Leo Baeck Institute

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The Leo Baeck Institute (LBI) is an independent research and documentation facility for the history and culture of German-speaking Judaism with three sub-institutes in Jerusalem, London and New York (with a branch in Berlin) as well as the working group of the Leo Baeck Institute (WAG) and the friends and supporters of the Leo Baeck Institute (FuF) . Founded in 1955, the LBI aims to scientifically research German-Jewish history and culture and to preserve its heritage. The LBI is thus consciously in the tradition of the science of Judaism . It is named after the rabbi, former president of the Reich Association of Jews in Germany and Holocaust survivor Leo Baeck .

Logo of the LBI International

precursor

As early as the 1940s, German-Jewish emigrants made attempts to transfer Jewish institutions such as the University for the Science of Judaism based on the Warburg Library model from the German Reich and thereby continue to make them accessible for research. With the end of the Second World War and the horrific awareness of the Shoah, these efforts took on a new dimension. After the Shoah, so the basic assumption, German-Jewish history was irrevocably over. Considerations about the preservation of knowledge like the science of Judaism from then on had a double function: research and memorialization of a completed German-Jewish history.

Leo Baeck Library / Memorial Library (Eugen Täubler)

The program, as it was later realized by the Leo Baeck Institute , had theoretical masterminds, such as the German-Jewish ancient historian Eugen Täubler , who emigrated to the USA in 1941.

Leo Baeck Library

Before the end of the war in January 1945, Eugen Täubler formulated plans for a German-Jewish research institute with an adjoining library, for which he had planned to be divided into three locations: Frankfurt a. M., Cambridge and Jerusalem. After the end of the war, such an institute had become unthinkable on German soil. Sufficient funding for the Leo Baeck Library could not be realized. Leo Baeck himself, to whom the institution should be dedicated as a friend of Täubler and an important symbolic figure, supported the idea of ​​founding a research institute on German-Jewish history. However, he saw this form of institutional succession with the college in the Society for Jewish Studies (SJS) , which had been established in London in 1947.

Memorial Library

The Memorial Library project as a place of remembrance in New York was to be generated from Jewish cultural assets that had become heirless and distributed to Jewish institutions by the Jewish Cultural Reconstruction Corporation (JCR) and its subunit, the Jewish Restitution Successor Organization (JRSO) . However, the JCR did not provide holdings for such a memorial library. Attempts to affiliate the Memorial Library with a university ( Harvard , Columbia and, most recently, in 1949 at the Jewish Institute for Religion [JIR] in New York) and thus achieve a connection between memorialization and research did nothing to change this.

Historical work "History of the Jews in Germany" (Adolf Kober; Eugen Täubler)

While Täubler was still hoping for the Memorial Library to be realized at JIR , the idea of ​​a comprehensive historical work on the history of Jews in Germany was suggested. The initiator for this was Adolf Kober , chairman of the historical commission of the JCR . At that time, Kober had worked at the Jewish Lexicon together with the rabbi and religious philosopher Max Wiener , whom he was now able to win again as a comrade-in- arms. In the exposé, Wiener formulated the motivation for the historical work:

“The Germans destroyed Judaism in Germany and most of Europe. What remains indestructible are the Jewish achievements themselves, and their significance for the world in all future. "

- Adolf Kober : Exposé on Vienna

As contemporary witnesses, Kober and Wiener saw it as their task to keep memories alive. After the funding for the project remained uncertain, Eugen Täubler hoped for funding from the Federal Republic of Germany as “spiritual compensation” as part of the 1952 Luxembourg Agreement between Israel and Germany. Three levels should be considered in the historical work:

  • Tension between ideology and reality (with the beginning of the diaspora)
  • Meaning of Jewish existence
  • Europeanization of Judaism

To ensure sufficient funding, the ancient historian Täubler also devised a Leo Baeck-MaxWarburg-Foundation , which could not be established despite complex planning. Eugen Täubler died on August 13, 1953. The historian Ruth Nattermann honors him as a pioneer and pioneer for the Leo Baeck Institute, founded two years later, with his "conception of a place for historical research and remembrance".

Foundation phase

The activities of Eugen Täubler and other fellow campaigners such as Herbert A. Strauss and Max Gruenewald took place in organizations such as the AMFED (American Federation of Jews from Central Europe) , but also increasingly in the Council of Jews from Germany beyond the USA with its sections in France , Israel and England in the early 1950s resonated. The impulses emanating from America have been intensively absorbed by the English and Israeli sections since 1951 at the latest.

Activities of the Israel Section

Literary memorial

In September 1951, a section of important personalities was set up within the Israeli Council of Jews from Germany , who were supposed to represent the interests of the former German Jews vis-à-vis the Jewish world organizations: starting from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem , these were professors such as Martin Buber , Schmuel Hugo Bergman and Gershom Scholem . Siegfried Moses (1887–1974) chaired the Israel section of the council . He also spoke of wanting to realize "[...] literary [.] And historical [.] Works [.] That should describe, analyze and appreciate the life and achievements of Jews in Germany". Like Täubler's idea of ​​a "historical work of the German Jews", a "literary memorial work" was to be created within the Israel section under the guidance of Ernst Simon (philosopher) and Bruno Kirschner .

