Leo Baeck Institute works to preserve and promote the history and culture of German-speaking Jews.
Marianne Rein's Europa
Mascha Kaléko in Greenwich Village
Color on My Mind
Help LBI keep the past present with a financial donation or by contributing historical materials.
Marianne Rein was a promising young poet when, in 1941, she was deported to the Riga concentration camp. The Jacob Picard Collection at LBI has the largest body of her literary legacy. View Collection
The German-Jewish poet Mascha Kaléko lived in exile for over a decade in the Greenwich Village, where she felt at home in its bohemian culture. View Collection
The lives of German- and Austrian-Jewish poets are preserved in the letters, notes and photographs of the Leo Baeck Institute's collection. View Collection
During the last few years, the library of the Leo Baeck Institute received several book donations as a result of restitution projects in German libraries. The books in this picture belonged to Rabbi Ignatz Isaac a scholar and rabbi in Frankfurt. The State and University Library Hamburg restituted these two books to the heirs of their former owner as part of the library's Nazi Looted Assets Project. View Collection
Moritz Daniel Oppenheim's portraits of German nobility and his genre scenes of Jewish family life and customs made him the "first Jewish painter of the modern era." View Collection
Max Liebermann redefined the modern art culture of Germany with his Impressionistic style of painting and print-making at the turn of the twentieth century. View Collection
A chronological tour of the Haggadot in the LBI Library's rare book collection. View Collection
Famous for his surreal illustrations of supernatural books, Hugo Steiner-Prag worked tirelessly as an artist and educator throughout wartime Europe and New York. View Collection
Mainly a composer of synagogue music, Arno Nadel's rich artistic life as a conductor, poet, painter, and playwright in early 20th century Germany was tragically cut short during the Holocaust. View Collection
The Kern-Martin Family Collection documents the related Kern-Martin, Kern, and Temple families, with a focus on family members who left Vienna to establish new lives in England and the United States. View Collection
Ruth Jacobsen: A Life told through Art View Collection
The LBI Library has in its collection hundreds of Jewish calendars published from as early as 1754 to the 21st century. View Collection
Norbert Troller, a Czech Jewish architect, provides an eye witness account to the infamous Theresienstadt ghetto through his art. View Collection
Julie Elias, a Jewish fashion journalist in 1920s Berlin, introduced home cooks to stylish entertaining with her cookbook Das neue Kochbuch. View Collection
A brief history of the Upper Silesian Jewish community and a comprehensive guide to LBI's Upper Silesian collections. View Collection
Johanna Meyer-Lövinson (1874-1958) captivated audiences with her literature readings. She was one of the first women on the radio in Germany and a friend and promoter of German authors and literature. View Collection
In 1926, the artist Lene Schneider-Kainer embarked on an epic journey along the route traveled by Marco Polo. Over 100 of her watercolors in the LBI Art Collection focus on the lives of women and children in the along the old Silk Road. View Collection
David Ludwig Bloch, a deaf printmaker from Bavaria, created vivid depictions of life as a refugee in the Shanghai Ghetto in the 1940s and focused his attention on the Holocaust in his later career. View Collection
A collection of stunning portraits of 20th-century artists by the photographer John D. Schiff. View Collection
E.M. Lilien was an internationally renowned Jewish Austrian artist, known for his Art Noveau style. View Collection
Aufbau was the leading journal for German-speaking Jews worldwide, founded in 1934 by the German-Jewish Club in New York and published until 2004. View Collection
LBI collections grew out of our founders’ effort to salvage the material and intellectual culture of German-speaking Jews that was nearly lost in the Holocaust. Today, these collections are an essential resource for scholars, genealogists, families, educators, students, and the public.
The Leo Baeck Institute is continually collecting new archival materials related to the history of German-speaking Jews.
On this website you will find a selection of paintings, drawings, prints, and artifacts that were recently donated to the Leo Baeck Institute's Art & Object Collection
The LBI Library collects publications related to the history and culture of German-speaking Jews as outlined in its Collection Development Policy . A rotating selection of recent highlights from among …
LBI's collection of newspapers and magazines includes 1,600 titles ranging from Enlightenment-era pamphlets to congregation bulletins to papers published by German-Jewish exiles in the 20th century.
Aufbau was the leading journal for German-speaking Jews worldwide, founded in 1934 by the German-Jewish Club in New York and published until 2004.
The LBI's rare book collection consists of ca. 3,000 volumes primarily in the field of German Judaica, dating from the earliest period of printing in the 15th century through the Third Reich.
A collection of more than 300 books, book covers, and individual graphic designs shows the scope and development of the eclectic and innovative design talent of George Salter.
A collection focused on the famous Renaissance controversy between the Christian Hebraist Johannes Reuchlin and the anti-Jewish agitator Johannes Pfefferkorn.
E.M. Lilien was an internationally renowned Jewish Austrian artist, known for his Art Noveau style.
The LBI Library has in its collection hundreds of Jewish calendars published from as early as 1754 to the 21st century.
