Greifswald – The natural beauty of the Pomeranian Baltic coast was already being praised in the last century in a multitude of historical travel guides, which we have now digitised for the first time. However, as the exhibition by Kristine von Soden – created in collaboration with the Max Samuel Haus Rostock – impressively demonstrates, this beauty was not accessible to all visitors at the beginning of the 20th century: in some seaside resorts on the Baltic Sea, individual guesthouses began to exclude Jewish holidaymakers, followed by an increasing number of establishments, until, from 1937 onwards, they were almost completely forbidden from moving outside fenced-off beach areas.

Drawing on historical sources, letters and diaries by Jewish writers, the exhibition highlights stark contrasts: the terrible and the beautiful experiences of Jewish holidaymakers on the Pomeranian coast stand side by side in an almost irreconcilable juxtaposition. The exhibition “Do the Seagulls Sometimes Think of Me? The Expulsion of Jewish Holidaymakers from the Baltic Sea”, for which we produced a brochure with translations into Polish and English as part of the project, can be viewed from 8 May to 31 July in the foyer of the Central University Library in Greifswald. On 8 May at 2 pm, the author and curator Dr Kristine von Soden will read from the exhibition’s eponymous book and offer a guided tour.

(Greifswald University Library)