© Germany.info / by J. DeTiege

Leo Baeck Institute unveiled a new exhibit at the residence of German Ambassador Peter Ammon in Washington, DC that highlights the extraordinary contributions of German Jews in the fields of natural science, mathematics and medicine in Germany and for Germany in the 18th, 19th and 20th centuries. Ambassador Ammon and Leo Baeck Institute Executive Director, Carol Kahn Strauss opened the exhibit, “Faith in Reason: Breakthroughs in Scientific Inquiry,” on May 10. The exhibit is the fourth in a long-standing partnership between LBI and the German Embassy in Washington.

The exhibit focuses on the role that that German-speaking Jews played in the scientific breakthroughs of the 19th and 20th centuries. Of the 170 Nobel Prize winners of Jewish heritage, for instance, 41 came from German-speaking countries. At the opening, Ambassador Ammon noted that Jewish scientists like Albert Einstein, Lisa Meitner, Fritz Haber made a crucial contribution to Germany’s leadership in science and research. Those who were forced into exile by the Nazi regime made similar contributions to their countries of refuge – often the United States.

The exhibit begins, however, with the philosophical foundations of Jewish scientific inquiry. Before full civil rights were gradually extended to Jews beginning in the early 19th century, they were barred from universities and had few opportunities to participate in science. Early Jewish scientific research evolved around medicine and astronomy, the latter as a tool for calculating the Jewish calendar and the former as a corrective to popular thinking, which leaned heavily on magic and superstition.

Artefacts related to mathematician Ephraim Salomon Unger ( © Germany.info / by J. DeTiege)

However, many Jews were well-poised to take advantage of the opportunities afforded by emancipation thanks to a philosophical tradition that viewed religious faith and worldly inquiry as two sides of the same coin. The great Jewish sage Maimonides (1135-1204), a physician by profession, explained that the truly righteous person is a possessor of knowledge, one who keeps the laws and understands them. The imperative to study, in particular to study Torah in order to gain insight into God’s wisdom, extends to the need to understand the universe around us as well.

Among the small number of Jewish scientists active in the 18th century was physician and zoologist Marcus Elieser Bloch (1723-1799), a close associate of Mendelssohn’s. His Allgemeine Naturgeschichte der Fische [General Natural History of Fish] classifies over 1500 types of fish and remains a compilation of great scientific value. Ephraim Salomon Unger (1789-1870) was a mathematician who, with his brother David, established a private school, which became the prototype of a Realschule.

By the second half of the 19th century, Jews were at the vanguard of scientific discovery, especially in medicine. Paul Ehrlich (1854-1915) is generally considered the originator of modern experimental medicine and chemotherapy. His discovery of Salvarsan, the first successful treatment against syphilis, earned him the Nobel Prize for Medicine in 1908.

Carol Kahn Strauss especially underscored the role of female German Jewish scientists in her remarks. Women scientists in Germany, as pioneers in their field, often achieved very high positions in science despite gender barriers that long outlasted restrictions against Jews. Rahel Hirsch (1870-1953) was the first Jewish woman to receive the title of Professor of Medicine in Prussia (1913). Since women were barred from attending German universities, Hirsch studied at Zurich University and at the University of Strasbourg.

One woman who transcended all barriers of religion and gender was Lise Meitner (1878-1968), who made her mark as a nuclear physicist. Together with the German physicist Otto Hahn, she discovered protactinium (element 91), although it was Otto Hahn who received the Nobel Prize in 1944 for the discovery.

Dr. Josef Eisinger, physicist and professor emeritus at Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York, highlighted the work and the fate of individual scientists presented in the exhibit. He focuses especially on Albert Einstein, about whose travels Dr. Eisinger has recently published a book called “Einstein on the Road.”