Leo Baeck Institute of Jews from Germany

Täubler's suggestion to found a research institute also found a correspondence within the Israel section: an institute for the history and sociology of German Jewry or, with a different suggested name, an institute for sociology, cultural and economic history of German Jewry , were created by Ernst Simon and Bruno Kirschner brought into the discussion. In this project sketch of November 7, 1953, Leo Baeck had already planned to head the planned institute, thus creating the "basis for the development of the LBI". Only a few days later, the documents mentioned a Leo Baeck Institute of Jews from Germany .

Formation of the work program: naming, goals, content

Naming "Leo Baeck"

Leo Baeck as a symbol for a past Jewish life in Germany and for the continued life of former German Jews in emigration had already been considered by Eugen Täubler. He had worked at the university until he became President of the merged associations in the Reich Representation of German Jews from 1933 . He survived Theresienstadt and, on his return to his adopted home in London, was committed to preserving the German-Jewish heritage. He died 18 months after the founding of the LBI in November 1956. For the majority of the Council members, Leo Baeck was perceived as a high-profile "icon" (Herbert A. Strauss) and a "symbol for the best that we are tasked to administer as a spiritual legacy "The historicization of German Jewry could be identified by the naming in its double function: as an object of scientific research and identification. The addition "Institute of Jews from Germany" emphasized the new beginning in emigration, for which Baeck was also perceived as a symbol:

"Dr. Baeck writes to me that he was deeply moved by our wish that his name should be associated with this institute. "

- Siegfried Moses : Letter to Reichmann

Goals of the LBI

"The Council has set up a" Leo Baeck Institute of Jews from Germany ", the task of which is to keep alive, revive and deepen the memory of German Judaism and other parts of Central European Judaism through (a) scientific research, cultural-historical and sociological nature (b) publications on the results of scientific research (c) publications which are aimed at wider circles of the public with the aim of conveying a picture of the achievements and legacy of Central European Jewry. "

- Siegfried Moses : Council proposal 1953

The common goal of the LBI founders was to "keep alive, revitalize and deepen" the memory of German and Central European Judaism through critical research and historiography. In the tradition of the science of Judaism , this form of memory was the appropriate memorial. From the beginning of the planning in 1953, the “cooperation and division of labor with other institutions that pursue similar purposes” was meant - probably the Vienna Library located in London and the Yad Vashem founded on August 19, 1953 by decision of the Knesset . They were aware of their role as "living sources". Despite different ideological positions on the course of German-Jewish history by former representatives of the Central Association of German Citizens of Jewish Faith and Zionists, the common goal was united. Max Gruenewald spoke of the LBI as a "collective memory writer", a community that was aware of its own location and felt obliged to do so. What unified the LBI founders was obviously the German language as their mother tongue, which was spoken in Germany, Austria and Czechoslovakia, from now on also in places of emigration, especially in Israel, Great Britain and the USA. Another connection was the awareness of having lived in a time when the impulses of German Jewry had brought about a modernization of all Jewry. The question of whether a supposedly German-Jewish “symbiosis” had been the driving force behind remained controversial.

Contents of the LBI

The LBI was based on various designs until it was realized in 1955. The institute's program, printed in the first publication, the Leo Baeck Institute Year Book 1956, provides detailed information on the research areas. It should encompass the German-Jewish history of the emancipation period in interrelation with general history. Five priorities were provisionally established:

  1. Inner-Jewish development in Germany (since emancipation)
  2. Cultural symbiosis (since emancipation)
  3. The catastrophe
  4. Influence of German Jewry on World Jewry
  5. New centers for Jews who emigrated from Germany (excluding Israel)

The research period was to end in 1933, since the National Socialist era was too traumatic a topic and therefore no scientifically distant perspective would have been possible. Unpublished source material should be collected, preserved and researched. Scientific publications that had to be broken off due to emigration should be continued and new publications such as the Year Book should be initiated.

Obstacles on the way to establishment

The mentioned four drafts for the Leo Baeck Institute give an indication of the various processing phases that went along with the planning. In addition, there was the always uncertain question of financing, which made cooperation with higher-level bodies necessary. While the JRSO had been trying since 1948 to administer the Jewish cultural property from the American zone of occupation, which had in part become heirless, and to distribute it to Jewish institutions mainly in Israel and the USA, the Claims Conference had acted for centers of emigration outside Israel since 1951 . Ruth Nattermann rightly sums up that "[the] as LBI [.] Became the yardstick for the position that was granted to the Jews from Germany in the Jewish world of the post-war era." The numerous obstacles that the Council faced for the realization of the LBI, show the controversial attitude that was expressed within the Jewish communities towards the idea of ​​an institute for the preservation of the German-Jewish heritage.

