Estrongo Nachama

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Estrongo "Eto" Nachama ( Greek Εστρόνγκο Ναχάμα , * May 4, 1918 in Thessaloniki ; † January 13, 2000 in Berlin ) was a Greek singer and from 1947 to 2000 cantor of the Jewish community in Berlin .

biography

Sephardic roots

Nachama was born as the son of the grain merchant Menachem Nachama and his wife Oro in Saloniki ( Thessaloníki ) in northern Greece ; he comes from a family of Sephardic Jews who were expelled from Spain in 1492 and fled to the Ottoman Empire . Many of Nachama's ancestors were important rabbis and Talmudic scholars , and the memory of the lost Iberian homeland was cherished in the family for centuries: Until the expropriation of Jewish property in Greece during the German occupation, the Nachamas had the custom of holding the key to the former house in Passing on Spain from father to eldest son.

Life until the Shoah

After attending the Jewish elementary school and the French grammar school, Estrongo Nachama entered his father's business and became cantor of the synagogue in Thessaloniki . During the Second World War he was drafted into the Greek army, which was defeated by the German Wehrmacht within a few weeks in the spring of 1941 . The city of Saloniki fell on April 9th.

In the spring of 1943 the entire Nachama family was deported to Auschwitz , where Nachama had the prisoner number 116155 tattooed on his left forearm. His parents, his sisters Matilde and Signora and his bride Regina were murdered. Estrongo Nachama's singing talent and the beauty of his baritone voice caught the eye not only of his fellow prisoners, but also of the guards. He was convinced throughout his life that it was his singing that enabled him not only to survive Auschwitz, but also the death march of the inmates of the Sachsenhausen concentration camp . On May 5, 1945 the Red Army liberated him near Nauen ; Estrongo Nachama celebrated this date as his "second birthday" from now on.

Berlin as a new home

Estrongo Nachama originally went to nearby Berlin with the intention of regaining his strength there before he could return to his homeland. In the turmoil of the first weeks after the war, the implementation of this project proved to be difficult. During this time, Nachama met his future wife Lilli, who had survived the Nazi dictatorship in hiding. Through her he came into contact with the Jewish community in Berlin, which in turn became aware of the young Greek's extraordinary potential as a singer. He sang with Erich Nehlhans , who was in the community u. a. was responsible for religious matters and was employed.

Cantor in post-war Berlin

Although the ravages of the Shoah had almost completely destroyed the Jewish community in Berlin , every effort was made to keep the city's tradition as one of the most important centers of Ashkenazi culture alive. For Nachama this meant a considerable challenge at first, since as a Sephardi he first had to familiarize himself with and empathize with the alien aesthetics of liturgical music in the Central European synagogues .

Nachama's work as a "bridge builder"

Estrongo Nachama's voice has been heard at least once a week in RIAS since 1948, and later on Deutschlandradio when the Sabbath celebration with the RIAS Chamber Choir is broadcast there on Friday . In this way, his voice quickly became known to non-Jewish Berliners.

He also supervised the services of the Jewish members of the United States' armed forces in the synagogue on Hüttenweg. His Greek citizenship enabled him to enter the eastern part of the city unhindered even after the division of Berlin in 1961 and to visit the local part of the community, especially in the synagogue on Rykestrasse in Prenzlauer Berg . Cantor Leo Roth , who, being from Austria , enjoyed similar freedom of movement, has supported him since 1957 .

Nachama gained international recognition through numerous recordings (including with the RIAS Chamber Choir) and performances in Europe, Israel and the USA . He often used this popularity, which is unusual for a cantor, for his commitment in the sense of understanding and cooperation between Jews and Christians. The fact that one of Estrongo Nachama's last major singing appearances took place in April 1998 in the Berlin Cathedral is characteristic of this lifelong commitment to interreligious dialogue . On Nachama's 80th birthday, Wolfgang Kohrt wrote a portrait of the cantor for the Berliner Zeitung .

tomb

Estrongo Nachama was buried in the Jewish cemetery in Heerstrasse in Berlin.

His son is the journalist and rabbi Andreas Nachama .

