The Archive for the History and Heritage of the German-speaking Jewry in Israel    De | He

In 2021, the University of Haifa took over the Museum and the Archive of the German-speaking Jewry Heritage Museum in Tefen (for further information, click here). The museum will be integrated into the university’s Hecht Museum. The archive will continue in the Haifa Center for German and European Studies as the Archive for the German-speaking Jewry in Israel.

The collections include a variety of historical documents of Jewish persons and families who immigrated to Mandatory Palestine from German-speaking countries and places in Central Europe. The materials span from the late nineteenth century to the end of the twentieth century, and include, among others, correspondences, diaries, photographs, certificates, newspaper articles, and essays, documenting private and communal Jewish life in Central Europe as well as in Mandatory Palestine, and later, Israel.

Currently, we are working to set the archive up again. Museum and archive are in storage. The archive is being catalogued and will be further digitized. It will also be an integral part of the research activities of the HCGES, aiming to support researchers and the general public, who are interested in preserving and promoting the history and heritage of the German-speaking Jewry in Israel. Part of the collection has already been digitalized as part of the “A-Z” – The Archives Network Israel Project and is available online.

The archive is also receiving new materials relating to the history and heritage of German-speaking Jews in Israel.

For further questions and also in case you wish to give us your family’s documents for safekeeping and future use in research, please contact: AGSJI@univ.haifa.ac.il