The Leo Baeck Institute New York (LBI) 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 ...

in New York City dedicated to the study of German-Jewish history and culture, founded in 1955. It is one of three independent research centers founded by a group of German-speaking Jewish émigrés at a conference in

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 ...

in 1955. The other Leo Baeck institutes are Leo Baeck Institute Jerusalem and Leo Baeck Institute London, and the activities of all three are coordinated by the board of directors of the

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 ...

. It is also a founding partner of the

Center for Jewish History The Center for Jewish History is a partnership of five Jewish history, scholarship, and art organizations in New York City, namely the American Jewish Historical Society, American Sephardi Federation, Leo Baeck Institute New York, Yeshiva Univ ...

, and maintains a research library and archive in New York City that contains a significant collection of source material relating to the history of German-speaking Jewry, from its origins to

the Holocaust The Holocaust (), known in Hebrew language, Hebrew as the (), was the genocide of History of the Jews in Europe, European Jews during World War II. From 1941 to 1945, Nazi Germany and Collaboration with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy ...

, and continuing to the present day. The Leo Baeck Medal has been awarded by the institute since 1978 to those who have helped preserve the spirit of German-speaking Jewry in culture, academia, politics, and philanthropy.

History

The Leo Baeck Institute New York is one of three independent research centers founded by a group of German-speaking Jewish émigrés at a conference in

in 1955. The other Leo Baeck institutes are Leo Baeck Institute Jerusalem and Leo Baeck Institute London, and the activities of all three are coordinated by the board of directors of the

. Under its first executive director, Max Kreutzberger, Leo Baeck Institute New York established itself as the institute's library and archive. The library collection began with books that had been looted from Jewish libraries and collectors, and were recovered by Allied forces in World War II and restituted to Jewish libraries. Later in the 1950s, Kreutzberger and his staff began acquiring books and manuscripts from New York booksellers, and solicited donations of the personal papers and libraries of

German-Jewish The history of the Jews in Germany goes back at least to the year 321 CE, and continued through the Early Middle Ages (5th to 10th centuries CE) and High Middle Ages (c. 1000–1299 CE) when Jewish immigrants founded the Ashkenazi Jewish commu ...

émigrés in New York. By 1960, when Leo Baeck Institute New York moved into a townhouse at 129 East 73rd Street on the

Upper East Side The Upper East Side, sometimes abbreviated UES, is a neighborhood in the boroughs of New York City, borough of Manhattan in New York City. It is bounded approximately by 96th Street (Manhattan), 96th Street to the north, the East River to the e ...

Manhattan Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the County statistics of the United States#Smallest, larg ...

, the collection included some 30,000 books, 250 unpublished memoirs, and extensive archives. Significant private donations secured in the first two decades of the Leo Baeck Institute's existence included the literary estates of German philosopher Constantin Brunner, Austro-Hungarian novelist and theatre critic

Fritz Mauthner Fritz Mauthner (; 22 November 1849 – 29 June 1923) was an Austrian philosopher and author of novels, satires, reviews and journalistic works. He was an exponent of philosophical scepticism derived from a critique of human knowledge and of phi ...

, German theologian and philosopher

Franz Rosenzweig Franz Rosenzweig (; ; 25 December 1886 – 10 December 1929) was a German theologian, philosopher, and translator. Early life and education Franz Rosenzweig was born in Kassel, Germany, to an affluent, minimally observant Jewish family. His fa ...

, and Austrian journalist and novelist Joseph Roth. By the 1990s, Leo Baeck Institute New York's Upper East Side townhouse could no longer efficiently or safely accommodate its collections, and LBI president Ismar Schorsch began discussions with other Jewish centers of scholarly research in New York aimed at a partnership in a shared facility. In 1993, Leo Baeck Institute,

YIVO Institute for Jewish Research YIVO (, , short for ) is an organization that preserves, studies, and teaches the cultural history of Jewish life throughout Eastern Europe, Germany, and Russia as well as orthography, lexicography, and other studies related to Yiddish. Establi ...

Yeshiva University Museum The Yeshiva University Museum is a teaching museum and the cultural arm of Yeshiva University. Along with the American Jewish Historical Society, the American Sephardi Federation, the Leo Baeck Institute, New York, and the YIVO Institute for Jew ...

