Home / Programs & Events / Fall 2026 Lunch and Learn Enemy to Ally

Enemy to Ally: The Many Lives of Berlin

This five-part Lunch and Learn course explores Berlin’s remarkable and turbulent history, from the vibrant Jewish community of the Kaiserreich to the extraordinary possibilities of the Weimar era, when democracy, culture, and new ideas flourished alongside deepening political and social tensions. We’ll follow Berlin’s transformation under Nazism, the persecution and resistance that shaped the war years, and the devastation that left the city in ruins. The series concludes with Berlin’s division and reunification and its ongoing efforts to confront, remember, and reckon with its Nazi and Holocaust past.

This program is offered both in-person and on Zoom and requires registration below. The in-person program meets for 5 weeks on Thursdays beginning on October 8 at 12:00 pm at the Jewish Community Campus. The Zoom program meets on Fridays beginning on October 9 at 12:00 pm. Cost for this course is $60.

For those who are local to the Kansas City area, we will offer a special, optional 6th session to visit the Berlin Wall: A World Divided exhibit at Kansas City Union Station, followed by a discussion of the exhibit. The price of entry is not included with Lunch and Learn registration fee.

October 8/9- At Home in Berlin: Jewish Life in the Kaiser Reich

From 1871 to 1918, Berlin’s Jewish community grew into one of the largest and most influential in Germany, shaping the city’s cultural and political life. This session explores the experiences of Jewish Berliners as they built families, businesses, synagogues, and schools while navigating both new opportunities and persistent antisemitism. Discover how Jewish life was an essential part of Berlin and consider what it meant to belong in a city undergoing extraordinary transformation.

October 15/16- Living on the Edge: Berlin in the Weimar Years

During the Weimar Republic, the city became a center of democracy, artistic experimentation, and social change, while political violence, economic crisis, and growing extremism threatened its fragile freedoms. This session explores the Berlin of the Weimar years through experiences of Berlin’s Jewish community, artists, intellectuals, workers, and ordinary residents

October 22/23- In the Shadow of the Swastika: Berlin 1933-1938

In 1933, Berlin was transformed as the Nazis began dismantling democracy, silencing opposition, and reshaping everyday life. This session explores how Nazi rule took hold in the capital and how Berliners experienced these changes. Through the stories of those who resisted, those who conformed, and those whose lives were upended, learn how the Nazis sought to remake Berlin—and its street and its people—in their own image.

October 29/30- A Capital at War: Persecution, Resistance and Ruin

This session explores life in the German capital from 1939 to 1945, from the intensification of the persecution of Berlin’s Jews to the courage of those who resisted the regime. We’ll examine the experiences of civilians living under dictatorship and bombardment, the forced laborers, and the growing devastation of Allied air raids. As the war turned against Nazi Germany, Berlin became a battlefield, culminating in the final days of the Third Reich and the destruction of much of the city.

November 5/6- From Ruins to Reckoning: Division, Memory and the Holocaust

The fall of Nazi Germany left Berlin physically shattered. In the decades that followed, the city rebuilt and became a front line of the Cold War. This session explores how Berlin confronted the legacy of Nazism and the Holocaust amid division, reconstruction, and political change. We will also explore the lessons we can learn from a city that has so thoroughly grappled with its darkest past.

In-Person Course

Thursdays 12:00 – 1:15 p.m.
October 8 – November 5, 2026
Sessions will be held in person in the Board Room of the Jewish Community Center
Use the PayPal button below to register for the in person course.

Online Course

On Zoom
Fridays 12-1:15p.m.
October 9- November 6, 2026
Use this PayPal button to register for the online course.