LBI's German-Jewish History in the Now Festival at Center for Jewish History Begins Next Month

The Leo Baeck Institute (LBI), a New York-based research library and archive that preserves millions of papers and books saved by German and Austrian Jewish refugees from the Nazis, will present a series of seven programs that mine the remarkable history of German-speaking Jewry for insight into present-day concerns ranging from gay rights to the Trump presidency. German-Jewish History in the Now: A festival of ideas and insight from the past for the present will take place at the Center for Jewish History (15 West 16th Street) from October 15 - 26, 2017.

In lectures, a film screening, and panel discussions, nineteen scholars, journalists, and clergy will draw parallels and contrasts with the Jewish experience in Central Europe to inform discussions of questions that continue to animate contemporary discourse: How compatible are religious observance and modern society? Could the liberal democracies of the United States and Western Europe again succumb to racist demagoguery? Did the world learn anything from the Jewish refugee crisis of the 1930s? Among the speakers are New York Times columnist Roger Cohen (who will deliver a free keynote lecture to kick off the series), legendary sex therapist Ruth Westheimer, and the former publisher of the Forward Samuel Norich. Leading scholars of Jewish history and religion who will participate include David Sorkin (Yale), Michael Brenner (University of Munich), and Leora Batnitzky (Princeton).

"Few groups in modern history have had as large an impact on so many domains of life-high culture, popular culture, philosophy, business, and politics-as German Jewry. To a great extent, the very way in which we think about art, music, consumer society, and politics is due to the contributions of German-speaking Jews," says David Myers, the historian who recently became President and CEO of the Center for Jewish History, where LBI is a partner. "This exciting Leo Baeck Institute program embodies what history, and the Center for Jewish history, should be doing. It draws on the German-Jewish historical experience to shed light on a host of issues of great contemporary relevance: the integration of minorities, the fight for civil rights, the responsibility of nations to provide restorative justice, and the global struggle to uphold democratic values. LBI has assembled a slate of speakers that will bring history alive, and into the present," says Myers.

Tickets for German-Jewish History in the Now are priced at $10 per event. They are currently on sale to the general public and can be purchased at www.lbi.org/now.