Dina beams as confidently as she is happy. “I’m modern Orthodox,” she says, pronouncing the word “modern” in a natural American way. She sits in the large reception room in front of the Chabad Berlin synagogue and types quickly on her cell phone. There is a lot of activity, inside you can hear the bright and sometimes staccato tones of the shofar, a sequence of notes that must be blown at exactly this time before Rosh Hashanah. »I eat kosher, but I go to the cinema. I’m open to modernity, but I keep the holidays. I’m not liberal, but I’m on Instagram.” Dina laughs and puts her cell phone away.
The young woman has every reason to look forward to the new year with confidence. She has just graduated from high school and has been accepted to the “AMD Academy of Fashion & Design” in Berlin. She has been studying for two weeks now and is getting closer to her dream job: fashion designer. “That’s what I wanted to be as a child.”
In Germany for two years
The 17-year-old has only been in Germany for two years. She is one of the first refugees from Ukraine and Russia who managed to successfully arrive in Germany, in another society, in school, training and work. In Moscow she was a straight A student, here she got a very good B.
Dina Buchman is one of around 600,000 people who have come to Germany from Russia for political reasons since Putin’s attack on Ukraine. There are around 1.2 million war refugees from Ukraine. They all face the same problems: finding their way around another country, in a foreign language, as quickly as possible. Homesickness and strangers. Trauma and new beginnings.
Veronika Veksler is 16 years old and born in Dnipro. There she attended the American Lyceum. In March 2022 she arrived in Düsseldorf via Poland with her parents and siblings in the car. “Only my father is not allowed to leave the country, like all men between 16 and 60. Maybe he will still be drafted, he is 41.” First they took up quarters in a hall on the exhibition grounds. “Lots of beds without walls, an interesting experience,” she says. They finally found an apartment in Düsseldorf-Rath. There she now attends the Jewish Albert Einstein High School. And she was lucky.
Tutoring from a Ukrainian teacher
“The headmaster said you don’t speak German very well yet, but you understand a lot, and so I was put straight into a regular class.” In the Ukraine she had had German lessons since the sixth grade, but her level of English was significantly higher. From day one she received tutoring from a Ukrainian teacher. At the school, “90 percent of the students also spoke Russian,” she says.
»In the first few months I was afraid to come forward and speak in German, even though I knew the answer. Fear is the hardest thing. Then I read books, consumed media in German, and suddenly I understood.” Finally, unlike at home, oral participation is also assessed here. Now Veronika has arrived in class like in the city, speaks fluently and is diligent in reporting. »I like Düsseldorf. Especially public transport. You can just drive around the whole city.”
“I’m not liberal, but I’m on Instagram.”
Dina Buchman
Dina was born in Berlin but grew up in Russia. Her father studied and worked in the German capital in the 1980s. He met his wife in Moscow. “We moved to Russia back then because Jewish life there was very good,” says Alexander Buchman. They also lived in the Chabad community there. “We emigrated two weeks after the outbreak of the war.” Since there were no other flights, they first landed in Tashkent.
From Uzbekistan via Tbilisi in Georgia to Berlin
From Uzbekistan the escape led via Tbilisi in Georgia to Berlin. They arrived in May 2002 and found an apartment through friends. »During this time I learned some German online. But I couldn’t do more than say ‘Hello, how are you?’.” Dina attended a language school and, after two weeks of trial, was accepted into the eleventh grade of the Chabad Jewish Traditional School. As advanced courses she chose history and Hebrew, which she had already learned in Moscow. She continued learning with her online teacher in her free time. »What helped me: We only learned the words and grammar that I needed in real life. I’m pretty good now!”
“Speaking is more important than writing,” says Dina, “you shouldn’t be afraid of making mistakes and you have to talk to as many people as possible.” Her classmates and teachers supported her. Everyone has to find out which form of learning is best. »I can learn more effectively under pressure.«
“Generation Z,” she says, emphasizing the term again in English, is good under stress. And you should set goals. “I had the goal of finishing school as quickly as possible and doing fashion.” Now it was convenient for her that she had completed the eighth grade at the Moscow British Higher School of Art and Design. Because of her drawings and designs, she was accepted at the university before she graduated from high school.
Veronika is now in the 11th grade and is heading towards her high school diploma. And then? She fluctuates between teaching, journalism and marketing, “I’m not sure yet.” What seems certain, however, is that she has every opportunity to do so with a current two-part cut. This is a small, huge success story in just two years. Only the New Year celebrations are not the same without her father. “We try to live the tradition and celebrate at the Jewish school.” But without her father there will probably only be one dinner at home this year. “That’s a shame.”
Translating documents, appointments at the bank or at offices
For Veronika, the key was language. »You have to overcome fear. Reading books and watching TV, you learn by listening. And you have to find German friends, then things will go faster,” she advises other newcomers. She now helps her mother and brother learn German. And older refugees when translating documents, making appointments at the bank or at offices. “The older generation doesn’t learn as quickly.”
Dina, on the other hand, was alone in Israel last year and celebrated Rosh Hashanah with Chabad. She now also helps her younger siblings with learning and is happy to give them a tip: »ChatGPT! Artificial intelligence is a great translator,” she laughs. “But seriously: the language is the most important thing.”
