1. Yiddish originated in the German-speaking regions of Europe
Through contact with Middle High German, the Jewish population developed its own language approximately 1,000 years ago. This shared history over many centuries has left many traces in both Yiddish and German; the two cultures and languages permeate one another and remain interconnected to this day. As Jewish people migrated to Eastern Europe, Yiddish changed, but its Germanic vocabulary always remained the foundation of the language.

2. Yiddish has had a continuous presence in Germany since its beginnings
Despite the complex and often changing history of German-Jewish relations, marked by periods of rapprochement as well as persecution (culminating in the Shoah), Yiddish has always been spoken in Germany. It was a cultural home for many Jewish people; it has remained so to this day.

3. Yiddish language and culture continue to thrive today
Even today, Yiddish remains a vibrant part of Germany’s cultural diversity. The Yiddish language experienced a revival in the 1980s, particularly through the Klezmer revival and the singer-songwriter scene. In the 1990s, Jewish migrants from the former Soviet republics brought their Yiddish to Germany, and the language continues to play an important role within the Jewish community today. Yiddish culture inspires artists, it is studied by scholars, and attracts considerable interest from Jewish and non-Jewish people alike at music festivals, summer courses, and adult education centres.

4. Germany’s historical responsibility toward Yiddish as a language
Before the Shoah, the overwhelming majority of European Jews spoke Yiddish. Promoting Yiddish today - the language of survivors and their descendants - means not only preserving a cultural heritage, but also creating an active and life-affirming engagement with the diversity of that heritage. It offers at least a way of gradually filling the gaping chasm left by the Holocaust with new life.

5. Raising awareness of Yiddish
The central role Yiddish played as an everyday language before the Second World War is still insufficiently represented in many museums, memorial sites, and other forms of historical education. Yet Yiddish was, and remains, an indispensable part of Jewish culture and is essential to understanding Jewish history in Germany.

6. European institutions and academia have already recognised the importance of Yiddish
Eight member states of the Council of Europe have already recognised Yiddish as a minority language. In 1996, the Council of Europe also recommended that Germany assume a particular responsibility for the preservation and promotion of the Yiddish language and culture. Official recognition of Yiddish as a minority language in Germany would give concrete expression to this responsibility.

7. Recognising Yiddish as a commitment to linguistic diversity in Germany
Over the past 30 years, Germany has established a sustainable network for its seven officially recognised minority languages. Including Yiddish within this framework would reaffirm Germany’s commitment to its linguistic and cultural diversity.

8. Recognition Would Strengthen and Enrich German Civil Society in the Long Term
State support for Yiddish means investing in Germany’s cultural diversity and keeping an important part of Europe’s transnational cultural heritage and history of cultural exchange alive. It would also foster intercultural knowledge, understanding, and empathy in an increasingly globalised world.

9. Recognition would facilitate access to language education
The opportunities to learn and practise Yiddish as a living language in Germany remain limited. There is a lack of immersive spaces in which Yiddish can be practised as an everyday language. Additionly, there is currently no comprehensive German-Yiddish dictionary and too few teaching materials in German. Existing courses are therefore often insufficiently adapted to German-speaking learners, as the linguistic connections between German and Yiddish are not addressed adequately. As a result, Yiddish is often studied through a third language, such as English or French. Children, young people, and older learners are particularly disadvantaged through this situation. People in Germany should have the opportunity to learn Yiddish as well. This applies especially to language education in kindergartens.

10. Yiddish Deserves a Thriving Future, Not Just Recognition as Historical Heritage
Germany has a vibrant and growing cultural scene in which Yiddish serves as a medium for literature, art, music, film, and theatre, and through which people express themselves in the language. These activities help sustain the transmission and transformation of Yiddish culture, making this intangible heritage accessible for future generations.
Yet these grassroots initiatives often fall through the gaps of existing funding structures, particularly those focused on remembrance culture and the promotion of Jewish life.
The preservation and cultivation of Yiddish cultural heritage deserves Germany’s recognition and support, not only out of historical responsibility or as a means of sustaining religious and cultural practices, but also as part of a shared German and European heritage. This responsibility offers an opportunity to give remembrance a living future.