The Leo Baeck Institute – Berlin Branch
Research Archive on the History of German Jewry since the Enlightenment
Around the time the Jewish Museum Berlin was opened, a branch of the archives of the New York–based Leo Baeck Institute was established here, providing access in Germany to one of the largest archives on German-Jewish history.
Named after Rabbi Leo Baeck, one of German Jewry's most significant representatives, the institute was founded in New York, London, and Jerusalem in 1955. The institute is devoted to researching the history of German Jewry since the Enlightenment.
Where
W. M. Blumenthal Academy, Archives
Fromet-und-Moses-Mendelssohn-Platz 1, 10969 Berlin
Postal address: Lindenstraße 9-14, 10969 Berlin
The Collection of the New York Archive
Its New York archive holds an extensive collection: municipal files, personal documents, correspondence, and artifacts of religious, social, cultural, intellectual, political, and commercial life reflecting the full spectrum of German-Jewish existence.
Holdings on Our Premises
Since the establishment of the Berlin office, nearly three-quarters of the materials held in New York have been made available in the reading room of the Jewish Museum Berlin on more than 4,500 microfilm reels. In the intervening years, many of the holdings have been digitized for online viewing. Certain collections are still only available on microfilm, however, so we recommend searching the full catalog as well.
The branch also houses a number of original collections, among them the extensive Constantin Brunner Collection, some of the papers of the historian Werner T. Angress, and the papers of the actor and writer Frederick Ritter.
Organizational Supporters
The microfilming of the New York collections has been generously sponsored by the Foundation Remembrance, Responsibility and Future (EVZ) and the German Research Foundation as part of their programs for promoting scholarly library services and information systems.
Contact
Aubrey Pomerance
Head of Archives/Leo Baeck Institute
T +49 (0)30 259 93 556
a.pomerance@jmberlin.de
Jewish Museum Berlin
Lindenstraße 9–14
10969 Berlin