Established in October 2007, Germany Close Up – American Jews Meet Modern Germany is a German government initiative, created to with an opportunity to experience modern Germany up close and personally. A generous government enrich transatlantic dialogue and provide Jewish American students and young professionals in their twenties and early thirties scholarship (a part of the ERP Special Assets of the German Ministry for Economics and Technology) covers more than two-third of participation costs, which leaves a participation fee of $650 per person. At the same time, Germany Close Up is an independent organ concerning the organization and contents of its programs. The purpose of the program is to allow participants to gain their own perspective on Germany through individual experience.

The trips are a designed as an exposure to a myriad of facets that form modern Germany, with both the past and present getting the attention they deserve. Every GCU trip entails a number of activities, tours and meetings. The different groups will meet German opinion makers from the academia and the political spectrum as well as representatives of grass-root movements and German peers. All the trips cover issues of Germany’s terrible past and its efforts to deal with the memory of the Holocaust and the Nazi terror up to this very day. They will then observe its transformation in the last 60 years into a modern, reunified, and democratic country in the heart of the European Union, home to the third-fastest growing Jewish community worldwide. Observing Shabbat and keeping a kosher diet are both possible on all GCU trips.

The December 4th-12th Program will focus on the following topics:

(Please note that start in the US is Friday 3rd December. Because of Shabbat it is also possible to start in the US Thursday 2nd December and arrive in Berlin on Friday 3rd December.)