Awards

Estrongo Nachama Prize for moral courage and tolerance

The Estrongo Nachama Prize for Tolerance and Moral Courage has been awarded by the Berlin Meridian Foundation since 2013 in memory of Estrongo Nachama.

Award winners

Discography (selection)

  • Shabbat celebration . Chief Cantor Estrongo Nachama Live. Choir of the Herbartstrasse synagogue, organ and direction: Monika Almekias-Siegl
  • It sounds up from earth to heaven . Prayer chants for the New Synagogue. Chief Cantor Estrongo Nachama, RIAS Chamber Choir, conductor: Uwe Gronostay, organ: Harry Foss
  • Hebrew prayer chants Hanukkah Kiddush . Chief Cantor Estrongo Nachama, RIAS Chamber Choir, conductor: Uwe Gronostay, organ: Harry Foss
  • Masterpieces of synagogal music . Chief Cantor Estrongo Nachama, RIAS Chamber Choir, conductor: Uwe Gronostay, organ: Harry Foss
  • Yom Kippur - Chants of prayer for the Day of Atonement . (CD for a ZDF broadcast of the same name ), RIAS Chamber Choir, conductor: Uwe Gronostay, organ: Harry Foss
  • Chasanut - prayer chants from the synagogue . Chief Cantor Estrongo Nachama and choir, organ: Harry Foss
  • The great new Sabbath celebration . Head Cantor Estrongo Nachama, Berlin Concert Choir, conductor: F. Weisse, organ: Harry Foss
  • Chief Cantor Estrongo Nachama in the Berlin Cathedral . Live recording 1998, Shalom Choir Berlin, conductor: Elisabeth Liebig, organ: Gloria Seipelt

Filmography

literature

  • Esther Slevogt: The Pestalozzistrasse synagogue. "Your house deserves holiness, Eternal, For all times." With a CD (=  Hermann Simon [Hrsg.]: Jewish miniatures . Volume 127 ). Hentrich & Hentrich , Berlin 2012, ISBN 978-3-942271-68-4 .
  • Rabbi Andreas Nachama (ed.): Shema tefilatenu: prayers for the Jewish festival and life cycle; for use in synagogues, schools and homes; from the collection of Chief Cantor Estrongo Nachama . With an introduction by Andreas Nachama and a preface by Walter Homolka (=  Jüdische Merkbücher . Volume 1 ). Hentrich & Hentrich, Berlin 2014, ISBN 978-3-95565-058-2 .
  • Katerina Oikonomakou: The singer from Auschwitz. Estrongo Nachama . Kapon Editions, Athens 2017, ISBN 978-6-18520913-1 (Greek, online [accessed February 26, 2018]).
  • Claudia Keller : Lilli and Estrongo Nachama . Two soloists - one pair (=  Hermann Simon [Hrsg.]: Jüdische Miniaturen . Band 223 ). 1st edition. Hentrich & Hentrich , Berlin 2018, ISBN 978-3-95565-268-5 (80 pages).