The LBI Archives contain over 25,000 photographs ranging from family snapshots to the estates of professional photographers to albums assembled by Jewish communal institutions.
The Austrian Heritage Collection documents the history of Austrian-Jewish émigrés who fled to the US during the Nazi years through oral history interviews and collection of archival materials.
David Ludwig Bloch, a deaf printmaker from Bavaria, created vivid depictions of life as a refugee in the Shanghai Ghetto in the 1940s and focused his attention on the Holocaust in his later career.
DigiBaeck represents LBI's digital collections, a growing treasury of artifacts that document the rich heritage of German-speaking Jewry in the modern era
These highlights of LBI collections related to various Jewish holidays show both the constancy of tradition and the changing observance of holidays in different communities at different times.
A brief history of the Upper Silesian Jewish community and a comprehensive guide to LBI's Upper Silesian collections.
Johanna Meyer-Lövinson (1874-1958) captivated audiences with her literature readings. She was one of the first women on the radio in Germany and a friend and promoter of German authors and literature.
Highlights from the John D. Schiff Photograph Collection.
A curated selection of additional documents and links related to the Kindertransport to complement LBI and Yeshiva University Museum's exhibition.
The LBI works with other libraries and consortia to integrate our collections into their search portals so that they are discoverable in context with other similar materials.
Lene Schneider-Kainer lived an illustrious and adventurous life. Born in late 19th century Vienna, she traveled widely, all the way to China and photographed what she saw.
A culinary journey into LBI's rich collections of cookbooks & handwritten recipes of German-Jewish Leckerbissen.
In addition to books and archival collections devoted to music and musicians, LBI has a small collection of recorded music.
Please find books, portraits, photographs and archival materials by or about Nobel laureates from the LBI Library, its Archives and its Art and Objects Collection. True to the Leo Baeck …
During the last few years, the library of the Leo Baeck Institute received several book donations as a result of restitution projects in German libraries.
The story of Rabbi Walter Plaut's (1919–1964) participation in the Interfaith Freedom Ride in 1961, told based on the Walter Plaut Scrapbook in the collection of the LBI Archives.
Norbert Troller, a Czech Jewish architect, provides an eye witness account to the infamous Theresienstadt ghetto through his art.
The life, work, and art of Ruth Jacobsen, an artist and Hidden Child.
The Kern-Martin Family Collection documents the related Kern-Martin, Kern, and Temple families, with a focus on family members who left Vienna to establish new lives in England and the United States.
Mainly a composer of synagogue music, Arno Nadel's rich artistic life as a conductor, poet, painter, and playwright in early 20th century Germany was tragically cut short during the Holocaust.
Famous for his surreal illustrations of supernatural books, Hugo Steiner-Prag worked tirelessly as an artist and educator throughout wartime Europe and New York.
Max Liebermann redefined the modern art culture of Germany with his Impressionistic style of painting and print-making at the turn of the twentieth century.
Moritz Daniel Oppenheim's portraits of German nobility and his genre scenes of Jewish family life and customs made him the "first Jewish painter of the modern era."
A chronological tour of the Haggadot in the LBI Library's rare book collection.
The lives of German- and Austrian-Jewish poets are preserved in the letters, notes and photographs of the Leo Baeck Institute's collection.
Marianne Rein was a promising young poet when, in 1941, she was deported to the Riga concentration camp. The Jacob Picard Collection at LBI has the largest body of her literary legacy.
The German-Jewish poet Mascha Kaléko lived in exile for over a decade in the Greenwich Village, where she felt at home in its bohemian culture.
The LBI archives preserve over 2,000 memoirs, 25,000 photographs, hundred of audio interviews, and millions of pages of correspondence, genealogical materials, and business and civil records that touch upon virtually every aspect of the German-Jewish experience. Entrusted to LBI by refugees from Nazi-occupied Europe and their descendants, these papers document the lives and work of luminaries such as Albert Einstein and Joseph Roth as well as ordinary people from all walks of life since the 18th century.
LBI’s 80,000-volume library is internationally recognized as the world’s foremost collection focused on the history of German-speaking Jews. Rich in rarities including early Renaissance-era pamphlets, first editions of works by Moses Mendelssohn, Heinrich Heine, and Franz Kafka, and limited edition art books, the Library also collects the latest publications in the field. A comprehensive collection of periodicals encompasses publications ranging from congregation bulletins to the major émigré paper, Aufbau.
From engravings depicting Jewish life in German lands in the 16th century to abstract works by German-Jewish émigrés in the second half of the 20th century to everyday life objects, the works in the art and objects collection complement the archival and library collections as a visual record of German-Jewish history. Among the thousands of paintings, sculptures, watercolors, drawings, prints, and objects are many fine works of great artistic and historical significance. More importantly, the art collection in its totality forms an unparalleled documentation of the material culture of German-speaking Jewry.
We use cookies on our site to enable functionality and analyze traffic. By clicking “I Accept” or “X” on this banner, or using our site, you consent to the use of cookies unless you have disabled them in your browser settings. To learn more, view our Privacy Policy.