Past Exhibits by Leo Baeck Institute at the German Ambassador’s Residence in Washington:

• The Art of the Book (2011)
• Jewish Women in Germany – Tradition and Modernity (2010)
• Objects of our Past (2008)

Leo Baeck Institute has Siegfried Guggenheim’s archival collection, which includes extensive materials about the Offenbach Haggadah, including his correspondence with artists and designers and the original printing blocks.

Haggadah des Kindes, (Children’s Haggadah) Berlin, 1933

AM Silbermann and Emil Bernhard Cohn edited this “Children’s Haggadah” in Berlin in 1933. Intended to involve children in the seder, it features “moving picture” illustrations by Erwin Singer. Children are invited to “pull slowly” on tabs connected to inserts in the illustrations, which move to reveal hidden elements of the pictures. The book also contains songs by the composer Arno Nadel (who served as Choir Director of the Jewish Community in Berlin) and other contemporary artists.

The entire book has been digitized and can be viewed online.

Hagadah le-Yeladim or Haggadah Des Kindes, edited and translated by A.M. Silbermann and E.B. Cohn and Illustrated by Erwin Singer.

The final illustration, with the title “Next Year in Jerusalem”, is an idyllic scene of children on a farm in Palestine. Emil Bernhard Cohn whose son, Rabbi Bernhard Cohn, was for many years the Rabbi of Congregation Habonim in New York emigrated to the United States in 1939.

Many families still use an English adaptation of this book.  This Haggadah was donated to Leo Baeck Institute by Marianne Salinger.

Offenbacher Haggadah, Offenbach am Main, 1927

The Offenbach Haggadah was commissioned by Dr. Siegfried Guggenheim (1873-1961) an attorney and avid collector of rare books in Offenbach, near Frankfurt. The type designer Rudolf Koch created new fonts and the painter Fritz Kredel, a student of Koch’s, illustrated the new Haggadah inspired by the first Offenbach Haggadah which was printed in 1772. The new version was published in 1927 by the brothers Klingspor in a bibliophile edition of 300 copies. Guggenheim translated the Hebrew text into German, provided the transliterations of the Hebrew blessings and also inserted a novelty into the service. Instead of ending with “next year in Jerusalem, the Offenbach Haggadah concludes with the words: “next year in Worms on the Rhine, our home.”

The entire book has been digitized and can be viewed online.

Fritz Kredel's illustration of Pharoah's army in the Red Sea. The Offenbacher Haggadah, Published by Dr. Siegfried Guggenheim, Offenbach am Main, 1927

Leo Baeck Institute has digitized Siegfried Guggenheim’s archival collection, which includes extensive materials about the Offenbach Haggadah, including his correspondence with artists and designers and the original printing blocks.

Hagadah Shel Pesah, Amsterdam, 1711

This Haggadah was published in Amsterdam around 1711. In addition to woodcut initials, this volume contains beautiful engravings illustrating scenes from the Haggadah.

Early Aufbau masthead (Leo Baeck Institute Library, C14)

Leo Baeck Institute has completed digitizing all issues of the German-Jewish émigré Journal, Aufbau, published between 1951 and 2004, which means the entire contents of the most important publication of the global German-Jewish refugee and exile community is now available online.  This digitization project at LBI complements the work of the German National library, which had already digitized the issues published between 1934 and 1950 as part of its Exilpresse Digital project.

The Aufbau was a journal for German-speaking Jews around the globe. It was founded in 1934 by the German-Jewish Club, which was later renamed the New World Club.  It was published in New York until April 2004.  Contributors to the Aufbau included many of the most prominent German literary, political, and scientific figures in exile, including Jews and non-Jews, such as Hannah Arendt, Albert Einstein, Stefan Zweig, Thomas Mann, Fritz von Unruh, Carl Zuckmayer, Franz Werfel, and Lion Feuchtwanger.   Later contributors included prominent Germans such as Ralph Giordano, Jens Reich, and Stefan Heym.