Foundation of the LBI in 1955

The institute was founded on May 25, 1955 by representatives of the Council in Jerusalem. The symbolic founding meeting was chaired by Siegfried Moses and the content was based on the aforementioned draft from September 1954. According to this project outline, the Leo Baeck Institute was divided into three locations: London, Jerusalem and New York. A central international body was superordinate to the institutes, although a largely decentralized organization had prevailed since 1959. The decentralized structure mainly had an impact on specially developed research programs. Large tasks were later carried out jointly, such as the publication of the multi-volume German-Jewish history in modern times or the positioning of the LBI in dealing with the Federal Republic of Germany as well as decisions about institutional cooperation. New York and London were initially subject to Jerusalem when choosing the main location:

“The center of the institute should be Jerusalem. This is also advisable because there is a particularly large number of prominent Jewish scientists in Israel, e. B. Martin Buber, Ernst Simon, G. Scholem, Dr. Wormann and Kurt Blumenfeld. Work centers are also to be set up in London and New York. In addition to the general secretariat in Jerusalem, secretariats are to be created in London and New York. President is Dr. Baeck. "

- Executive meeting of the Council, March 23, 1955 : NL Lowenthal

The institute's structure should be determined by two sections: the Board for Research and Publication and the Administrative Board . Both sides were supported by the advisory committee made up of scientists from the institutes in London, Jerusalem and New York ( Advisory Committee ).

At the founding meeting in Jerusalem, Martin Buber was seen as a symbol of the unifying common memory and the conviction that the formerly German-Jewish spirit could continue to work in Palestine. His presence was all the more important as Leo Baeck had to stay away from the 1955 meeting for health reasons.

President of LBI International Term of office
Michael Brenner since 2013
Michael A. Meyer 1991-2013
Max Grunewald 1974-1991
Siegfried Moses 1956-1974
Leo Baeck 1955-1956

Activities of the individual Leo Baeck Institutes

The unifying goal of the masterminds and founders of the LBI seemed to have been achieved with the establishment of the institute. The choice of Jerusalem as the provisional center of the institutes, influenced by the large number of personalities resident there such as Buber, Scholem, Moses and Simon, as well as, last but not least, the institutional basis of the Hebrew University , was initially supported by a majority of the members, but this increased by 1959 Separation tendencies. The non-Zionist voices became loud and criticized the work program organized centrally by the LBI Jerusalem . Max Kreutzberger in New York in particular had his own ambitions and in 1958 submitted an application for legal independence to the LBI New York . The New York Institute's distance from London also grew in the struggle for the distribution of funds and goods on the part of the Claims Conference and JRSO , which Kreutzberger often managed to secure to the detriment of London. In 1959 a decentralized program organization was introduced and the LBI Jerusalem abolished as the spiritual center. The LBI London registered as an independent charity four years after New York in 1963. In 1966, Adler-Rudel was still unsure and concerned about the splitting of the LBI and the possible consequences for the effectiveness of the Leo Baeck Institute .

Jerusalem

The LBI Jerusalem was initially a “memorial community” (Guy Miron) of German Jews in Israel. It has transformed into an Israeli research institute with a new generation of scientists since the 1970s / 1980s, and has been registered as an independent not-for-profit organization in Israel since 1992. In order to find a connection to the research in the universities and to reach the Israeli public, the institute set itself the task of promoting primarily Hebrew research on German-Jewish history. At the latest with the election of Robert Liberles as president, Hebrew became the institute's primary language of publication and working. Today the LBI Jerusalem organizes annual international conferences and workshops in cooperation with numerous universities and research institutions in Israel and Europe. The institute supports young scientists by organizing international doctoral and postdoctoral seminars and by awarding scholarships. The LBI Jerusalem is also a cultural institution aimed at a wider Israeli public with its diverse program. In the context of book presentations, guest lectures, lecture series and roundtables, the LBI Jerusalem also offers a platform for dealing with the experiences and values ​​of German liberal Judaism against the background of pressing issues in today's Israeli society. The LBI Jerusalem houses an archive of around 1,500 collections on German-Jewish history, some of which can be researched via the catalog of the Center for Jewish History in New York. With the publication of letters from Hugo Bergman, Gershom Scholem, Ernst Simons and Arthur Ruppin or the source study by Monika Richarz on the testimonies of German Jews 1780-1945, the LBI Jerusalem made documents from LBI founding fathers and leading Zionists from Germany accessible for research. In addition to the publication of the Bulletin and the Jewish Almanac , numerous publications by the LBI Jerusalem go back to international conferences. With its Hebrew series Bridges and the peer-reviewed magazine Innovations , the LBI Jerusalem has established Hebrew publication formats for publications on German-Jewish history in Israel.

