Introductory Week Belongings November 11–14, 2024

Opening Week of the International Research Training Group Belongings: Jewish Material Culture in 20th Century Europe and Beyond

Leipzig and Berlin, November 11–14, 2024

From November 11 to 14, 2024, the International Research Training Group (IRTG) Belongings: Jewish Material Culture in 20th Century Europe and Beyond celebrated its opening week in Leipzig and Berlin. The program brought together doctoral researchers, principal investigators (PIs), and members of the advisory board for the first time, marking the official start of this binational academic collaboration between Leipzig University and the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, in cooperation with the Leibniz Institute for Jewish History and Culture.

The first days were devoted to intensive exchange and to introducing the individual research projects of the doctoral fellows. On the opening day, the participants had the opportunity to get to know one another in person, with most of the Israeli colleagues present in Leipzig and others joining digitally. The day concluded with an internal lecture by Dr. Yehiel Weizmann, lecturer at Bar-Ilan University.

The second day began with a guided tour of the German National Library in Leipzig, including an introduction to its collections. This was followed by a visit to the exhibition Amsterdam, Querido and German Exile Literature, led by one of the curators.

After further internal meetings, the highlight of the week took place on the evening of November 12, 2024: the festive official opening ceremony of the IRTG in the Paulinum of Leipzig University. The ceremony featured a keynote lecture “Still Lives: Jewish Photography and Experiences in Nazi Germany” by Professor Ofer Ashkenazi and was attended by representatives of both universities, and the Dubnow Institute, the PIs, the first cohort of doctoral researchers, and the interested public. Professor  Oron Shagrir, Vice President for International Affairs at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, and Professor Eva Inés Obergfell, Rector of Leipzig University, represented the two institutions and introduced the evening. We were particularly pleased to welcome staff members from partner institutions such as the Jewish Museum Berlin, as well as representatives of the IRTG’s funding bodies, the DFG and the Landecker Foundation.

On Wednesday, participants gained a more detailed insight into current research on Jewish material culture through seminars with Professor Ofer Ashkenazi and Dr. Carolin Jessen at the Dubnow Institute.

The concluding day of the introductory week was spent at the Jewish Museum Berlin (JMB). The museum’s director, Hetty Berg, warmly welcomed the participants, followed by an introduction by Dr. Julia Friedrich on collecting and exhibiting at the JMB.

Subsequently, Maren Krüger, curator of the permanent exhibition, and Andy Simanowitz, member of the museum’s education department, led two groups through the exhibition. A joint lunch with the JMB curators provided a pleasant opportunity for informal exchange between the doctoral researchers and museum staff.

In the afternoon, the program concluded with presentations by Dr. Tamar Lewinsky, Theresia Ziehe, and Elisabeth Weber, who discussed the museum’s Object Days — a curatorial format dedicated to thematically focused collecting practices, closely linked to the research interests of several IRTG fellows.

The introductory week offered participants an intensive and inspiring start into the field of Jewish Material Culture Studies, fostering scholarly dialogue and new connections between researchers and partner institutions.