The Leo Baeck Institute London is a

research institute A research institute, research centre, or research organization is an establishment founded for doing research. Research institutes may specialize in basic research or may be oriented to applied research. Although the term often implies natural ...

dedicated to the study of German-Jewish history, politics and culture, founded in 1955. It belongs to the international

Leo Baeck Institute The Leo Baeck Institute, established in 1955, is an international research institute with centres in New York City, London, Jerusalem and Berlin, that are devoted to the study of the history and culture of German-speaking Jewry. The institute was ...

with further research centres in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

and

Jerusalem Jerusalem is a city in the Southern Levant, on a plateau in the Judaean Mountains between the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean and the Dead Sea. It is one of the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest cities in the world, and ...

. The LBI London researches the history and culture of German-speaking Jewry from the 17th century to the present day. The institute aims both to facilitate academic exchange and to use the German and Central European Jewish experience from the 17th to the 21st centuries to help understand contemporary socio-political debates concerning immigration, minorities, integration, and civil rights, in particular in the UK. Since 2024, the institute is located at 44

Russell Square Russell Square is a large garden square in Bloomsbury, in the London Borough of Camden, built predominantly by the firm of James Burton (property developer), James Burton. It is near the University of London's main buildings and the British Mus ...

Bloomsbury Bloomsbury is a district in the West End of London, part of the London Borough of Camden in England. It is considered a fashionable residential area, and is the location of numerous cultural institution, cultural, intellectual, and educational ...

central London Central London is the innermost part of London, in England, spanning the City of London and several boroughs. Over time, a number of definitions have been used to define the scope of Central London for statistics, urban planning and local gove ...

. Between 2011 and 2024, it was located on the grounds of

Queen Mary, University of London Queen Mary University of London (QMUL, or informally QM, and formerly Queen Mary and Westfield College) is a public research university in Mile End, East London, England. It is a member institution of the federal University of London. Today, ...

, where it established ''European Jewish History'' as a teaching and research field at the university's School of History. The LBI London remains an independent institute and is a

registered charity A charitable organization or charity is an organization whose primary objectives are philanthropy and social well-being (e.g. educational, Religion, religious or other activities serving the public interest or common good). The legal definitio ...

under English law.

History

The Leo Baeck Institute was founded in 1955 by some of the most prominent Jewish scholars, including

Hannah Arendt Hannah Arendt (born Johanna Arendt; 14 October 1906 – 4 December 1975) was a German and American historian and philosopher. She was one of the most influential political theory, political theorists of the twentieth century. Her work ...

Martin Buber Martin Buber (; , ; ; 8 February 1878 – 13 June 1965) was an Austrian-Israeli philosopher best known for his philosophy of dialogue, a form of existentialism centered on the distinction between the I and Thou, I–Thou relationship and the I� ...

Ernst Simon Ernst Akiva Simon (; March 15, 1900 – August 18, 1988) was a German-Jewish educator and religious philosopher who was born in Berlin and died in Jerusalem. Teaching career and political activism In the 1920s, Ernst Simon co-founded Brit Shalo ...

and

Gershom Sholem Gershom Scholem (; 5 December 1897 – 21 February 1982) was an Israeli philosopher and historian. Widely regarded as the founder of modern academic study of the Kabbalah, Scholem was appointed the first professor of Jewish mysticism at Hebrew Un ...

. Three international Branches, including the Leo Baeck Institute London, were initially founded. Upon the institute's inauguration, its members began undertaking research projects to fill in the history of German-speaking Jewry from the

17th century The 17th century lasted from January 1, 1601 (represented by the Roman numerals MDCI), to December 31, 1700 (MDCC). It falls into the early modern period of Europe and in that continent (whose impact on the world was increasing) was characterized ...

onward. The institute is named after

Leo Baeck Leo Baeck (; 23 May 1873 – 2 November 1956) was a 20th-century German rabbi, scholar, and theologian. He served as leader of Reform Judaism in his native country and internationally, and later represented all German Jews during the Nazi ...