London

During the founding phase of the LBI, the project received important impulses from one of the most famous journalists of the 20th century, Robert Weltsch , who was director of the Leo Baeck Institute London v. a. advanced the process of scientification in the 1960s. The institute concentrates its activities on scientific projects that open up research fields from the Enlightenment to the present day and publications such as the Year Book , the series of scientific papers published in German by the Leo Baeck Institute since 1959 or the German Jewish Cultures series, which has been published in English since 2017 . Annual lecture series, colloquia and conferences as well as networking with university teaching and research grants for young scientists form a characteristic focus of the London institute. The LBI London has been committed with academic, political and cultural organizations in the UK, Germany, Austria and Switzerland. While the German Historical Institute in London is an important partner in England , the London Institute has been running an international scholarship program for doctoral students, the Leo Baeck Fellowship Program , in cooperation with the German National Academic Foundation since 2005 . The dovetailing of research and teaching has become even closer with the move of the institute to the campus of Queen Mary, University of London and the establishment of German-Jewish and European-Jewish history and culture as a field of study and research at this university.

new York

Under its first directors Max Kreutzberger and Fred Grubel, the LBI New York experienced a phase of stabilization and growth. This made it possible to build up a comprehensive inventory for the library and archive and to make it accessible to the public in a representative building. In the first decades, the LBI New York was ideally oriented towards Germany as an actor in a policy of reconciliation with Germany and a contact point for state representatives from the Federal Republic of Germany. The establishment of a branch in Berlin in the complex of the Jewish Museum Berlin in 2001 underscores the effort and necessity to root the German-Jewish heritage in the scientific landscape of the Federal Republic. In order to guarantee continued interest in American research and thus in funding, it was incorporated into the Center for Jewish History in 2000, thus bundling various aspects of research on Jewish history and culture in New York. The LBI New York has become a hub for emerging research and scientific encounters. The holdings in the archive, the library and the art collections of the Leo Baeck Institute now include over 10,000 archival items, more than 2,000 memoirs, 25,000 photographs, over 60,000 books and 1,600 newspapers and magazines, an important art collection and other collections in the archive branch in the Jewish Museum Berlin can be viewed via microfilms. With more than 3.5 million pages, the main part of the Leo Baeck Institute's collections has now been digitized and is now accessible via DigiBaeck .

Friends and supporters of the Leo Baeck Institute

On the initiative of the LBI Jerusalem , the Society of Friends of the Leo Baeck Institute was founded in 1957 . The need for a support group is explained by the institute's initial difficulties in being perceived by the Israeli public. The members of the Society of Friends were primarily acquired from the former Zionist student organization Cartel of Jewish Connections . They were mainly active from Tel Aviv and by the end of the year they were founded had already 140 members under the chairman Franz Meyer. The German-language quarterly bulletin for the members of the Society of Friends of the Leo Baeck Institute was published by the support group under the direction of Hans Tramer . Initially founded mainly from a financial point of view, the support group, today the association of friends and supporters of the Leo Baeck Institute in Frankfurt a. M., with a considerable number of members, an important mediating body for improved cooperation with German universities and scientific institutions. This function was reinforced by a board of trustees established in 1982 of renowned personalities from science and federal administration, which had preceded the considerations for a branch of the Leo Baeck Institute on German soil in the implementation. The association also initiated the commission for the dissemination of German-Jewish history and publishes the LBI Information every two years with an overview of the various activities of all LBIs .

Scientific working group of the Leo Baeck Institute (WAG)

The Scientific Working Group of the Leo Baeck Institute of the Federal Republic of Germany (WAG) was founded in 1989 on the initiative of the LBI London and some German colleagues to support the study of the history and culture of German Jewry and the networking of especially younger scientists . The first chairman until 1999 was Reinhard Rürup , who tried to create an integrated story and tried to overcome concepts of an "internal" Jewish and "external" German perspective. Until the late 1990s, university studies of German-Jewish history beyond the Holocaust remained the exception. The WAG addressed this deficiency and, in addition to the Jewish emancipation period, focused on the events before 1933 and later also after the Second World War. After German reunification in 1990, the WAG and the Historical Commission in Berlin were involved in a major project on "Sources on the history of Jews in the archives of the new federal states" and then in the collection of such material in formerly German archives in Poland. One focus is on imparting knowledge to a wide audience in cooperation with historical-political institutions as well as the special promotion of young academics in the context of doctoral and post-doctoral colloquia, specialist conferences and seminars. The approach of integrated history was continued after Reinhard Rürup by the subsequent chairman Michael Brenner (1999–2009) and since 2009 Stefanie Schüler-Springorum . In 2020 Miriam Rürup took over the chairmanship of the WAG.

Publications

In addition to the regularly published publications such as the Year Book , Bulletin , Jüdischer Almanach and Schriftenreihe , LBI International has initiated the publication of large-scale basic works on German-Jewish history and culture.

