Photo Gallery After the Boom
Starting in the early 1990s, Germany's Jewish community experienced dramatic growth, increasing from 30,000 to 100,000 members. Around the world people began speaking of a renaissance in the Jewish religion and culture in Germany.
Much of the growth came through the immigration of Jews from the former Soviet Union who had experienced decades of discrimination in their former home.
Changes a few years ago to German immigration polices put a halt to the influx of Jews from the former Soviet Union. In the meantime, the populations of many Jewish communities in Germany are graying. Some are arguing that only the largest communities in cities lke Munich, Frankfurt, Berlin and Cologne are likely to exist in the medium-term.
"What this means is that hundreds of communities will disappear," says Julius Schoep, the head of the Moses Mendelssohn Center for European Jewish Studies at the University of Potsdam near Berlin.
One significant problem is that the church is struggling to recruit and retain younger members. It is now trying to provide greater allure to this segment of the population with events like the annual "Jewrovision" talent show, modelled after the Eurovision Song Contest. Participants are seen here competing in the event in 2013 in Munich.
