The Leo Baeck Institute London, founded in 1955, was named after the last public representative of the Jewish community in Nazi Germany. Its members conduct and support research into the history and culture of German-speaking Jewry from the 17th century to the present day.
The Institute aims to facilitate academic exchange among all of those engaged in understanding the history and culture of German-speaking Jews in Europe and throughout its diaspora.
Dr Joseph Cronin, the Director of the Institute, teaches undergraduate and postgraduate modules at Birkbeck, University of London, and accepts PhD candidates in German-Jewish history and culture. The LBI London also offers a PhD scholarship for students applying for doctoral studies at Birkbeck.
The LBI London also encourages the study of the German and European Jewish experience from the 17th to the 21st centuries to help understand contemporary socio-political debates concerning immigration, minorities, integration, and civil rights.
The LBI London remains an independent institute and is a registered charity under English law.
Publications
Our flagship publication, The Leo Baeck Institute Year Book (founded in 1956) is the leading international publication in the field of the history and culture of German-speaking Jews, and is now published by Oxford University Press. The Leo Baeck Institute Year Book Essay Prize is awarded annually to an early-career researcher writing on the history or culture of German-speaking Jewry.
In addition to its Year Book, the LBI London publishes monographs and edited volumes in German and English. Its two series, Schriftenreihe wissenschaftlicher Abhandlungen des Leo Baeck Instituts (Mohr Siebeck), in German, and German Jewish Cultures (Indiana University Press), in English, cover the period from the Enlightenment to the contemporary era with a special focus on European Jewish history.
Academic programmes and events
The Institute organises a range of events, which are advertised on our website. All our scholarly events, such as lecture series and conferences, are free and also aimed at a broad audience.
The international Leo Baeck Fellowship Programme (in collaboration with the Studienstiftung des Deutschen Volkes) was created in 2005 to support doctoral candidates in the field of German-Jewish history and culture. Up to 10 fellowships are awarded each year, and the programme includes bi-annual seminars during which Fellows discuss their research with senior academics in the field.
International organisation
With its sister institutes in New York and Jerusalem, the Leo Baeck Institute London is part of the leading research organisation in its field.
The branch of the archive of the Leo Baeck Institute New York at the Jewish Museum Berlin and The Wissenschaftliche Arbeitsgemeinschaft des LBI also located in Berlin, Germany – complete the international resources of the LBI. The Verein der Freunde und Förderer in Frankfurt/Main is the official representative of all branches of the international LBI in Germany.
Leo Baeck Institute London
The Leo Baeck Institute London is one of three independent branches of LBI International, which includes centers in Jerusalem and New York as well as a circle of scholars in Germany. Internationally, it is guided by officers in the United States, England and Israel, and its financial affairs are managed from an office in Frankfurt with the assistance of a German circle of friends and supporters. Its resources include libraries, archives, and works of art. Its activities, conducted primarily by its individual branches, include research, publications, scholarly conferences, and public lectures.
LBI International Officers
Prof Michael Brenner — President
Benjamin Hesse — Treasurer
Prof Shmuel Feiner — Vice President
Prof David Rechter — Vice President
Leo Baeck Institute, New York
The Leo Baeck Institute — New York is devoted to the history of German-speaking Jews. Its 80,000-volume library and extensive archival and art collections represent the most significant repository of primary source material and scholarship on the Jewish communities of Central Europe over the past five centuries. The LBI New York is committed to preserving this legacy and has digitized over 3.5 million pages of documents from its collections—from rare renaissance books to the personal correspondence of luminaries and ordinary people alike, to community histories and official documents. The LBI New York also promotes the study and understanding of German-Jewish history through its public programs, exhibitions, and support for research and scholars.
Leo Baeck Institute, New York in Berlin
In 2013, the LBI – New York established a branch office in Berlin to maintain and deepen relations with scholars, Jewish Communities, government and corporate sponsors, and the wider public in Germany. Since the early 2000’s, researchers have had access to LBI materials at the Jewish Museum Berlin, where LBI maintains duplicate copies of its microfilm collections. Approximately three quarters of the collections are available on over 4,500 microfilms at the Jewish Museum Berlin Reading Room.
Leo Baeck Institute, Jerusalem
In May 1955, the Leo Baeck Institute (LBI) was founded in Jerusalem by a diverse group of intellectuals and well-known public figures of German-Jewish origin. Among them were Martin Buber, Shmuel Hugo Bergman and Ernst Simon. Today, the Leo Baeck Institute Jerusalem is proud to continue the work of its founders. In recent years, the LBI Jerusalem has expanded the original mission and added new activities and programs of relevance to contemporary Israeli society by encouraging a dialogue focusing on the experiences and traditions of German and Central European Jewry. The LBI Jerusalem considers research to be its foremost priority and since its inception, has published many studies on German and Central European Jewry in Hebrew, English, and German. In order to promote and support academic research, the LBI Jerusalem has developed a wide range of programs and seminars, such as its “International Summer Research Seminar”.
The Institute also awards research grants to young scholars in the field of Central European Jewry and continues to explore new ideas for supporting graduate and postdoctoral students. Academic and cultural events have also become an integral part of the LBI Jerusalem and they make great efforts to share their research both with the Israeli academic community and with the general public.
Freunde und Förderer des LBI e. V.
The Freunde und Förderer des LBI is a registered association that supports the activities of the Leo Baeck Institute by distributing various German government grants. It publishes a biannual report on the activities of the institute under the title LBI-Information.
Wissenschaftliche Arbeitsgemeinschaft des LBI in Deutschland
This working group consists of scholars living in Germany active in the field of German-Jewish history and culture. It organizes conferences and seminars in German-Jewish history at annual meetings of the association of German historians.
Funding
The LBI London is funded by the BMI (Bundesministerium des Innern).
https://www.bmi.bund.de/EN/home/home_node.html
Further reading
Christhard Hoffmann (ed.): Preserving the Legacy of German Jewry. A History of the Leo Baeck Institute, 1955-2005, Schriftenreihe wissenschaftlicher Abhandlungen, Mohr Siebeck: Tübingen, 2005.
Ruth Nattermann: Deutsch-jüdische Geschichtsschreibung nach der Shoah. Die Gründungs- und Frühgeschichte des Leo Baeck Institute, Klartext, Essen, 2004.