Leo Baeck Institute Year Book (since 1956)

In the first drafts of the LBI, a quarterly issue was planned, which should be in the tradition of the monthly for the history and science of Judaism in Germany . Concerns about the feasibility of frequent publication for the early days prompted the Year Book . The language in which this should be written was initially heatedly debated. Jacob Jacobson advocated publication in the German language, primarily to address the formerly German Jews as recipients. Martin Buber favored Hebrew in order to bring the "new" generation closer to the former cultural area of ​​German Jews. Robert Weltsch and, last but not least, the Claims Conference insisted on a publication in English in order to be able to reach the readership internationally. That decision guaranteed the Year Book's success and continues to do so to this day. With an initial print run of 2,000 per year, the 1956 Year Book was a surprise success for the publisher. It quickly became the leading international publication for the research field of the history and culture of German-speaking Jews. The Year Book is published by the Leo Baeck Institute London.

LBI Year Book Publishers LBI Year Book Editor
Vols. 1 (1956) - 16 (1971), London: East and West Library Robert Weltsch (1956–1978)
Vols. 17 (1972) - 45 (1999), London: Secker & Warburg Arnold Paucker (1970–1992)
Vols. 46 (2000) - 53 (2009), New York: Berghahn Books John AS Grenville (1993-2010)
Vols. 54 (2009-), Oxford: Oxford University Press Raphael Gross (2003-2015)
Cathy S. Gelbin (2010–)
Daniel Wildmann (2016–)
David Rechter (2016–)

Bulletin (1957–1969 and 1974–1991)

The quarterly Bulletin for the members of the Society of Friends of the Leo Baeck Institute was published by the LBI Jerusalem , on whose initiative the Society of Friends was founded. It was published as an information sheet that addressed a broader public, provided information about the activities of the three Leo Baeck Institutes and published abridged articles from the LBI Year Book in German. The fact that the bulletin was published in German despite the language dispute was due to the proven difficulties of German-speaking Jews in receiving the English specialist articles in the Year Book . By 1969 the bulletin appeared as a quarterly publication with a total of 48 numbers. In 1974 it appeared again as an annual issue, still edited by Hans Tramer. By the end of the 1970s, almost all of the founding fathers of the LBI Jerusalem had died; a brief obituary notice for Hans Tramer in 1979 marks a symbolic end. With the editors Joseph Walk, later Sarah Fraiman, Jacov Guggenheim and Itta Shedletzky, a new generation of historians entered the series of publications - from then on the Bulletin appeared three times a year until it was discontinued in 1991.

Bulletin publishers Bulletin editor
No. 1-57, Tel Aviv: Bitäon Verlag Hans Tramer (No. 1–53 / 54)
No. 58-84, Frankfurt a. M .: Jewish publishing house / Athenaeum Joseph Walk (No. 61-90)
No. 85-90, Frankfurt a. M .: Anton Hain Verlag Daniel Cil Brecher (No. 61-75)
Eve Strauss (No. 76-90)
Sarah Kaiman (No. 76-90)
Itta Shedltzky (No. 76-90)
Jacov Guggenheim (No. 84–90)

Jewish Almanac (since 1993)

Since 1993 the Leo Baeck Institute Jerusalem has published the Jewish Almanach in the Jüdischen Verlag / Suhrkamp Verlag. With this publication, the institute followed up on the Almanac published by Martin Buber in 1902. At the beginning of the 19th century, Buber wanted to create a forum in the spirit of the Jewish Renaissance with the almanac, which appeared only once. The Almanac, which was conceived in Israel in 1993, has a completely different orientation - it is aimed at a German-speaking audience and brings together contributions on the German-Jewish past, Judaism and today's Israel in German and brings together texts by historians, writers and journalists The first editor of the Almanac was the Jerusalem Germanist Jacob Hessing, and since 2001 the journalist Gisela Dachs has taken on this task.

Jewish Almanac Publishers Jewish Almanac Editor
Frankfurt a. M .: Jewish publishing house in Suhrkamp Verlag Jakob Hessing (1993-1999)
Alfred Bodenheimer (1999)
Anne Birkenhauer (2000)
Gisela Dachs (since 2001)

Series of scientific papers by the Leo Baeck Institute (since 1959)

The series of publications is another central publication organ on the history and culture of German-speaking Jews in Europe. Written in German, it has been published since 1959 and, with numerous monographs and anthologies, covers a wide range of topics and times: It covers the period from the Enlightenment to modern times, but like the Year Book, focuses on the 19th and 20th centuries 20th century. In it, disciplines ranging from history, German studies, musicology, political science to sociology are taken up and viewed from the perspective of intellectual history, cultural history, gender studies , physical history or the history of science. The series is published by the Leo Baeck Institute London.