The original purpose of the journal was as a monthly newsletter for the German-Jewish club, which included information and helpful facts for Jewish refugees. The Aufbau became one of the leading anti-Nazi publications of the German press in exile. From September 1, 1944 through September 27, 1946, the Aufbau printed numerous lists of Jewish Holocaust survivors located in Europe, as well as a few lists of victims.

Digital Access:

1951-2004: The Library of the Leo Baeck Institute New York digitized these years with its digitization partner, Internet Archives. A few missing issues were contributed by the New York Public Library as well as the Mikrofilmarchiv der Deutschsprachigen Presse in Dortmund. Partial funding was provided by Metropolitan New York Library Council.

Browse all issues of the Aufbau, 1951-2004

1934-1950: The German National Library digitized the years 1934 to 1950 as part of its Exilpresse Digital (Exile Newspapers Digitization) Project, these years are available here:

Browse all issues of the Aufbau, 1934-1950

Indexing Projects:

An index to personal names that appeared in Aufbau between 1941 and 2003 is available online from the Aufbau Indexing Project:

"Zugang zum Tempelatz in Jerusalem" Etching by E.M. Lilien on a Postcard

The Leo Baeck Institute, Jerusalem and the Wissenschaftliche Arbeitsgemeinschaft des Leo Baeck Instituts Deutschland issue the following call for papers:

The seminar will offer postdoctoral students of German-Jewish and Central-European Jewish History the opportunity to present and thoroughly discuss their current research projects. More senior scholars from Germany and Israel will be invited to comment on the projects and provide the young researchers with feedback and academic guidance. Apart from the scholarly debate itself, the scholars from both countries will have the opportunity to learn more about the scholarly traditions and research contexts of their colleagues and to meet senior scholars of the respective countries. Furthermore, this seminar will include tours of museums and memorials related to the German-Jewish experience.

We hope that the format of the seminar, with the meetings in both Germany and Israel, will contribute to a more thorough and comprehensive scholarly exchange and debate. The initial event in Berlin will allow candidates to present their projects and will be followed by a several months-long period of continued informal discussion. During the second meeting in Jerusalem, the participants will present revised versions or new insights resulting from the feedback they received. The extended period of personal encounters, of dialogue with other researchers in the field, and of intensive exchange is meant to promote the quality and interdisciplinary character of the candidates’ scholarly output.

The seminar will be held in English.

Applications (only via email) must be submitted in English by March 15 to the Leo Baeck Institute Jerusalem (leobaeck@leobaeck.org). They should include a CV and a one page description of the current or planned postdoctoral project. One letter of recommendation from a senior scholar should be sent directly (via email) to the LBI Jerusalem. For additional information please call the Leo Baeck Institute Jerusalem: (++972)(0)2-5633790.

Funding is available to cover most of the travel expenses and accommodation in Berlin and Jerusalem.

The seminar is supported by the Stiftung Deutsch-Israelisches Zukunftsforum.

Queen Mary, University of London

The Leo Baeck Institute in conjunction with the School of History, Queen Mary, University of London is offering two bursaries tenable for the academic year 2012-2013 for students taking the Leo Baeck Institute MA in European Jewish History. The bursary will cover the fee at the Home/EU rate (the rate for 2012/13 is £5,500). Candidates should normally have attained or expect to attain a first class degree or equivalent in history or a related humanities subject.

The Program

The Leo Baeck Institute MA trains scholars towards undertaking independent research on Jewish history, culture and thought in Europe. It provides a strong grounding in approaches and theories which have influenced the ways in which scholars understand Jewish history. Simultaneously, the MA introduces students to a wide range of sources available for European Jewish studies. Particular attention will be paid to the Jewish response to modernity and problems around the definition and issues of assimilation and identity. The role of anti-Semitism and the origins of the Holocaust are central, as is Jewish intellectual history, focusing on the ideas of eminent Jewish thinkers about the place of Jews and Judaism in premodern and modern society.

