Past Exhibitions - Leo Baeck Institute

Becoming “German Jews” in America

September 6, 2017 – January 12, 2018 This exhibition looks at the changing face of German-Jewish culture in America prior to World War I. It explores traditions and connections that—though largely submerged today—played a vital role in shaping the Jewish and American experience.

Stolen Heart: The Theft of Jewish Property in Berlin’s Historic Center, 1933–1945

March 29 – December 31, 2016 A new exhibit shows how Jews helped make Berlin’s central district, Mitte, the vibrant center of culture and commerce it was by the late 19th century, and how the expropriation of Jewish-owned businesses and real estate left wounds that have yet to heal.

ZIONISMUS: The German Roots of Zionism

Undated (likely pre-WWI) postcard from the Jewish National Fund AR 2536. This postcard depicts the certificate awarded for a donation to support the planting of five or more olive trees in Palestine at a cost of 6 marks per tree. “By donating an olive tree, you help to reforest Palestine,” reads the appeal on the reverse (pictured right). Some of the proceeds were also to be used for the establishment of cultural institutions in Palestine, especially a Jewish University. The card instructs donors to send payment to the chairman of the Jewish National Fund for Germany, Max Wollsteiner of Berlin. The Jewish National Fund was founded at the Fifth Zionist Congress in Basel in 1901 to purchase and develop land in Ottoman Palestine for settlement.

This exhibition calls on books, periodicals, correspondence, and photographs from the collections of Leo Baeck Institute to trace the transformation of Zionism from a utopian dream to matter of survival for German-speaking Jews.

Burning Words: The Battle of the Books

Michael Wolgemut, The Burning of the Jews during the Time of the Plague (Schedels Weltchronik), woodcut, 1493

Extended through June 3, 2016 Not long after the invention of the printing press, one of the first public debates carried out on the new medium of the printed page concerned whether the people of the book should be allowed any of their books at all. An exhibition of extremely rare volumes from the period reveals strains of zealous antisemitism as well as the beginnings of an enlightened Humanism.

Crisis and Opportunity: The Cultural Impact of German-Jewish Refugees

In this exhibit, LBI profiles the experiences, struggles, and intellectual achievements of Nazi-era émigrés who came to the US.

In our Midst. Facets of Jewish Life in Leipzig in the Modern Era

The Leipzig Brühl around 1920. Leipzig Jewish Community Collection, F 9629. One of Leipzig’s oldest streets, the Brühl was flanked by narrow alleys and courtyards with houses that traditionally offered lodging for Jewish fur traders during the Leipzig Messe. In the early 20th century, these were replaced by the furriers’ grand warehouse and office buildings, which reflected the city’s significance as a hub for the fur trade. When this photograph was taken, around 10,000 people worked in Leipzig’s fur industry, supplying about a third of all fur goods worldwide.

This exhibition at the City Library of Leipzig illuminates this history with items from LBI’s own rich collection alongside loans from local institutions including the Ephraim Carlebach Foundation and the City History Museum in Leipzig.

Wissenschaft des Judentums: Jewish Studies and the Shaping of Jewish Identity

Moritz Steinschneider writing at his desk

This exhibit shows that the early academic study of Judaism was directly motivated by the desire for the civil rights still denied Jews in Europe in the 19th century. Moreover, the “Wissenschaft des Judentums” would become the forum in which most of the competing visions for how Jews should exist within the larger society and how they should practice Judaism were articulated and advanced.

German Jews at the Eastern Front in WWI: Modernism Meets Tradition

The German Army marching into Neu Sendec

This exhibition documents the fascinating encounters between Jews serving in the German Army and the shtetl culture in Eastern Europe that informed new debates about assimilation, peoplehood, and religion during WWI.

Exhibition: Facing History: Portraits from the LBI Art Collection

These portraits of a mother and daughter show the cultural dynamics in a German-Jewish family of the mid-19th century. The mother’s dress adheres to traditional conventions of modesty, including a bonnet and possibly a Sheitel to cover her hair, while the daughter confidently wears her natural hair in ringlets and sports a low-cut dress that emphasizes her décolletage and jewelry.

At the core of LBI’s Art Collection are well over 1,000 portraits of Jews from Central Europe that reflect the changing cultural dynamics from the 18th century to the 20th century.

New Exhibition on Jewish Berliners in Weimar Germany held in Ambassador’s Residence

On Monday, March 17, Ambassador Peter Ammon hosted the opening of a new Leo Baeck Institute exhibition at his residence. “Advancing Modernity: Jewish Berliners in Weimar Germany, 1919-1933” was curated by the Leo Baeck Institute from its extensive collection of personal papers, books and other artifacts. The exhibit features the outstanding achievements of several Jewish…