German-Jewish History in Modern Times (1996-2003)

The German-Jewish history in modern times has earned the reputation of a standard work. The four volumes, also available in paperback, are also available in English and Hebrew translations. The work begins at the beginning of the 17th century, shows the path to emancipation and acculturation, which never leads to complete integration into German society, and ends with the exclusion of Jews and their systematic murder under the Nazi regime. But: "Despite the overwhelming reality of the Holocaust, which tragically ended the story told here," it is not designed with him in mind. German-Jewish history appears here as "part of the history of the Jewish people like that of the Germans" (MA Meyer), a story in which, in the end, all hopes of the Jews are dashed, their extraordinary contribution to German culture is denied.

History of everyday Jewish life. From the 17th century to 1945 (2003)

From the perspective of a “story from below”, this fundamental book gives an insight into the world and everyday life of Jews from the 17th century to the end of the Second World War. The complex social relationships between Jews and their non-Jewish environment are of central importance. Urban and rural everyday conditions, forms of community life of the Jewish minority, religious practice, but also "internal structures" of families and the adaptation of the educated middle-class habitus are considered in a multi-layered manner. For the first time, this pioneering presentation focuses on the individual experiences, hopes and fears of the “little people”. A variety of Jewish worlds is revealed to the reader, which corrects common - also historiographical - stereotypes and is able to not reduce the changeful history of the Jews in Germany over the centuries to a mere history of anti-Semitism.

History of the Jews in Germany from 1945 to the present (2012)

For the first time, this volume describes, on the basis of extensive archive research, how Jewish life unfolded in Germany over six decades after the Holocaust, what role it played for German society in West and East and how in reunified Germany through immigration from the former Soviet Union the am fastest growing Jewish community in the world. After the Holocaust, Germany was seen by most Jews as a “blood-soaked earth” on which Jewish life seemed impossible. Nevertheless, in the first post-war years, occupied Germany was a transit station for Jewish survivors from Eastern Europe. A small number of them stayed and rebuilt Jewish communities together with surviving German Jews who had returned from exile. Internationally renowned contemporary historians describe the development of the congregations, the policy of the Central Council and its chairmen, the “reparation” and the way in which old and new anti-Semitism are dealt with. The book is likely to become the standard work on Jewish life in Germany since 1945 and is also available in English translation.

Bridges. Studies in the History of German and Central European Jewry

Since 2010 the Leo Baeck Institute Jerusalem has published the Hebrew series Bridges in the Jerusalem publishing house Zalman Shazar. In the series of publications, monographs by young scholars and translations of relevant standard works of German-Jewish historiography are published (e.g. Marion A. Kaplan's The Making of the Jewish Middle Class: Women, and Identity in Imperial Germany .)

Innovations. Studies in the History of German and Central European Jewry

The initially loose series of individually published articles is now an annual journal in which Hebrew articles are published mainly by younger researchers.

German Jewish Cultures

This book series is edited by alumni of the Leo Baeck Fellowship Program and supported by the Leo Baeck Institute London. The series is designed as a forum for innovative research at the intersections of Jewish and German history, from the Middle Ages to the modern age, and is addressed to an English-speaking audience. The series responds to the increasing interdisciplinarity and diversity of Jewish studies as a discipline and welcomes contributions with a broad methodological focus. It is published by Indiana University Press.

Secondary literature

  • Cathy S. Gelbin, David Rechter and Daniel Wildmann: Leo Baeck Institute Year Book . London 1956-1999 and New York 2000 ff., ISSN 0075-8744.
  • Herbert A. Strauss : The Leo Baeck Institute and Research into German-Jewish History. In: History and Society . Volume 9. 1983, pp. 471-478.
  • Fred Grubel (Ed.): Leo Baeck Institute New York. Catalog of the Archival Collections . Mohr, Tübingen 1990, ISBN 3-16-145597-5 (= series of scientific treatises of the Leo Baeck Institute , Volume 47).
  • German-Jewish history in modern times . Edited by Michael A. Meyer on behalf of the Leo Baeck Institute with the assistance of Michael Brenner. 4 volumes. Munich 1996–1997, ISBN 3-406-39705-0 . (Volume 1: Mordechai Breuer, Michael Graetz: Tradition and Enlightenment 1600–1780 . ISBN 3-406-39702-6 ; Volume 2: Michael Brenner, Stefi Jersch-Wenzel, Michael A. Meyer: Emancipation and Acculturation 1780–1871 . ISBN 3-406-39703-4 ; Volume 3: Steven M. Lowenstein, Paul Mendes-Flohr, Peter Pulzer, Monika Richarz: Controversial Integration 1871-1918 . ISBN 3-406-39704-2 ; Volume 4: Avraham Barkai, Paul R . Mendes-Flohr: Aufbruch und Destruction 1918–1945 . ISBN 3-406-39706-9 .)
  • Ruth Nattermann: German-Jewish historiography after the Shoah. The founding and early history of the Leo Baeck Institute . Essen 2004, ISBN 3-89861-331-3 .
  • Christhard Hoffmann (Ed.): Preserving the Legacy of German Jewry. A History of the Leo Baeck Institute 1955-2005 . Mohr, Tübingen 2005, ISBN 3-16-148591-2 (= series of scientific papers by the Leo Baeck Institute , volume 70).
  • Guy Miron: From Memorial Community to Research Center. The Leo Baeck Institute Jerusalem. Jerusalem 2005 (Hebrew).