, and the

American Jewish Historical Society The American Jewish Historical Society (AJHS) was founded in 1892 with the mission to foster awareness and appreciation of American Jewish history and to serve as a national scholarly resource for research through the collection, preservation an ...

announced plans to jointly establish the

in the former

American Foundation for the Blind The American Foundation for the Blind (AFB) is an American non-profit organization for people with vision loss. AFB's objectives include conducting research to advance change, promoting knowledge and understanding, and shaping policies and practice ...

building on West 16th Street in Manhattan. Leo Baeck Institute New York moved its administrative offices and collections to the Center for Jewish History in 2000. Today, Leo Baeck Institute shares library infrastructure (storage, reading room, digital and conservation labs, and information systems) as well as programming and exhibition facilities with the YIVO Institute for Jewish Research, Yeshiva University Museum, American Jewish Historical Society, and

American Sephardi Federation The American Sephardi Federation, a founding member of the Center for Jewish History, is a non-profit Jewish organization that strengthens and organizes the religious and cultural activities of Sephardic Jews, preserves Sephardic heritage, tradit ...

Presence in Germany

In the 1990s, Leo Baeck Institute New York deepened its ties with the

Federal Republic of Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen constituent states have a total population of over 84 ...

, and received increased financial support from the

West German West Germany was the common English name for the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) from its formation on 23 May 1949 until its reunification with East Germany on 3 October 1990. It is sometimes known as the Bonn Republic after its capital c ...

government and private sources in Germany such as publisher

Axel Springer Axel Cäsar Springer (2 May 1912 – 22 September 1985) was a German publisher and founder of what is now Axel Springer SE, the largest media publishing firm in Europe. By the early 1960s his print titles dominated the West German daily press m ...

. Preliminary discussions about an official presence of Leo Baeck Institute New York in Germany began by the 1970s at the latest, and concrete plans for such a presence were initiated by German-born American Michael Blumenthal proposing that the Leo Baeck Institute establish a presence at the new

Jewish Museum Berlin The Jewish Museum Berlin (''Jüdisches Museum Berlin'') was opened in 2001 and is the largest Jewish museum in Europe. On of floor space, the museum presents the history of the Jews in Germany from the Middle Ages to the present day, with new foc ...

in 1998. In late 1999, the board of LBI International reached an agreement with the Jewish Museum Berlin to establish an office in the museum, and house microfilm copies of the Leo Baeck Institute archives there in order to provide easier access to the collections for researchers in Europe. In 2013, Leo Baeck Institute established an administrative office in Berlin.

Components

The Leo Baeck Institute New York includes a library, an archive, an art collection, and an exhibition centre. Its offices and collections are housed in the

, a centralized partnership with other Jewish organizations that share one location, with separate governing bodies and finances, but collocate resources. in New York City. * Leo Baeck Institute's library collection: 80,000 volumes which range from collected works associated with the 16th century Reuchlin-Pfefforkorn debate over the banning of Jewish books to recent scholarship in the field of German-Jewish studies. * Leo Baeck Institute archive: Over 4,000 linear feet of family papers, community histories, personal correspondence, genealogical materials, and business and public records of German-speaking Jews from the 18th century to the post-WWII era. * Leo Baeck Institute art collection: 8,000 pieces of art that include works created or collected by German-speaking Jews from the 16th through the 20th centuries

Collections

The bulk of Leo Baeck Institute New York's archives are the personal papers of German-speaking Jews. The library contains over 80,000 volumes. In October 2012, Leo Baeck Institute New York announced that it had digitized nearly its entire archival holdings and a large portion of its art collections and rare books as part of the DigiBaeck project. The DigiBaeck digital collection portal includes nearly 75% of the Leo Baeck Institute's holdings, including archival materials, memoirs and manuscripts, art and objects, books and periodicals, photographs, and audio recordings.

Highlights

* First editions of philosopher

Moses Mendelssohn Moses Mendelssohn (6 September 1729 – 4 January 1786) was a German-Jewish philosopher and theologian. His writings and ideas on Jews and the Jewish religion and identity were a central element in the development of the ''Haskalah'', or 'J ...

and poet and writer

Heinrich Heine Christian Johann Heinrich Heine (; ; born Harry Heine; 13 December 1797 – 17 February 1856) was an outstanding poet, writer, and literary criticism, literary critic of 19th-century German Romanticism. He is best known outside Germany for his ...

* Early 16th century writings, including

Martin Luther Martin Luther ( ; ; 10 November 1483 – 18 February 1546) was a German priest, Theology, theologian, author, hymnwriter, professor, and former Order of Saint Augustine, Augustinian friar. Luther was the seminal figure of the Reformation, Pr ...

Sir Thomas More Sir Thomas More (7 February 1478 – 6 July 1535), venerated in the Catholic Church as Saint Thomas More, was an English lawyer, judge, social philosopher, author, statesman, theologian, and noted Renaissance humanist. He also served Henry V ...

