The Abraham Geiger Kolleg (AGK) in Potsdam, founded in 1999, is a rabbinical seminary, an affiliated institute of the University of Potsdam in the Federal Republic of Germany and the first such new institution in continental Europe since the Shoah. It is named after Abraham Geiger (1810 – 1874), an important representative of liberal Judaism in Germany, and was established by Dr. Jan Mühlstein (then chairman of the Union of Progressive Jews in Germany) and

Rabbi A rabbi (; ) is a spiritual leader or religious teacher in Judaism. One becomes a rabbi by being ordained by another rabbi—known as ''semikha''—following a course of study of Jewish history and texts such as the Talmud. The basic form of t ...

Walter Jacob z‘‘L. Since 2008, it has also trained cantors.

History

The Abraham Geiger Kolleg was founded by Dr. Jan Mühlstein and Rabbi Prof. Walter Jacob z‘‘L in 1999 in Potsdam. Teaching began in October 2001. The first rector was Rabbi Allen Howard Podet. He was followed by Rabbi Walter Homolka, who served from 2002 to 2023. The AGK has been a member of the

World Union for Progressive Judaism The World Union for Progressive Judaism (WUPJ) is the international umbrella organization for the various branches of Reform Judaism, Reform, Liberal and Progressive Judaism, as well as the separate Reconstructionist Judaism. The WUPJ is based i ...

since 2001. Its graduates have been accredited by the Central Conference of American Rabbis (CCAR) since 2005. The

ordination Ordination is the process by which individuals are Consecration in Christianity, consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the religious denomination, denominationa ...

of the first class took place on 14 September 2006 in Dresden: Daniel Alter, Tomáš Kučera and Malcolm Mattitiani were ordained as rabbis. This was the first ordination in Germany since 1942, when the Hochschule für die Wissenschaft des Judentums (College for the Science of Judaism) in Berlin was closed by the

Gestapo The (, ), Syllabic abbreviation, abbreviated Gestapo (), was the official secret police of Nazi Germany and in German-occupied Europe. The force was created by Hermann Göring in 1933 by combining the various political police agencies of F ...

. In 2007, the college was honoured as a ‘Place in the Land of Ideas’, a location initiative under the patronage of former Federal President Horst Köhler. In 2009, the cantorial training programme received the same distinction. In 2010, Alina Treiger became the first woman in Germany to be ordained as a rabbi after Regina Jonas. Walter Homolka was the rector of the college until April 2023. Since then, Rabbi Andreas Nachama has been the rabbinic principal and Milena Rosenzweig-Winter has been the managing director.

Sponsorship

The Abraham Geiger College (AGK) was founded in 1999 as a registered non-profit organisation. In 2002, it became a non-profit limited liability company (gGmbH). The shares were initially held by the American Friends for Progressive Judaism in Germany with Rabbi Walter Jacob and the Leo Baeck Foundation, which is headed by Rabbi Walter Homolka. Later, the shares were transferred in full to the Leo Baeck Foundation. In January 2023, the sponsorship of the Abraham Geiger Kolleg was transferred from the Leo Baeck Foundation to the Jewish Community of Berlin. The AGK is funded by the Federal Republic of Germany, the Standing Conference of Ministers of Education and Cultural Affairs of all German federal states and the state of

Brandenburg Brandenburg, officially the State of Brandenburg, is a States of Germany, state in northeastern Germany. Brandenburg borders Poland and the states of Berlin, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Lower Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, and Saxony. It is the List of Ger ...

Training

The AGK is an affiliated institute of the University of Potsdam. The five-year training programme is conducted in collaboration with th
School of Jewish Theology
and concludes with a Master's degree for rabbinical students and a Bachelor for cantorial students.

Controversy

In May 2022, the German daily newspaper ''Die Welt'' published articles about incidents of

sexual harassment Sexual harassment is a type of harassment based on the sex or gender of a victim. It can involve offensive sexist or sexual behavior, verbal or physical actions, up to bribery, coercion, and assault. Harassment may be explicit or implicit, wit ...

at the college. The press accused the director, Walter Homolka, of covering up the allegations. However, the accused employee had been reprimanded in February 2021 and left the College in February 2022. State investigation had been dropped due to insignificance. Homolka took a leave of absence in May 2022 and ended his contract in April 2023. There was no evidence of disciplinary or criminal matters. In 2022, under the direction of an interim director, the College presented drafts for a reorganisation and has been in the process of coordinating with all public sponsors. Students have decided to continue their studies with the AGK. Letter of AGC-students, February 29, 2024, https://www.abraham-geiger-kolleg.de/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/AGK-Student-letter-on-recent-developments.pdf, (accessed at March 4, 2025).

References

External links

Official Website

A Rabbinic Training Program in Berlin

City of Potsdam

EUPJ.org

UPJ.org {{DEFAULTSORT:Potsdam, University of University of Potsdam Universities and colleges in Brandenburg

University A university () is an educational institution, institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several Discipline (academia), academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly ...

Educational institutions established in 1991 Jews and Judaism in Brandenburg Reform Judaism in Germany Seminaries and theological colleges in Germany Jewish seminaries 1991 establishments in Germany