Related Links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ http://wag-leobaeck.de/
  2. ↑ Ruth Nattermann (ed.): German-Jewish historiography after the Shoah: the founding and early history of the Leo Baeck Institute. Essen 2004.
  3. ↑ See 2.2.1 naming "Leo Baeck" in the same article
  4. ↑ See Elizabeth Dallas: The Mortuary of Books. Cultural resitution and Jewish historical thinking after 1945. Göttingen / Bristol 2013.
  5. ^ Wiener-Exposé, annex to Kober's letter to Muller, July 15, 1949, GruenewaldCOLL, LBINY, Box 4, Folder 5.
  6. ^ For details on the Leo Baeck-Max Warburg-Foundation: Ruth Nattermann, 2004, pp. 102-103.
  7. ↑ Ruth Nattermann, 2004, p. 103.
  8. ↑ Ruth Nattermann (ed.): German-Jewish historiography after the Shoah: the founding and early history of the Leo Baeck Institute. Essen 2004.
  9. ^ Siegfried Moses at the constituent meeting of the Israel Section of the Council, September 3, 1951, CouncilCOLL, LBINY, Folder 39.
  10. ↑ Simon to Moses, November 7, 1953, Moses-Papers, CZA, A 376/307.
  11. ↑ Ruth Nattermann, 2004, p. 111.
  12. ^ "Draft for the application of the Council of Jews from Germany to the Claims Conference for the financing of cultural projects", Annex to the letter from Moses to Reichmann and Muller, November 13, 1953, AMFED-COLL, ZfA archive, Box 17, Folder 18 .
  13. ^ Ernst Simon to Rabbi F Winter, September 22, 1958, LBILLondonColl, LBINY, Box 8.
  14. ↑ For more information on naming, cf. Ruth Nattermann, 2004, pp. 113–115.
  15. ^ Moses to Reichmann, November 29, 1953, CouncilCOLL, LBINY, Folder 41.
  16. ^ "Council application" 1953, in: "Draft for the application of the Council of Jews from Germany to the Claims Conference for the funding of cultural projects", Annex to the letter from Moses to Reichmann and Muller, November 13, 1953, AMFED-COLL, ZfA archive, Box 17, Folder 18.
  17. ^ "Council application" 1953, ibid.
  18. ^ Council proposal 1953.
  19. ↑ Reichmann at Liebschütz 06.12.1957, zn Ruth Nattermann, 2004, p 238th
  20. ↑ Max Gruenewald, zn Ruth Nattermann, 2004, p. 244.
  21. ↑ In the sense of Maurice Halbwachs, what remains of the past is "what society can reconstruct in each epoch with its respective frame of reference." Maurice Halbwachs, Memory and Social Conditions, Berlin / Neuwied 1966, p. 390.
  22. ^ First "Draft for the application of the Council of Jews from Germany to the Claims Conference for funding of cultural projects" ("Council application 1953"), annex to the letter from Siegfried Moses to Hans Reichmann and Herman Muller, November 13, 1953, AMFEDCOLL , ZfA Archive, Box 17, Folder 18; second, "Basic lines for work and research areas of the Leo Baeck Institute" COUNCILCOLL, LBINY, Folder 41 and attachment of the letter from Moses to Muller of March 2, 1954, Martin Buber Archive, JNUL, a: 13; Thirdly, annex to Walter Breslauer's letter to the Claims Conference, September 10, 1954, AMFEDCOLL, ZfA archive, box 13, folder 28 or Ernst Simon's exposé "Additional proposals for detailing the work plan for the Leo Baeck Institute" of August 18, 1954 , LBILLondonCOLL, LBINY, Box 7, Folder 11; fourth, final LBI draft, printed in YB I (1956), AMFEDCOLL, ZfA archive, box 14, folder 16 and COUNCILCOLL, LBINY, folder 41.
  23. ↑ Ruth Nattermann, 2004, p. 127.
  24. ^ Joseph Walk, The Foundation of the Leo Baeck Institute 40 Years Ago, LBI Informations 5/6 (1995), pp. 16-21.
  25. ↑ LBI draft, printed in YB I (1956), AMFEDCOLL, ZfA archive, box 14, folder 16 or COUNCILCOLL, LBINY, folder 41.
  26. ↑ Michael A. Meyer (ed. With the participation of Michael Brenner): German-Jewish history in the modern times, 4th vol., Munich 1996-2003.
  27. ↑ The decision to choose Jerusalem as the center was not without controversy. Critics saw the research situation as difficult or feared a more Jewish than German contextualized selection of topics.
  28. ^ Meeting of the executive branch of the council, March 23, 1955, NL Lowenthal, Staatsbibliothek Berlin - Preußischer Kulturbesitz, B2 / 271.