, the senior Rabbi of

during the

Weimar Republic The Weimar Republic, officially known as the German Reich, was the German Reich, German state from 1918 to 1933, during which it was a constitutional republic for the first time in history; hence it is also referred to, and unofficially proclai ...

and the last jewish community leader under the

Nazis Nazism (), formally named National Socialism (NS; , ), is the far-right politics, far-right Totalitarianism, totalitarian socio-political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Germany. During H ...

Publications

The Institute's flagship publication, the ''Leo Baeck Institute Year Book'' (since 1956), is the leading international journal in the field of the history and culture of German-speaking Jews. Published by

Oxford University Press Oxford University Press (OUP) is the publishing house of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world. Its first book was printed in Oxford in 1478, with the Press officially granted the legal right to print books ...

and having a circulation of over 2,000 copies, it includes original research on the cultural, economic, political, social and religious history of German-speaking Jews. 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 Institute publishes

monographs A monograph is generally a long-form work on one (usually scholarly) subject, or one aspect of a subject, typically created by a single author or artist (or, sometimes, by two or more authors). Traditionally it is in written form and published a ...

and edited volumes in German and English. Its two series, ''Schriftenreihe wissenschaftlicher Abhandlungen des Leo Baeck Instituts'', in German, and ''German Jewish Cultures'', in English, cover the period from the

Enlightenment Enlightenment or enlighten may refer to: Age of Enlightenment * Age of Enlightenment, period in Western intellectual history from the late 17th to late 18th century, centered in France but also encompassing (alphabetically by country or culture): ...

to the contemporary era with a special focus on European Jewish history.

Academic programmes and events

The Institute organises a range of events, such as international conferences and a public programme of lectures and workshops, often in collaboration with other UK or international organisations. Events are aimed at a broad audience. A ''Leo Baeck Fellowship Programme'', in collaboration with the

Studienstiftung des deutschen Volkes The German Academic Scholarship Foundation (German: , or ''Studienstiftung'' for short) is Germany's largest and most prestigious scholarship foundation. According to its statutes, it supports "the university education of young people who, on ac ...

, was created in 2005 to support doctoral candidates in German-Jewish studies. The programme includes bi-annual seminars during which Fellows discuss their research with senior academics in the field. Up to 12 fellowships are awarded each year. In collaboration with

Queen Mary University of London Queen Mary University of London (QMUL, or informally QM, and formerly Queen Mary and Westfield College) is a public university, public research university in Mile End, East London, England. It is a member institution of the federal University ...

, the Institute offers the ''Leo Baeck Institute MA in European Jewish History'', currently the only postgraduate programme in the UK focusing on the field of European Jewish history. Among other topics, the programme explores the question of emancipation, equal rights, identities, the role of

antisemitism Antisemitism or Jew-hatred is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who harbours it is called an antisemite. Whether antisemitism is considered a form of racism depends on the school of thought. Antisemi ...

, and Jewish intellectual history. The Institute also offers MA and PhD bursaries to support students on this course.

Leadership

Directors and chairpersons of Leo Baeck Institute, London, have been:

* Robert Weltsch *

Werner E. Mosse Werner Eugen Emil Mosse (born 5. February 1918 in Berlin; died 30 April 2001) was a German-born British historian specialising in 19th-century European diplomacy and German-Jewish economic history. Fleeing Nazi persecution as a Jewish refugee, ...

* Peter Pulzer *

Arnold Paucker Arnold Paucker, OBE (Berlin, January 6, 1921 - London, October 13, 2016)Sander Gilman Sander L. Gilman, (born February 21, 1944), is an American cultural and literary historian. He is known for his contributions to Jewish studies and the history of medicine. He is the author or editor of over one hundred books. Gilman's focus is ...

* Daniel Wildmann
Joseph Cronin

LBI London Lecture Series

Since 2016, the Leo Baeck Institute London holds an annual series of lectures in cooperation with the

German Historical Institute London The German Historical Institute London (GHIL) is one of the nine independent academic research institutes of the German Historical Institute () that are part of the Max Weber Foundation. Foundation The creation of the institute was the idea of ...

