The Leo Baeck Institute London is a research institute dedicated to the study of German-Jewish history and culture, founded in 1955. It researches the history and culture of German-speaking Jewry from the 17th century to the present day. The institute aims both to facilitate academic exchange and to use the German and Central EuropeanJewish experience from the 17th to the 21st centuries to help understand contemporary socio-political debates concerning immigration, minorities, integration, and civil rights, in particular in the UK. Its teaching and research capacity expanded significantly with the Institute’s move from its historic home in central London to Queen Mary University of London, in 2011. Since then the LBI London has established European Jewish History as a teaching and research field at the School of History at Queen Mary. The LBI London remains an independent institute. It is a registered charity under English law.
Publications
The Institute’s flagship publication, the Leo Baeck Institute Year Book, is the leading international publication in the field of the history and culture of German-speaking Jews. Published by Oxford University Press and having a circulation of over 2,000 copies, it includes original research on the cultural, economic, political, social and religious history of German-speaking Jews. The Leo Baeck Institute Year Book Essay Prize is awarded annually to an early-career researcher writing on the history or culture of German-speaking Jewry. In addition to its Year Book, the Institute publishes monographs and edited volumes in German and English. Its two series, Schriftenreihe wissenschaftlicher Abhandlungen des Leo Baeck Instituts, in German, and German Jewish Cultures, in English, cover the period from the Enlightenment to the contemporary era with a special focus on European Jewish history.
Academic programmes and events
The Institute organises a range of events, such as international conferences and a public programme of lectures and workshops, often in collaboration with other UK or international organisations. Events are aimed at a broad audience. A Leo Baeck Fellowship Programme, in collaboration with the Studienstiftung des deutschen Volkes, was created in 2005 to support doctoral candidates in German-Jewish studies. The programme includes bi-annual seminars during which Fellows discuss their research with senior academics in the field. Up to 12 fellowships are awarded each year. In collaboration with Queen Mary University of London, the Institute offers the Leo Baeck Institute MA in European Jewish History, currently the only postgraduate programme in the UK focusing on the field of European Jewish history. Among other topics, the programme explores the question of emancipation, equal rights, identities, the role of antisemitism, and Jewish intellectual history. The Institute also offers MA and PhD bursaries to support students on this course.
Leadership
Directors and chairpersons of Leo Baeck Institute, London:
