Leo Baeck Institute London

To mark 70 years of the Leo Baeck Institute, German broadcaster Deutschlandfunk has aired a special feature on its programme Schalom. Jüdisches Leben heute (‘Shalom: Jewish life today’), which offers an engaging portrait of the Institute’s international impact and evolving mission.

Moderated by Micha Guttmann, the broadcast brings together voices from across the LBI’s global network – including Michael Brenner (International President), Doron Rabinovici (keynote speaker at the Berlin anniversary event), and Mirjam Bistrovic (Head of the Berlin Office).

We are very pleased to announce the addition of 100+ Synagogen in Deutschland by Alex Jacobowitz to the LBI London Library. Published by Hentrich & Hentrich in June 2025, this German-language work documents over a hundred synagogues in Germany through photos, historical insights, and the stories of those who keep them alive.

As LBI London Director Dr Joseph Cronin notes, “This book is a significant resource for understanding the resilience and diversity of Jewish communities in Germany.”

Please enjoy these photos of the book, taken by Alice Riegler. We are grateful for this valuable contribution to our collection.

As part of my postdoctoral research into transnational German-Jewish identity, I recently had the opportunity to explore the collections of the Vancouver Holocaust Education Centre (VHEC). The VHEC houses a remarkable archive of personal papers, diaries, photographs, and memoirs, offering invaluable insights into the lived experiences of German-Jewish refugees and their descendants.

Last week, the Leo Baeck Institute London hosted a high-level academic workshop centred on a forthcoming monograph by historian and LBI London board member Professor Abigail Green (University of Oxford). Tentatively entitled Children of 1848, the book is an international history of Jewish liberal activism told through families.

Leading historians – including Ruth Harris, Ira Katznelson, Robert Gildea, Adam Sutcliffe, and Derek Penslar – came together at the Institute’s Bloomsbury offices for a day of discussion on the legacy of the 1848 revolutions and their place in modern European history.

The Leo Baeck Institute London held a Fellowship Seminar at Birkbeck, University of London, on 1 and 2 July 2025. The event brought together doctoral fellows and scholars to discuss research in German-Jewish history and culture.

The Leo Baeck Institute London is pleased to announce Angelina Palmén as the winner of the 2026 LBI Year Book Essay Prize for her essay, Rethinking the Jewish Public Sphere: The Case of the Imperial German Trade Journal Der Confectionair. Palmén’s work will be published in the forthcoming edition of the Leo Baeck Institute Year Book.

The Leo Baeck Institute London is honoured to receive a donation of four books from the personal library of Pauline Paucker, widow of the late Dr Arnold Paucker, who served as Director of LBI London from 1959 to 2001.

These books carry a remarkable connection to the Institute’s origins: several are signed by Robert Weltsch, founding director of LBI London and the driving force behind the establishment of its original library collection. 

The donated books are:

The Leo Baeck Institute’s Library of Lost Books project – developed jointly by LBI London and LBI Jerusalem – was recently featured at the Connective Holocaust Commemoration Expo 2025, hosted by the Landecker Digital Memory Lab at the University of Sussex.

The inaugural Expo brought together Holocaust heritage experts, educators, policymakers, academics, and creative professionals to explore new approaches to digital Holocaust memory. Unlike traditional academic conferences, the event focused on hands-on experimentation, networking, and showcasing innovative projects shaping the future of remembrance.

We’re excited to launch our new interview series: ‘Civil Engagement and Democracy in German History: Jewish Experiences and Perspectives’.

This English-language project is based on Engagement & Demokratie in der jüdisch-deutschen Geschichte, first published by the Freunde und Förderer des Leo Baeck Instituts.

We begin with the remarkable story of Hans Litten – the Berlin lawyer who famously summoned Adolf Hitler to court in 1931. In this interview, historian Knut Bergbauer explores Litten’s political courage, his Jewish youth activism, and his tragic fate under National Socialism.

As the Leo Baeck Institute marks its 70th anniversary, German broadcaster Deutsche Welle has published a feature on the Institute’s mission to preserve the cultural achievements and everyday lives of German-speaking Jews.

The article explores the founding vision of the LBI: ‘In 1955, ten years after World War II ended, a group of German-speaking Jewish intellectuals including philosopher Hannah Arendt and historian Gershom Scholem founded the Leo Baeck Institute (LBI) “to show what the Nazis had destroyed”, explains Michael Brenner, professor of Jewish history and culture at Ludwig-Maximilians University in Munich.’