. * 2016/17: ''The Legacy of the Left and Israel: 1967–2017'' (

Brian Klug Brian Klug is Honorary Fellow in Social Philosophy at Campion Hall, Oxford and an emeritus member of the philosophy faculty at Oxford University. He is also an honorary fellow of the Parkes Institute for the Study of Jewish/non-Jewish Relations, ...

, Christina Späti, Michel Dreyfus, Jan Gerber,

Nick Cohen Nicholas Cohen (born 1961) is a British journalist, author, and political commentator. He was previously a columnist for '' The Observer'' and is currently one for ''The Spectator''. Following accusations of sexual harassment, he left ''The O ...

, David Feldman and Peter Ullrich) * 2017/18: ''The Difficulties of Writing Family History'' ( Lisa Appegnanesi,

Thomas Harding Thomas Harding (born 1448 in Cambridge, Gloucestershire, England and died at Chesham, Buckinghamshire, England, May 1532) was a sixteenth-century English religious dissident who, while waiting to be burnt at the stake as a Lollard in 1532, wa ...

Atina Grossmann Atina Grossmann (born 4 November 1950) is a professor at The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art. Her research relates to transnational Jewish refugee stories "Soviet Central Asia, Iran, and India: Sites of Refuge and Relief for Eu ...

, Martin Doerry,

Philippe Sands Philippe Joseph Sands, KC FRSLbr>Hon FBA(born 17 October 1960) is a British and French writer and lawyer at 11 King's Bench Walk and Professor of Laws and Director of the Centre on International Courts and Tribunals at University College Londo ...

and

Katrin Himmler Katrin Himmler (born 1967) is a German author. She is the granddaughter of Ernst Himmler (1905–1945), and great-niece of his older brother Heinrich Himmler, one of the leading figures of Nazi Germany. She is the author of ''Die Brüder Himmler: ...

) * 2018/19: ''Seeing Jews in Art: Networks, Fantasies and Dreams'' (Katrin Kogman-Appel, Ruth Oren, Cilly Kugelman, Richard I. Cohen, Nathan Abrams). * 2019/20: ''Acting Jewish: Between Identity and Attire'' (Henry Bial, Kerry Wallach, Adi Heyman, Paul Herzberg, Svenja Bethke) * 2021: ''Conceptions of Heimat in Jewish Visual History and Culture'' ( Jan-Christopher Horak, Ofer Ashkenazi, Natasha Gordinsky,

Katja Petrowskaja Katja Petrowskaja (, ; born 3 February 1970) is a Ukrainian-born German prose writer and journalist. Biography She grew up as Kateryna in Kyiv and, after the Chernobyl disaster, in Moscow as the younger daughter of professor of literature Mi ...

, Sarah McDougall) * 2022: ''Popular Culture, Politics and Jews'' (Sonia Gollance, Hanno Loewy, Lisa Schoß,

Moshe Zimmermann Moshe Zimmermann (; born 25 December 1943) is an Israeli historian and writer. He is a professor emeritus at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. From 1986 to 2012 he was the director of the Richard Koebner Minerva Center for German History. Bio ...

, Tobias Ebbrecht-Hartmann) * 2023: ''The Good, the Bad and the Ugly: Myths, Images and Imaginings about Jews'' ( Cathy Gelbin, Nadia Valman, Sara Lipton, Daniel Magilow, Sarah Lightman)

Conferences, workshops and panel discussions

* 2016: ''Mein Kampf Today: Ideology, Memory and the Question of Censorship'' (panel discussion in collaboration with the

Pears Institute for the Study of Antisemitism Pears are fruits produced and consumed around the world, growing on a tree and harvested in late summer into mid-autumn. The pear tree and shrub are a species of genus ''Pyrus'' , in the family Rosaceae, bearing the pomaceous fruit of the sa ...

