Kölsche Kippa Köpp: Carnival in the shadow of war

Colorfully costumed Carnival-goers mingle at a traditional brewery on the banks of the Rhine river in the city of Cologne in western Germany.

Kölsch beer — the city's native brew — is flowing freely. "Echte Fründe ston zesamme" (or "Real friends stand together") blares from the loudspeakers.

The popular carnival hit by Cologne band, Höhner, dates back to the 1980s. But it couldn't be more fitting, especially here at the Kölsche Kippa Köpp carnival party. (Editor's note: The name in Cologne dialect translates to "Cologne natives wearing the Jewish head covering, the kippah"). 

"Some of us feel more like celebrating, others less," Kippa Köpp spokesperson Lorenz Beckhardt told DW. "We have decided not to cancel our few carnival events because we don't want to help the terror to win even more."

Terror won't dim 'our zest for life'

Despite the Hamas attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, in which at least 1,139 Israelis and foreigners were killed and hundreds taken hostage, Lorenz Beckhardt wants to uphold the tradition.

"We will not allow terror to take control of our zest for life," says the spokesman for the Jewish carnival association. Hamas is classified as a terrorist organization by Israel, Germany, the European Union, the USA and some Arab states.

However, it wasn't just this zeal for life and celebration that led to the founding of the "Kölsche Kippa Köpp" in 2017.

"We wanted to build on the long history of the Jewish carnival tradition in Cologne," association president Aaron Knappstein told DW.

As early as the 19th century, carnival was a natural part of life for many Cologne Jews. Their "Kleiner Kölner Klub" (or Small Cologne Club), founded in 1922, was firmly anchored in the life of the city. 

The Jewish carnival club organized large-scale carnival sessions, filling entire halls.

Nazis put an end to Jewish carnival life

But everything changed when the National Socialists came to power. The association was banned: It was no longer about the carnival, but about survival.

"Many members, including stage performers, had to flee from the Nazis, others were deported and murdered," explains Aaron Knappstein.

However, the impetus for the new foundation in 2017 did not come from the Jewish community.

Instead, it was Christoph Kuckelkorn, the president of the festival committee that holds Cologne's carnival clubs together, who publicly stated: "A Jewish carnival club is our missing piece of the mosaic!"

The "Kölsche Kippa Köpp" now has more than 150 members. "We celebrate carnival, just as Jews in Cologne have always been active in carnival — before and after the Shoah," says club secretary Volker Scholz-Goldenberg. "We celebrate the same carnival as everyone else."

Meanwhile, in the Stapelhaus, a brewery in Cologne's old town, popular songs are on high  rotation.

Clowns and other birds of paradise link their arms. People sway on benches and at bar tables. Others dance. Many of the revellers wear blue and white striped shirts, vests and pointed jester's hats.

Neo-Nazi meeting worries Jews

However, the fact that antisemitism is on the rise in Germany means the mood is threatening to shift.

According to the Federal Government Commissioner for Antisemitism, around 2,250 antisemitic crimes have been registered since October 7, 2023.

"The special thing about this year is that we are experiencing major political upheavals in the middle of the session," says Kippa-Köpp spokesperson Lothar Beckhardt, referring not just to the Hamas attack on October 7 but also to revelations of the Correctiv research network about a secret meeting of right-wing extremists in Potsdam.

The meeting discussed the deportation of people with German citizenship from Germany.

Since then, hundreds of thousands have been demonstrating for democracy and against the AfD party.

"This strong movement is hugely important for us Jews," says Beckhardt. History has shown that Jews have always been able to live best where there was an open, tolerant and liberal democracy, she added. "And that's why it's vital for us that it stays that way."

The Kölsche Kippa Köpp festival is not supposed to be a political event.

And yet the war in the Middle East is in the air.

A speaker shouts from the stage: "We won't let them ruin our lives!" This is greeted by defiant applause and clinking glasses. A carnival singer joins in: "Exactly, that's all we need!" Another says: "Right now you have to celebrate to forget the — sorry — all the 'driss' (Editor's note: Cologne dialect for 'crap')!"

This article was originally written in German.