Invitation to the opening event of the “Library of Lost Books” project, together with the Leo Baeck Institutes in Jerusalem and London and the friends and supporters of the Leo Baeck Institute. Since Hamas's terrorist attack on Israel on October 7th, people in Germany and especially in Berlin have experienced increasing hostility to Israel and even open anti-Semitism, which does not stop at the doors of the State Library.
This development is horrifying and it becomes clear that the #NieWiederIstNow campaign must be more than just an empty message. Everyone must counter any form of anti-Semitism - the State Library is trying to do this at the end of November, among other things, by taking a look at its own history.
The citizen science project tells the story of one of the most important German-Jewish libraries and its users: the collection of the Berlin University for the Study of Judaism.
The project documents the robbery of the library by the National Socialists and the dispersal of its remains in the post-war period.
The combination of participatory exhibition and online campaign breaks new ground in historical educational work and also invites the public to help search for Nazi-looted property and to collate the books found in the university library together.
Event program
Opening and moderation
Dr. Irene Aue Ben David (Director Leo Baeck Institute Jerusalem)
Greetings
- Shimon Stein (Chairman of the Friends and Supporters of the Leo Baeck Institute e.V.)
- Prof. Dr. Achim Bonte (General Director of the Berlin State Library)
Virtual tour of the “Library of Lost Books” exhibition
with curator Bettina Farack (Leo Baeck Institute Jerusalem)
Panel discussion on the topic
“Remembering today: Participation in educational work and provenance research”
Discussion participants
- Dr. Andrea Despot (Remembrance, Responsibility and Future Foundation, EVZ)
- Prof. Dr. Tobias Ebbrecht-Hartmann (Hebrew University of Jerusalem)
- Prof. Dr. Meike Hopp (Technical University of Berlin)
Moderation
Kinga Bloch (Deputy Director Leo Baeck Institute London)
Reception