, and

Erasmus Desiderius Erasmus Roterodamus ( ; ; 28 October c. 1466 – 12 July 1536), commonly known in English as Erasmus of Rotterdam or simply Erasmus, was a Dutch Christian humanist, Catholic priest and Catholic theology, theologian, educationalist ...

, as well as a comprehensive collection of periodicals published from the 18th to 20th centuries * Limited editions of 20th century artists’ portfolios and several illustrated 18th-century books on Jewish customs in the rare book collection.

Digitization

* Freimann Collection: Digitation of recovered partial volumes of the ''

Wissenschaft des Judentums "''Wissenschaft des Judentums''" (literally in German language, German the expression means "Science of Judaism"; more recently in the United States it started to be rendered as "Jewish Studies" or "Judaic Studies," a wide academic field of inquir ...

'' (''Science of Judaism'') in coordination with

Frankfurt University Library The Frankfurt University Library (German: ''Universitätsbibliothek Frankfurt am Main'' (UB Frankfurt), or ''Universitätsbibliothek Johann Christian Senckenberg'', ISIL DE-30) is the library for the Goethe University Frankfurt, Germany. Histor ...

, funded by a joint grant from the

National Endowment for the Humanities The National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) is an independent federal agency of the U.S. government, established by thNational Foundation on the Arts and the Humanities Act of 1965(), dedicated to supporting research, education, preserv ...

and the German Research Foundation (''Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft – DFG'')

Notable people featured in the archive

* Karl Otten, German expressionist writer and broadcaster

Fellowships, seminars, and medals

In addition to the archival processes of acquiring, cataloguing, and preserving, Leo Baeck Institute New York promotes study by sponsoring several fellowships for scholars working the field of German-Jewish history, holding seminars, and creating exhibits. Leo Baeck Institute New York also annually awards the '' Leo Baeck Medal'' to individuals whose humanitarian work promotes tolerance, social justice and upon those who have helped preserve the spirit of German-speaking Jewry in culture, academia, politics, and philanthropy. It is the highest recognition the institute bestows. Some past recipients include German Chancellor

Angela Merkel Angela Dorothea Merkel (; ; born 17 July 1954) is a German retired politician who served as Chancellor of Germany from 2005 to 2021. She is the only woman to have held the office. She was Leader of the Opposition from 2002 to 2005 and Leade ...

, German Ambassador

Wolfgang Ischinger Wolfgang Friedrich Ischinger (born April 6, 1946) is a German diplomat who served as chairman of the Munich Security Conference from 2008 to 2022. From 2001 to 2006, Ischinger was the German ambassador to the United States, and from 1998 to 200 ...

, businessman and journalist Mathias Dopfner, economist and former president of the World Bank James D. Wolfensohn, German Minister of the Interior Otto Schily, sex therapist talk show host and Holocaust survivor Dr.

Ruth Westheimer Karola Ruth Westheimer (née Siegel; June 4, 1928 – July 12, 2024), better known as Dr. Ruth, was a German and American sex therapist and talk show host. Westheimer was born in Germany to a Jewish family. As the Nazis came to power, her paren ...

(Dr. Ruth), German President

Johannes Rau Johannes Rau (; 16 January 193127 January 2006) was a German politician who served as President of Germany from 1999 to 2004. A member of the Social Democratic Party, he previously served as the Minister-President of North Rhine-Westphalia fro ...

, and business leader, economist, and political adviser W. Michael Blumenthal.

Exhibitions

*
Destination Shanghai: The Jewish Community of Shanghai, 1936-1949.
' May–April, 2013. *
Transcending Tradition: Jewish Mathematicians in German-Speaking Academic Culture.
' July 29, 2013- January 5, 2014.

References

External links

*
DigiBaeck
- digitized collections portal
Leo Baeck Institute (London) records
Guide to the records of Leo Baeck Institute London. AR 6682 *

at GLAM-Wiki initiative
Leo Baeck Institute
at

Google Art Project Google Arts & Culture (formerly Google Art Project) is an online platform of high-resolution images and videos of artworks and cultural artifacts from partner cultural organizations throughout the world, operated by Google. It utilizes high-re ...

{{Authority control Archives in New York City Ashkenazi Jewish culture in Germany Cultural history of Germany Jewish German culture German-Jewish culture in New York City German-Jewish culture in the United States History organizations based in the United States Jewish education in Germany Jewish German history Jewish history organizations Jewish organizations based in the United States Jews and Judaism in Germany

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

Non-profit organizations based in New York City Organizations established in 1955 Research institutes established in 1955 Research institutes in New York (state) Social history of Germany Yekke 1955 establishments in New York City