This online source edition published by the Institute for the History of German Jews (IGdJ) uses a selection of sources, so-called key documents, to thematically highlight central aspects in Hamburg’s Jewish history from the early modern age to the present. The editors consider Hamburg as a lens for larger developments and questions in German-Jewish history. The source edition aims to help digitally reunite the city’s Jewish heritage, scattered all over the world due to persecution and migration, and to make it accessible and preserve it for future generations.

    The online edition is an essential part of the digital outreach strategy of the institute and serves as a link between scholarship and the interested public. By presenting previously little studied sources and putting familiar archival documents in new contexts and formats we hope to give thought-provoking impulses and encourage new lines of study. The sources are at the center of this project, inspiring discussion about specific interpretations and categorizations.

    Transcripts as well as digital facsimiles are provided for all sources, which are placed in historical context by interpretations and background information. The source material is further enriched by information on its provenance, historical responses to it, and scholarly controversies. All content is provided in both German and English.

    The target audience for this source edition is college students, researchers and teachers, as well as the interested public and high school students. It covers a spectrum ranging from more general, introductory texts to those developing their argument by a close study of the source, and it offers different ways of approaching the texts—through a timeline, a specific topic or a map. The project is supported by an advisory board consisting of renowned scholars of German-Jewish history and experts in the field of digitization.

    The online edition was funded by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft from July 2015 to January 2021. During this period, Miriam Rürup, who also initiated the project, was its director. The edition also serves as a central module of the Portal “Jewish History Online”. This new portal coordinated at the Moses Mendelssohn Center for European Jewish Studies in Potsdam (MMZ) is currently in the planning stage and will be jointly developed by the IGdJ and the MMZ.

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