In December 1980, Rabbi Shlomo Lewin and his partner Frida Poeschke were murdered in their home in Ebrardstraße by a member of the far-right Wehrsportgruppe Hoffmann. An anti-Semitic motive was initially not recognized. No one was convicted for this first anti-Semitically motivated murder of the post-war period in Germany. The crime has still not been fully investigated. The crime and the way it was handled were a sad climax in the succession of anti-Semitic crimes and hostilities in Germany after 1945, which also occurred again in Erlangen soon after the end of the war.
Lewin's death brought one of his most important concerns, the establishment of a Jewish community in Erlangen, to a standstill for years. This topic and how the city's society dealt with it is also being addressed as part of the "How are you?" campaign.
The comic project aims to set an example against anti-Semitism and xenophobia, express compassion and contribute to dialog in short, online stories. Jewish life and culture as well as experiences of exclusion and anti-Semitism are also themes in the exhibition "The Rabbi's Cat. Joann Sfar - Drawing and Life", in which a separate section is dedicated to anti-Semitic incidents in Germany, Franconia and Erlangen.
Graphic: Rally in memory of Lewin and Poeschke in December 2023. Scene from Michael Jordan's comic "Daniel" from the project "How are you?" (City Archive)