The Museum as a place to learn away from school - this approach has been adopted by the Museum not only with respect to its exhibitions and tours but also with the new series "Resources for Schools". The didactically-prepared source compilation provides teachers with resources on the theme of German-Jewish history.

"Annotated Documents on the History of Jews in National Socialism" is the first of the series and has just been published. It is directed at high school teachers and pupils (aged 13-18 years) as well as teacher-training seminars. The aim of "Resources for Schools" is to provide teachers with ideas and materials for lessons before and after action-oriented trips to the Museum. The materials are also suitable for use in school lessons and in education outside of schools independent of Museum visits. Two thousand copies of the approximately 200-page first volume have been printed.

"Annotated Documents on the History of Jews in National Socialism" focuses on original documents, photographs, and other personal certificates stemming primarily from the Jewish Museum's archive, which are so made accessible to a wider public for the first time. Divided into the three subject areas "Children and Youths", "Flight and Exile", and "The Rescuers and the Rescued", letters, compositions, boy scout membership cards, family photographs, and travel documents allow insight into the different lives and activities of Jews in Germany.

The sources retain their authentic character through reproduction of the original size and color. This layout and not least the selection of the sources and their presentation in an easy-to-copy loose-leaf ring binder make the resources fundamentally different from standard school books. Background information for teachers, biographical information on protagonists, and varied task suggestions complement the source compilation, as do references to media and literature. Further volumes on themes such as "Jewish life then and now" and "Jews in the Middle Ages" are planned for 2005.

"Resources for Schools" can be purchased at the Jewish Museum Berlin bookshop in loose-leaf form for 14.95 euros or in a quality ring binder for 24.95 euros. They can also be ordered with the addition of postage expenses.