Young Leadership Program in Cooperation with Camp Ramah, August 23 – September 2, 2010

Established in October 2007, Germany Close Up – American Jews Meet Modern Germany provides young leaders of Camp Ramah with an opportunity to experience modern Germany up close and personally. Participants will visit the actual sites of historical events, partake in various aspects of contemporary Jewish life in Germany and will meet with Germans of all backgrounds. The purpose of the program is to allow participants to gain their own perspective on Germany through individual experience.

Academic lectures and distinguished guest speakers will engage participants in discussion about the Shoah and Germany’s Nazi terror, in issues of memory and Germany’s continuing effort to come to terms with this terrible past, as well as Germany’s transformation in the last 60 years into a modern, reunified, and democratic country in the heart of the European Union which is home to the third-fastest growing Jewish community worldwide. The program is kosher and shomer shabbat.

The August 23 (start in the US is August 22) - September 2 Program will focus on the following topics:

• Berlin and united Germany
• The Holocaust and the Nazi Era including a visit in a former Concentration Camp
• Transatlantic / German-American relations (incl. a meeting / Q&A with officials of the German      foreign office)
• Jewish Berlin, present and past
• The former East Germany
• Integration of new members of the Jewish community

During the 11-day program, participants will encounter Berlin’s multicultural life, visit East and West Germany, the Jewish Museum in Berlin, the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe, as well as experience other key historical sites and cultural venues. They will meet with German opinion-makers, grass root movements, the Jewish community and Germans contemporaries. The role of Jewish voices in transatlantic relations will be explored as participants actively contribute to German-American dialogue.

If accepted, most costs of the program will be covered mainly by Germany Close Up as well as by National Ramah and your Ramah camp with the following exceptions:

• a small amount of spending money (ice creams, free evenings, etc.)
• about $75 in tips

For any further questions please do not hesitate to contact us.
Please send us your e-mail application to This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it   by June 27, 2010 including:

• An online application form 
• A cover letter  
• A resume
• A 1-2 page essay about your interest in the program 
• Two letters of recommendation (one may come from a Camp Ramah staff member)