Archiv Bibliographia Judaica – Deutschsprachiges Judentum Online

Since the Enlightenment, German-speaking Jews have built an impressive cultural heritage. But the persecution and extermination of the Jewish people during the Nazi era together with emigration since the 1930s destroyed, fragmented or scattered much of this extensive German-Jewish heritage. This database compiles and collects bio-bibliographic information on more than 20,000 German-speaking Jews who were known and less known figures in literature, philosophy, religion, art, music and politics. Based on the Archive Bibliographia Judaica (ABJ) in Frankfurt am Main, founded by Renate Heuer, the database is a unique document of German-Jewish heritage.

Users can search biographical information on 15,000 individuals using precise criteria (occupation, date of birth and death, gender among others), as well as study their bibliographies on ca. 250,000 linked and scanned index cards. Another 5,000 entries will be added in 2022.
The complete database is intended to give a comprehensive overview of all of the writings or documents written by German-speaking Jews.
In addition, the database integrates even more detailed biographical and bibliographical information on 1,300 authors included in the printed Lexikon deutsch-jüdischer Autoren [Encyclopedia of German-Jewish Authors]. The database is the only resource to offer this information in a structured, searchable format.

An interface to the Judaica Collection at University Library Frankfurt/M. allows for access to some of the full texts of the works documented in the scanned bibliographies.
Wherever possible, the biographical entries are linked to the Integrated Authority File (GND) and the Virtual International Authority File (VIAF). Moreover, there is also a link to the German Biography (ADB / NDB).

Presentation of ABJ:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JQQAX9sprj0

Additional Material

Open Access-Begleitband: „Archiv Bibliographia Judaica – Deutschsprachiges Judentum Online. Historische Kontexte und Einführung in die Datenbank“

• Dieter Burdorf:
  Zur Einführung in die Datenbank „Archiv Bibliographia Judaica“
• Julia Brauch:
  Suchstrategien und Perspektiven für das „Archiv Bibliographia Judaica". Vom Karteikasten-Archiv zur Datenbank – Implikationen und Chancen für die Recherche
• Tilmann Gempp-Friedrich:
  Zur Geschichte des Archivs Bibliographia Judaica
• Karin Schlootz:
  Erinnerungen an Renate Heuer (1928–2014)
• Jan Kühne und Anna Rosa Schlechter:
  „Anthologia Judaica". Zur hebräischen Vorgeschichte der „Bibliographia Judaica" in Leben und Werk von Elazar Benyoëtz
• Annette Wolf:
  „Bibliographia Judaica" und Erinnerungskultur. Zu einem Dissens im Briefwechsel zwischen Renate Heuer und Käte Hamburger
• Arndt Engelhardt:
  Kulturelle Zugehörigkeit und biologischer Ausschluss. Probleme eines biographischen Zugriffs auf die jüdische Moderne
• Nicolas Berg:
  Die Böhmisierung Goethes und andere literarische Kontrapunkte. Johannes Urzidil und Hermann Kesten im New Yorker Exil

Blog on De Gruyter Conversations:

Dieter Burdorf/Julia Brauch: “1.700 Jahre jüdisches Leben in Deutschland: Deutsch-jüdische Entdeckungen im Archiv Bibliographia Judaica” (September 7, 2021)

• An indispensable research tool for anyone working on German-Jewish history and culture
• An impressive archive of German-speaking Judaism and its written heritage
• Biographical data on more than 15,000 German-Jewish figures from all areas and walks of life (5,000 entries will be added in 2022), including links to bibliographical information on 250,000 scanned index cards
• Contains the complete 21-volume Lexikon deutsch-jüdischer Autoren [Encyclopedia of German-Jewish Authors] including extensive biographical information on 1,300 selected authors
• Includes figures from the 18th to 20th centuries with a focus on the late 19th century/first half of the 20th century
• Supplements the following databases: Deutsch-jüdische Quellen aus Palästina/Israel (German-Jewish Sources from Palestine/Israel), Vossische Zeitung Online. 1918–1934 and Klemperer Online. Tagebücher 1918–1959 databases
• Non-restrictive DRM – allows for an unlimited number of simultaneous users campus / institution-wide