. Participants have the opportunity to revisit difficult questions in later sessions and continue conversations beyond the initial workshops.
The programme has been running since 2017, is subject to ongoing academic evaluation, and was updated in 2024 in response to current social developments following 7 October 2023. With support from the Alfred Landecker Foundation, the programme continues to be refined both conceptually and methodologically. The Foundation’s funding enables the programme to reach up to eight classes per year, with approximately 25 participants in each class.
Impact Beyond the Classroom
Alongside the student workshops, teachers of vocational Schools in Frankfurt receive additional training and support. Teachers who learn to recognise and assess antisemitic statements bring this understanding into their day-to-day teaching and into future classrooms. In this way, the project serves as a structural lever in the fight against antisemitism, extending its impact beyond the educational programme itself.
In Collaboration with the Jewish Museum Frankfurt
Founded in 1988, the Jewish Museum Frankfurt explores 900 years of Jewish life in the city. Through exhibitions, school programmes and teacher training, it has established itself as a leading institution for cultural and civic education in the wider Frankfurt area. Its educational work combines aesthetic experience with political reflection and is grounded in dialogue, participation and personal engagement.