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OVERVIEW
The Leo Baeck Institute is a research library and archive devoted to the history of German speaking Jewry, from early times through its destruction by the Nazis, continuing to the revival of Jewish life in Germany today. Founded in 1955, the Institute is named in honor of Leo Baeck,the Rabbi who was the last leader of the Jewish Community under the Nazis. As a theologian and a secularist, Rabbi Baeck represented the modern assimilated Central European Jew. He became the first president of the LBI. The extensive library and archives of LBI house a unique collection of materials reflecting the breakthroughs in science, innovations in architecture, contributions to industry and commerce, and milestones in music, theater, and avant-garde literature that are just some of the accomplishments of Central European Jewry. The LBI/New York has its home in The Center for Jewish History, as well as a branch of its archive in the Jewish Museum Berlin. In addition to the collections of books, documents, periodicals, family trees, memoirs, and photos, LBI/New York has an extensive collection of artwork and artifacts available for scholarly work.

Dating back almost 2,000 years, the history of Jewish communities in German-speaking areas of Europe has been marked by individual as well as collective accomplishments in the arts and sciences; in literature, philosophy and theology; in communal organization and welfare; in commerce, industry and politics. The purpose of the LBI is to collect and provide access to this rich and varied heritage.

THE LIBRARY
The 80,000 volume library of the LBI/New York is recognized as the foremost reference source in its field. Rich in rarities ranging from first editions of Moses Mendelssohn and Heinrich Heine, to dedication copies of works by more recent writers, as well as newly published volumes. Many volumes were salvaged from famous Jewish libraries that were confiscated and dispersed by the Nazis. The library also includes early 16th century writings, including Martin Luther, Sir Thomas More and Erasmus, as well as a comprehensive collection of periodicals published from the 18th to 20th centuries, special editions of pamphlets, catalogues, and commemorative publications. In many cases these primary sources cannot be found anywhere else in the world. An important part of the rare book collection is a collection of illustrated and art books. Among them are many limited editions of twentieth century artists’ portfolios and several illustrated eighteenth century books on Jewish customs.

The Archives
The LBI Archives contain rare and significant documentation that has been compiled over many years. It is the single most important repository for family papers, community histories and business and public records of virtually every phase of German-Jewish life. Many date back centuries. The archives include material from famous names of the past as well as from unknown Jews whose lives truly define the texture of the times in which they were active. A unique collection of more than 1,000 memoirs, written from 1790 to the present, offer rare insights into the lives of Central European Jews from all walks of life. Supplementing these materials is an important collection of more than 40,000 photographs as well as oral interviews that are part of the Institute's Austrian Heritage Collection.

Digitization Project
Leo Baeck Institute’s “DigiBaeck Project” is a pioneering effort to digitize papers and documents that are too fragile for procedures developed for books and other formatted items. The LBI photo collection and many rare books have already been digitized (and of course microfilmed) but the objective of DigiBaeck is to digitize the entire archive in a multiyear project that has been underway since 2007. The result will be to greatly expand dissemination of this material, enabling users to access the documents from their own computers.

ART COLLECTION
The Institute’s art holdings include paintings, portraits, sculptures and several thousand drawings, watercolors and prints that further enhance the significance of LBI as a repository of the cultural legacy of German-speaking Jewry. Important for their documentary as well as artistic value, many are works of leading German artists of the last 100 years. In the past few years LBI has been the recipient of several pieces of Nazi-looted art where the heirs chose to donate the works to the Institute, to keep them in the context of German-Jewish history.

Publications
LBI has published books in English, German and Hebrew. The four volume German-Jewish History in Modern Times, 1600-1945 appeared in all three languages. London LBI issues the highly-acclaimed Year Book featuring scholarly articles on a vast array of relevant topics. Essays in German appear in the Jüdischer Almanach, edited by the Jerusalem LBI. New York LBI puts out the LBI News for its members, the Annual Memorial Lecture, and Occasional Papers.

Lectures
Public lectures offer new insights on contemporary culture as well as talks on esoteric areas of specialized research. There are book signings, concerts, films, and performances in addition to lectures. The Annual Leo Baeck Memorial Lecture seeks to highlight key elements of the legacy of German-speaking Jewry, delivered by a prominent speaker.

Exhibits
In LBI's Clifford and Katherine Goldsmith Gallery, the Institute presents several major exhibits each year on themes that relate primarily to material from its own collections. The shows have attracted broad attention nationwide and in Europe, and are frequently requested as loans to other venues.

Seminars & Symposia
The Institute is a vibrant research and learning center; its facilities are used by students, scholars, business and private individuals from throughout the world. Seminars as well as symposia and special international conferences encourage a lively exchange of ideas. LBI often partners with other organizations to present a diverse perspective of views and opinions.

Fellowships
The LBI sponsors several fellowships to assist doctoral candidates and younger academics with projects leading to a doctoral dissertation or scholarly works. The Leo Baeck Institute is an independent organization not affiliated with any university or religious group. It serves scholarship and learning in the spirit of free inquiry and study; its facilities are available to anyone asking to use them. Leo Baeck Institute operates a branch in Germany at the Jewish Museum, Berlin. Housed there are thousands of reels of microfilm of the most important and most frequently used collections by scholars. The Institute also hosts several events each year in Berlin, designed primarily to introduce the German public to German Jews whose names and accomplishments were in many cases eradicated by the Nazis.

Links

 * Center for Jewish History
 * Jewish Historical Society
 * American_Jewish_Historical_Society


 * American Sephardic Federation                       *[]
 * Yeshiva University Museum]
 * Website Yeshiva University Museum
 * Website YIVO Institute for Jewish Research

--NPA8640 (talk) 20:40, 24 August 2009 (UTC)
 * Leo Baeck]