Jews in East Prussia

Chair of the managing board is the historian Prof. Dr. Ruth Leiserowitz. The society has three target groups. For one, it is aimed at those living in former East Prussia today, people in Lithuania, Poland, and the Russian Federation who are interested in the history of Jews in their area. The society helps in the search for the descendants of these Jews, now scattered across the globe. This includes the family both of Jewish migrants who passed through the area on their way elsewhere and Jews from East Prussia who were murdered or managed to escape at the last minute. The other two target groups are people interested in the general history of East Prussia and that of Jews in Germany.

The society’s work includes conducting research and building collections on Jewish history in East Prussia, in its geohistorical borders as well as in neighboring areas. This entails archival research, perusing family albums and first-person accounts, as well as field research. Results are made available on the internet, in publications, and through cooperation with other institutions.

The society recently completed a permanent exhibition on the Jewish history of Königsberg (now Kaliningrad). The Königsberg New Synagogue was rebuilt at its historical site in Kaliningrad by members of the Jewish community and was consecrated as a synagogue in 2018. The exhibition is housed in the building as part of a Jewish museum. This project is supported by the German Federal Foreign Office.