Projects underway at Leo Baeck Institute and the Goethe University Library in Frankfurt could give scholars access to a landmark collection of Judaica that was long believed to be permanently fragmented by World War II. A a team of librarians at LBI have cross-referenced a list of works missing from the Frankfurt Library’s 1932 catalogue with LBI holdings.
As part of the Leo Baeck Institute’s ongoing cooperation with the German Embassy in Washington, DC, Ambassador Klaus Scharioth opened the third exhibition in his residence featuring objects from LBI collections. “The Art of the Book” is devoted to the contributions of Jewish writers, illustrators, designers, publishers and collectors to literature and learning in Germany.
Excerpts of former German Foreign Minister, Joschka Fischer, and author Norbert Frei discussing “The German Foreign Office and the Past” at LBI. It was the first public discussion of the research initiative and book in New York.
Former German Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer discussed his role as initiator of a commission to investigate the role that German diplomats played in Hitler’s apparatus of persecution. The event, which was the first public discussion of the initiative in the US, was co-sponsored by the American Council on Germany and the New School for Social Research.
A limited supply of the exhibition catalogs for “Final Sale. The End of Jewish-Owned Businesses in Berlin” are available in English for $15 including domestic shipping. The catalog traces the stories of 16 Jewish businesses presented in this groundbreaking exhibition from the Humboldt University in Berlin.
German conductor Kurt Masur accepted the Leo Baeck Medal on Tuesday, November 9, 2010. Maestro Masur is one of the most widely acclaimed musicians of his generation and played a key role in the peaceful revolution that toppled the East German regime in 1989.
LBI has acquired an extensive collection of about 200 books with covers designed by George Salter, who helped define the art of book design during a career that spanned from the 1930′s through the 1960′s in Berlin and New York.
As the university celebrated the launch of a PhD program where scholars from across the world will study American history, politics, and culture from a transatlantic perspective, Mrs. Strauss focused on the impact of German-Jewish emigres on America’s intellectual and cultural development.
Accepting the Leo Baeck Medal, Chancellor Merkel called the honor an “incentive and obligation to remain constant in my commitment to building a harmonious relationship with the Jewish community,” and lauded the Leo Baeck Institute for its work preserving the history of German-Jewry.
On September 21, 2010, former US Secretary of the Treasury and current director of the Jewish Museum Berlin W. Michael Blumenthal presented Chancellor Angela Merkel with the Leo Baeck Medal.
Leo Baeck Institute receives major support from the Federal Foreign Office of the Federal Republic of Germany. More info...
