Around 200 archives of Bavarian Jewish communities and rabinates have been held in the Central Archives for the History of the Jewish People (CAHJP) held in Jerusalem. These documents are important and widely used sources for all historical research on Jewish history in Bavaria and Germany. The accessibility of stocks via the Internet has therefore long been an urgent wish for local and regional research. On the initiative of the commissioner of the Bavarian State Government for Jewish life and against anti-Semitism, for remembrance work and historical heritage and with generous financial support by the Bavarian State Ministry for Science and Art, these documents have been digitized with the CAHJP since 2023 in a cooperation project of the Bavarian State Archives. The aim is to open a free online access to all documents about the finder database of the Bavarian State Archives.
With 30 digitized municipal archives and more than 100,000 digital images, an important milestone is achieved in this major project running until 2028. Most of the 19th Centuries already offer fascinating insights into the diverse history of Judaism in Franken, Schwaben and the Upper Palatinate. The scope of the individual municipal archives is very different. Many stocks consist of only a few files, others of 200, some sometimes even more than 500 archives. The Jewish community of Fürth, one of the oldest and most important Bavarians, forms the most extensive stock with over 1,000 files. Many other documents from the collections of the Bavarian State Archives, which convey Jewish life in Bavaria from the Middle Ages to the present, as well as the impasseous persecution in the time of National Socialism, come to this tradition of the communities themselves. Especially in times when Jewish life is once again threatened in Germany and worldwide, it is important to provide authentic testimonies and documents with low thresholds for historical-political education and cultural mediation.
Prof. Dr. Michael Brenner Owner of the Chair of Jewish History and Culture at the Historical Institute of Ludwig Maximilians University Munich (e.g. American University, Washington, D.C.), in his lecture focuses on the importance of the written tradition of the Jewish communities of Bavaria.
The lecture will include a panel discussion on key research and mediation issues:
- How can this unique treasure be used in documents in future in historical-political educational work?
- What are the evaluation options available?
- Where are the points of contact for mediation in museums, archives, schools and universities?
Moderated by Jutta Fleckenstein, Commissioner of the Jewish Museum Munich, Prof. Dr. Michael Brenner, Inka Arroyo Antezana, German Department CAHJP, Elisabeth Singer-Brehm, Bayerisches Landesamt für Denkmalpflege, Katharina Willimski, Stellv. Head of the Max-Josef-Stift High School as well as Dr. Hubert Seliger, speaker for retrodigitalization of the Bavarian State Archives and Dr. Alexis Hofmeister, project coordinator “Jewish municipal archives”, Directorate-General of the Bavarian State Archives.
A recording of the lectures by Prof. Dr. Brenner, Dr. Seliger and the subsequent panel discussion can be found on our YouTube channel to be viewed.
The documents of the Jewish communities can be found as a separate section in the Finding media database of the Bavarian State Archives.
BU 2: German-Reichräischer „Lob- und Dank-Gesang“ zum 25 Jahre Regierungsjubiläum von Maximilian I. Joseph (1755–1825), written by Ansbacher Rabbiner Moses Höchheimer (1755–1835), 1824, CAHJP, D-An2-114.
BU 3: Oldest known mention of Jewish life in Bavarian sources around 904 in the Raffelstetten customs order. Received copy in the Lonsdorf Code of Passau Bishop Otto von Lonsdorf, around 1260, Bayerisches Hauptstaatsarchiv, Hochstift Passau Inneres Archive 5.
BU 4: Passport of the German Reich with stamped “J”, Hannchen Sara Arnstein, 1939, State Archive Nuremberg, Police Office Fürth 25 (Arnstein).
Created on 24.9.2024, as amended 11.11.2024