LBI London 2012-2013 MA Scholarship Announcement

Learn more about the Leo Baeck Institute MA in European Jewish History at the LBI London home page

Joseph Roth on a train platform in France, 1926

Tuesday, January 10, 2012 6:30 pm
Newly recognized as one of the 20th century’s great writers, Joseph Roth wrote beautifully original prose that is still reaching ever wider audiences as new translations of his works appear, even 73 years after the author’s death.

In January 2012, W.W. Norton will offer a new window on Roth’s life when it publishes poet Michael Hofmann’s new translations of Roth’s letters, many of which are preserved in Roth’s literary estate in LBI archives.  

To mark the publication of this landmark biographical work, W.W. Norton and LBI present a panel discussion of Roth’s literary legacy moderated by W.W. Norton executive editor Robert Weil and featuring New Yorker fiction editor Willing Davidson, the author and record producer Anthony Heilbut, and author Fran Lebowitz.

Read excerpts of Roth’s Letters published in the New Yorker’s “Culture Desk” blog.

Joseph Roth: A Life in Letters (Michael Hoffman ed.) W.W. Norton, January 2012

About Joseph Roth: A Life in Letters: “Who would have thought that seventy-three years after Joseph Roth’s lonely death in Paris, new editions of his translations would be appearing regularly? Roth, a transcendent novelist who also produced some of the most breathtakingly lyrical journalism ever written, is now being discovered by a new generation. Nine years in the making, this life through letters provides us with our most extensive portrait of Roth’s calamitous life-his father’s madness, his wife’s schizophrenia, his parade of mistresses (each more exotic than the next), and his classic westward journey from a virtual Hapsburg shtetl to Vienna, Berlin, Frankfurt, and finally Paris. Containing 457 newly translated letters, along with eloquent introductions that richly frame Roth’s life, this book brilliantly evokes the crumbling specters of the Weimar Republic and 1930s France. Displaying Roth’s ceaselessly inventive powers, it finally charts his descent into despair at a time when ‘the word had died, [and] men bark like dogs.’ ” (from W.W. Norton)

LBI holds a wide range of digital archival materials related to Joseph Roth.

Tuesday, January 10, 2012 6:30 pm
Forchheimer Auditorium
Center for Jewish History
15 W. 16th St.
New York, NY 10011
Map
Admission: $10 for LBI Members / $15 for non-Members
To reserve a seat:
RSVP to (212) 744-6400
or mlegaspi@lbi.cjh.org

The new "Topography of Terror" Documentation Center (cc) flickr user 96dpi

Friday, January 20, 2012 11:00 am
Between 1933 and 1945, the central institutions of Nazi persecution and terror were located on Prinz-Albrecht-Strasse, just steps away from Potsdamer Platz in the heart of Berlin. In this building were housed the Secret State Police Office with its own “house prison,” the leadership of the SS and, during the Second World War, the Reich Security Main Office. Today, this house of terror is gone, but a permanent exhibition within the old foundations documents the apparatus of Nazi persecution.

Trapped in the shadow of the Berlin wall for decades, the site was largely ignored until the basement cells of the Gestapo house prison were finally excavated in 1987 for exhibitions marking the 750th anniversary of the city of Berlin.  After German reunification in 1989, the site became one of the most visited memorials in Berlin.  After years of debate about how to give the site and the exhibition a proper home, a design by architect Ursula Wilms (Heinle, Wischer und Partner, Berlin) and the landscape architect Heinz W. Hallmann (Aachen) was chosen in 2006 and completed in 2010.

Dr. Andreas Nachama, director of the “Topography of Terror” foundation, will discuss the new documentation center and permanent exhibition.  He will also discuss the exhibit “The Face of the Ghetto: Pictures by Jewish Photographers from the Lodz Ghetto 1940-1944” which was curated by the “Topography of Terror Foundation” and opens at the United Nations in New York on January 24.