) * 2017: ''Cosmopolitanism: Jewish and Postcolonial Perspectives'' (panel discussion in collaboration with the Pears Institute for the Study of Antisemitism) * 2017: ''Arno Paucker – Scholar and Friend'' (memorial event in collaboration with the

) * 2018: ''Emotions and Experiences: Photography and Visual German-Jewish History, 1910-1950'' (conference in collaboration with the

University of Göttingen The University of Göttingen, officially the Georg August University of Göttingen (, commonly referred to as Georgia Augusta), is a Public university, public research university in the city of Göttingen, Lower Saxony, Germany. Founded in 1734 ...

and the

University of Nottingham The University of Nottingham is a public research university in Nottingham, England. It was founded as University College Nottingham in 1881, and was granted a royal charter in 1948. Nottingham's main campus (University Park Campus, Nottingh ...

. * 2019: ''Jews and Jewish Religion in Western Postwar Fiction Film'' (conference in collaboration with the University of Göttingen and the Institute for the History of German Jews) * 2019: ''Judenmord: Art and the Holocaust in Post-War Germany'' (book launch in collaboration with the Institute of Advanced Studies at

University College London University College London (Trade name, branded as UCL) is a Public university, public research university in London, England. It is a Member institutions of the University of London, member institution of the Federal university, federal Uni ...

) * 2019: ''Mosse's Europe: New Perspectives in the History of German Judaism, Fascism and Sexuality'' (conference in collaboration with the

University of Wisconsin–Madison The University of Wisconsin–Madison (University of Wisconsin, Wisconsin, UW, UW–Madison, or simply Madison) is a public land-grant research university in Madison, Wisconsin, United States. It was founded in 1848 when Wisconsin achieved st ...

and the

Deutsches Historisches Museum The German Historical Museum (), known by the acronym DHM, is a museum in Berlin, Germany devoted to German history. It describes itself as a place of "enlightenment and understanding of the shared history of Germans and Europeans". It is often ...

) * 2019: ''Networks of Knowledge'' (exhibition in collaboration with

) * 2021: ''Philanthropist, Rescuer, Collector: Remembering

Wilfrid Israel Wilfrid Berthold Jacob Israel (11 July 1899 – 1 June 1943) was an Anglo-German businessman and philanthropist, born into a wealthy Anglo-German Jewish family, who was active in the rescue of Jews from Nazi Germany, and who played a significant ...

'' (panel in cooperation with the LBI Jerusalem, the Institute for the History of German Jews Hamburg,

Goethe Institute The Goethe-Institut (; GI, ''Goethe Institute'') is a Nonprofit organization, nonprofit German culture, cultural organization operational worldwide with more than 150 cultural centres, promoting the study of the German language abroad and en ...

and the Warburg Archive Foundation) * 2021: ''(Re-)Collections – Jewish Archives and Cultural Memory'' (workshop in collaboration with the University of Goettingen) * 2022: ''A New Look at German-Jewish History through Photography'' (conference in collaboration with the German Historical Institute London and the

Hebrew University of Jerusalem The Hebrew University of Jerusalem (HUJI; ) is an Israeli public university, public research university based in Jerusalem. Co-founded by Albert Einstein and Chaim Weizmann in July 1918, the public university officially opened on 1 April 1925. ...

) * 2022: ''Images of the Grotesque and Arabesque: The Discovery of Kafka's drawings'' (discussion in collaboration with the German Historical Institute London) * 2023: ''The Shoah and the Tragedy of Assimilation: Lessons from one German-Jewish family'' (Biennial LBI lecture) * 2024: ''Who was Fritz Kittel? A German Railway Worker Decides, 1933–2022'' (lecture in collaboration with the Goethe Institut London)

References

External links

*
The ''Leo Baeck Institute Year Book''

Leo Baeck Fellowship Programme

Leo Baeck Institute MA in European Jewish History
{{Authority control 1955 establishments in the United Kingdom Charities based in London German-Jewish culture in the United Kingdom Jewish organisations based in the United Kingdom

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

Queen Mary University of London Research institutes established in 1955 Research institutes in London Non-profit academic publishers