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Wolfgang Kohrt: The singer from Saloniki . Bank code of May 2, 1998, taken over by hagalil.com on December 14, 2013
  2. ↑ Michael Brenner: After the Holocaust (=  Beck series ). CH Beck, Munich 1995, ISBN 978-3-406-39239-9 , pp. 155 ( limited preview in Google Book Search [accessed February 17, 2018]).
  3. ↑ Neues Deutschland , November 9, 1988, p. 2.
  4. ↑ Berlin on November 27 (1995). In: Daily Facts. Luisenstädtischer Bildungsverein , accessed on February 17, 2018 : “The Governing Mayor Eberhard Diepgen presents the Great Federal Cross of Merit to the Jewish cantor Estrongo Nachama in the Red City Hall (center). Nachama was Chief Cantor of the Jewish Community in Berlin from 1947. "
  5. ↑ Estrongo Nachama Prize for moral courage and tolerance. In: meridian-stiftung.de. Meridian Foundation, accessed May 3, 2018 .
  6. ↑ Götz Aly receives the Estrongo Nachama Prize for Civil Courage and Tolerance 2018. In: focus.de. May 2, 2018, accessed June 4, 2018 .
  7. ↑ Kenan Kolat, federal chairman of the Turkish community in Germany, receives the “Estrongo Nachama Prize for Tolerance and Civil Courage” (2013). In: meridian-stiftung.de. Meridian Foundation, May 4, 2013, accessed May 3, 2018 .
  8. ↑ Kenan Kolat receives Estrongo Nachama Prize. In: focus.de. September 6, 2013, accessed June 10, 2018 .
  9. ↑ Tolerance price for Kenan Kolat. Honored for moral courage against everyday racism. In: tagesspiegel.de. May 4, 2013, accessed June 10, 2018 .
  10. ↑ "Estrongo Nachama Prize 2014" goes to Michael Blumenthal. In: meridian-stiftung.de. Meridian Foundation, January 24, 2014, accessed May 3, 2018 .
  11. ^ Estrongo Nachama Prize for Michael Blumenthal. In: morgenpost.de. May 6, 2014, accessed June 10, 2018 .
  12. ^ Award for W. Michael Blumenthal. Mediator between the worlds. In: tagesspiegel.de. May 5, 2014, accessed June 10, 2018 .
  13. ↑ Meridian Foundation awards “Estrongo Nachama Prize 2015” to Rudolf Seiters. In: meridian-stiftung.de. Meridian Foundation, February 9, 2015, accessed May 3, 2018 .
  14. ↑ Prof. Dr. Margot Käßmann receives the Estrongo Nachama Prize for Civil Courage and Tolerance 2016. In: meridian-stiftung.de. Meridian Foundation, accessed May 3, 2018 .
  15. ^ Kerstin Kipp: Margot Käßmann honored with the Estrongo Nachama Prize for moral courage and tolerance. Laudator and picture editor Kai Diekmann praised Käßmann as a courageous "clear text woman". In: ekd.de. Evangelical Church in Germany, September 6, 2016, accessed on June 4, 2018 .
  16. ↑ Käßmann honored with a prize for moral courage and tolerance. Reformation ambassador Margot Käßmann was honored with the Estrongo Nachama Prize for moral courage and tolerance on Monday evening in Berlin. In: evangelisch.de. Joint project of Evangelische Publizistik gGmbH, September 6, 2016, accessed on June 4, 2018 .
  17. ^ Margot Käßmann receives prize for moral courage. In: r2017.org. Reformationsjubiläum 2017 eV, September 7, 2016, accessed on June 4, 2018 .
  18. ↑ Daniel Hope receives the Estrongo Nachama Prize for Civil Courage and Tolerance 2017. In: meridian-stiftung.de. Meridian Foundation, accessed May 3, 2018 .
  19. ↑ Götz Aly receives the Estrongo Nachama Prize for Civil Courage and Tolerance 2018. In: meridian-stiftung.de. Meridian Foundation, accessed May 3, 2018 .
  20. ↑ Götz Aly receives the Estrongo Nachama Prize for Civil Courage and Tolerance 2018. In: fischerverlage.de. May 3, 2018, accessed June 4, 2018 .
  21. ↑ Award for Götz Aly. The political scientist and historian receives the Estrongo Nachama Prize for moral courage and tolerance. In: juedische-allgemeine.de. April 18, 2018, accessed June 4, 2018 .
  22. ↑ Götz Aly receives the Estrongo Nachama Prize for Civil Courage and Tolerance 2018. In: berlin.de/ba-charlottenburg-wilmersdorf. District Office Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf, May 2, 2018, accessed on June 4, 2018 .
  23. ↑ Rabbi Dr. Henry G. Brand receives the Estrongo Nachama Prize for Tolerance and Civil Courage 2019. In: meridian-stiftung.de. Meridian Foundation, accessed July 30, 2019 .
personal data
SURNAME Nachama, Estrongo
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Nachama, Eto; Ναχαμά, Εστονγό (Greek)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Greek singer, chief cantor of the Jewish community in Berlin
DATE OF BIRTH May 4, 1918
PLACE OF BIRTH Thessaloniki
DATE OF DEATH January 13, 2000
Place of death Berlin