30.06.2022

The Moses Mendelssohn Center for European-Jewish Studies and the Institute for the History of the German Jews in Hamburg are organizing the fourth German-Israeli Archival Exchange Colloquium (GIAEC) in cooperation with the Minerva Center for German Studies at Tel AvivUniversity..

Seminar in Germany: October 16-21, 2022
Seminar in Israel: March 5-10th, 2023

Organizers: PD Dr. Anna-Dorothea Ludewig, Prof. Dr. Miriam Rürup (both: Moses Mendelssohn Center for European-Jewish Studies, Potsdam/Germany); Dr. Sagi Schaefer (Tel Aviv University,
Tel Aviv/Israel); Dr. Björn Siegel (Institute for the History of the German Jews, Hamburg/Germany).

The GIAEC aims at talented junior scholars in the initial phase of their PhD-projects. It offers a space for discussions on methodology and sources and introduces the PhD-candidates to the challenges of archival research in Germany and Israel. Five German and five Israeli PhD-candidates are given the chance to intensively discuss their projects, which should be linked to the research fields of German or German-Jewish history, Jewish or Holocaust Studies, History of Zionism and/or of Israel, and German-Israeli relations.The GIAEC consists of an academic workshop and is designed to help students to be effective in archival research. Moreover, it also encourages the participants to build up scholarly connections and helps to establish a German-Israeli academic network of the invited peers, representatives of local and foreign archives, and experienced scholars in Israel and Germany.The colloquium consists of a one-week stay in Germany from October 16-21 (day of departure) 2022 and a one-week stay in Israel from March 5-10, 2023. During these stays the participants will become acquainted with different archives on local, federal and state level in each country. Participation in both trips is indispensable since it is a pivotal part of the program and therefore obligatory.The students will be introduced to the respective archives by local archivists and scholars familiarizing them with the structures and tasks of the respective institutions as well as with inventories and data bases. With reference to individual research projects and selected stocks, we will discuss different approaches to working with archival material, the analysis of source collections and organizing one’s research, such as the planning of research trips etc. Since time for individual research will be very limited within the frame of the seminar, participants are welcome to prolong their stay at their own expense. Due to Covid we made some alterations in our program for the first week and will have less travels and more time for scholarly exchange and discussions in a workshop-style atmosphere. Within the framework of GIAEC we are going to visit different archives in both countries which will be chosen according to the archives most relevant for the participants. This time, a specific focus will be given to archives in Berlin and Jerusalem in order to minimize extensive travelling.

Potential archives are:
in Berlin: Leo Baeck Institute / Jewish Museum Berlin (Berlin), Bundesarchiv (Berlin), Archive of the Foreign Ministry (Berlin), City Archive Berlin or Archive Neue Synagoge – Centrum Judaicum
(Berlin), Archives of the Akademie der Künste (Academy Archives) and in Jerusalem: Leo Baeck Institute (Jerusalem), Yad Vashem Archives (Jerusalem), Central Zionist Archives (Jerusalem), Jewish National Library (Jerusalem), Central Archives for the History of the Jewish People (Jerusalem) or the archive of the Hebrew University.

Thus, the participants will become acquainted with archival research in German and Israeli archives holding the stocks of sources relevant for their respective PhD-projects. The above-mentioned list is just a selection of possible options for the workshops in both countries, thus, please do indicate the most relevant archives for your research project in your application.Moreover, the participants will have to work in “scientific duos” matched by the organizers. These duos will ideally consist of one German and one Israeli PhD-student working on related topics and
research questions. The “duos” will comment on each other's projects and papers during both parts of the seminar. Consequently, the colloquium also offers the opportunity to improve the techniques of academic presentation and discussion. We are looking for candidates working on research projects within the areas of history, Jewish or literary studies. It is necessary for participating projects to be focused at source-based research questions requiring extensive archival research in both Germany and Israel. Desirable are projects within the thematic fields of German-Jewish history, Holocaust Studies, History of Zionism and/or of Israel, German History, or of the history of German-Israeli relations. Applicants should demonstrate their need to conduct research in several of the mentioned archives (ideally in both countries) in the application. The archives and collections of interest need to be mentioned in the letter of motivation. The seminar will be conducted in English, with some lectures also in German, therefore good knowledge of both languages is required. The seminar is open for PhD-Students from German or Israeli academic institutions.

Applications in German or English are to be sent in (as PDF-files only!) by E-mail by July 15th: moses@mmz.uni-potsdam.de

Applications must contain:
- Letter of motivation (approx. 1 page including a list of archives and collections)
- Curriculum Vitae
- Proposal of the PhD-project (approx. 5 pages)
- Letter of recommendation from the supervisor (to be sent in directly by the supervisor)

The GIAEC will incur expenses of transportation (lumpsums) and accommodation at the places of
the seminars.

Funded with a grant of the German Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Successful applicants will be informed no later than August 1st.