  29. ↑ Guy Miron: From Memorial Community to Research Center: The Leo Baeck Institute Jerusalem. In: Christard Hoffmann (Ed.): Preserving the Legacy of German Jewry. A History of the Leo Baeck Institute, 1955-2005. Tübingen 2005, pp. 101-134.
  30. ↑ http: //www.leobaeck.orgarchive/? Lang = en  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.@1@ 2Template: Dead Link / www.leobaeck.orgarchive  
  31. ↑ Schmuel Hugo Bergman: Diaries and Letters, 2 Bde., Königstein / Ts. 1985.
  32. ^ Betty Scholem & Gershom Scholem: Mother and Son in Correspondence 1917-1946, Munich 1989; Gershom Scholem: Letters, 3 vol., Munich 1994-1999.
  33. ↑ Ernst A. Simon: Sixty Years Against the Current. Letters from 1917-1948, Tübingen 1998.
  34. ↑ Arthur Ruppin: Diaries, Letters, Memories, Königstein / Ts. 1985.
  35. ↑ Monika Richarz (ed.): Citizens on revocation. Testimonials of German Jews 1780-1945 (Hebrew; German title on the title page in Latin letters), Jerusalem 1993.
  36. ^ Nils Roemer: The Making of a New Discipline: The London LBI and the Writing of the German-Jewish Past. In: Christard Hoffmann (Ed.): Preserving the Legacy of German Jewry. A History of the Leo Baeck Institute, 1955-2005. Tübingen 2005, pp. 173-200.
  37. ^ Mitchell B. Hart: "Here it is, to an Astounding Degree, Saved": The Leo Baeck Institute in New York, 1956-2000. In: Christard Hoffmann (Ed.): Preserving the Legacy of German Jewry. A History of the Leo Baeck Institute, 1955-2005. Tübingen 2005, pp. 135-172.
  38. ↑ Guy Miron: From Memorial Community to Research Center: The Leo Baeck Institute Jerusalem. In: Christard Hoffmann (Ed.): Preserving the Legacy of German Jewry. A History of the Leo Baeck Institute, 1955-2005. Tübingen 2005, pp. 110-111.
  39. ↑ Guy Miron, 2005, pp. 110f.
  40. ↑ Stefanie student Spring Drum: The "German Question": The Leo Baeck Institute in Germany. In: Christard Hoffmann (Ed.): Preserving the Legacy of German Jewry. A History of the Leo Baeck Institute, 1955-2005. Tübingen 2005, pp. 201-236.
  41. ↑ Reinhard Rürup: An Appraisal of German-Jewish Historiography. Introduction to Year Book 35, in: Leo Baeck Institute Year Book 35 (1990), pp. XV-XXIV, here pp. XXIf.
  42. ^ Sources on the history of the Jews in the archives of the new federal states, ed. v. Stefi Jersch-Wenzel, Reinhard Rürup, 6 vols., Munich 1996-2001.
  43. ↑ About us. In: Scientific working group of the Leo Baeck Institute (WAG). Retrieved May 1, 2020 .
  44. ↑ Exposé of the LBI in the annex to Walter Breslauer's letter to the Claims Conference, September 10, 1954, AMFEDCOLL, ZfA-Archiv, Box 13, Folder 28, p. 4.
  45. ↑ See online availability at URL: https://academic.oup.com/leobaeck [last accessed on August 17, 2017].
  46. ↑ Bulletin of the LBI is fully digitized and online at: https://archive.org/details/bulletindesleoba00unse [last accessed on August 8, 2017].
  47. ↑ See topic overview online: http://www.leobaeck.org/product/grenzen-judischer-almanach-2015/?lang=en
  48. ↑ See also the information from the Mohr Siebeck publishing house, online at: https://www.mohr.de/schriftenreihe/schriftenreihe-wissenschaftlicher-abhandlungen-des-leo-baeck-instituts-schrlbi [last accessed on August 8, 2017] .
  49. ↑ zn presentation of the CH Beck publishing house, online: http://www.chbeck.de/Breuer-Graetz-Deutsch-juedische-Geschichte-Neuzeit-Band-I-Tradition-Aufklaerung-1600-1780/productview.aspx?product= 18818 & medium = print  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. [last accessed on August 16, 2017].@1@ 2Template: Toter Link / www.chbeck.de  
  50. ↑ zn Presentation of the CH Beck Verlag, online: Archived copy ( Memento of the original from February 8, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. [last accessed on August 16, 2017]. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.chbeck.de
  51. ↑ zn Presentation of the CH Beck Verlag, online: Archived copy ( memento of the original from July 22, 2017 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. [last accessed on August 21, 2017]. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.chbeck.de