Leo Baeck Institute London

The three-day conference ‘Beyond Camps and Forced Labour: Current International Research on Survivors of Nazi Persecution’ is under way in London, running from 7–9 January 2026. Scholars, educators and archivists from around the world are examining the long-term experiences of those who survived Nazi persecution, including issues of displacement, memory and representation.​

Taking place at Birkbeck, University of London, and The Wiener Holocaust Library, the event looks at the post-war lives of Jews, Roma and Sinti, political prisoners, forced labourers and other persecuted groups. Panels address themes such as testimony, intergenerational memory and new approaches in research and public history.​

The Leo Baeck Institute London is deeply saddened by the death of Holocaust survivor, author and educator Eva Schloss, who has died in London aged 96. Her remarkable life story, recently featured in the Institute’s film club, offered a powerful window into the experiences of German‑speaking Jews before, during and after the Holocaust.​

Born Eva Geiringer in Vienna in 1929, she grew up in an assimilated Jewish family before antisemitic persecution forced them to flee first Austria and then Nazi‑occupied Europe. The family settled in Amsterdam, where they joined a German‑speaking refugee community and lived opposite the Frank family on the Merwedeplein.​

We’re delighted to share our latest Snapshot of German-Jewish History and Culture: Life and Death (Mask) of Gershom Scholem - which is now available to read on our website.

This feature looks at the life and work of German-Jewish philosopher and historian Gershom Scholem who is widely regarded as the founder of modern academic study of Jewish Mysticism. The Leo Baeck Institute archives in New York house a wealth of material documenting Gershom Scholem’s intellectual legacy, including manuscripts, a collection of personal correspondence and his death mask.

The latest feature in the Leo Baeck Institute’s Meet the Fellows series introduces Annika Duin, whose research examines how West Germans responded to antisemitism after 1945. Drawing on letters written by non-Jewish citizens to Jewish individuals and communities, her work traces how people discussed guilt, responsibility, and the Nazi past in everyday correspondence.

Can you briefly describe your doctoral research project for a non-specialist audience? What drew you to this particular topic?

The Leo Baeck Institute London, together with its partners, is pleased to announce the 2025-26 cohort of Leo Baeck Fellows, a new group of outstanding doctoral researchers working on the history and culture of German-speaking Jewry, whose profiles and projects are showcased on the Fellowship’s website.

The 2025-26 fellows are doctoral candidates at universities in Europe, Israel, and the Americas whose projects span history, literature, philosophy, and cultural studies. Their work explores German-Jewish life in diverse places and periods, continuing the programme’s tradition of supporting up to ten excellent early-career scholars each year.

Today, 4 December 2025, marks 50 years since the death of Hannah Arendt, the German‑Jewish political thinker whose work continues to shape how democracies understand power, evil and responsibility. Widely regarded as one of the 20th century’s most original public intellectuals, she was also among the founders of the Leo Baeck Institute, helping to establish it as a key centre for the study of German‑speaking Jewry.​

On 5 December, we commemorate the birthday of Gershom Scholem (1897–1982), one of the foremost historians and thinkers of modern Jewish culture. Scholem’s profound and sustained scholarship transformed the study of Jewish mysticism, particularly the Kabbalah, establishing it as a fundamental part of Jewish historiography rather than an esoteric marginalia. Born into the German-Jewish milieu of Berlin and emigrating to Jerusalem in 1923, Scholem’s life and work bridged the cultural worlds of Europe and Palestine, reflecting the tumultuous debates and crises of Jewish identity in the twentieth century.

We are happy to advertise the international Leo Baeck Fellowship Programme 2026/2027 (German academic year October 2026-September 2027). We invite applications from PhD students who carry out research into the field of German-Jewish history and culture. The programme is jointly organised by the Leo Baeck Institute London, the Leibniz Institute for Jewish History and Culture – Simon Dubnow in Leipzig and the  Studienstiftung des deutschen Volkes. Our programme is open to PhD candidates worldwide. The deadline for application is February 1st, 2026.

More information and how to apply: https://www.lbilondon.ac.uk/fellowship