You can research the history of Hamburg’s Jewish congregations in Hamburg and Jerusalem. Discover the extensive source material covering over 400 years of Jewish history...
Visualisation of key terms from titles of the files in the inventory of the Hamburg State Archives, created using VoyantTools, 2026.
The interactive timeline uses quotations to highlight the history of the archives of the Hamburg Jewish congregations from 1936 to the present day, as well as the changing meanings, interpretations, claims and perspectives of the various parties involved. More information on the (division) history of these holdings can be found [here].
Selected sources from the Central Archives for the History of the Jewish People and the Hamburg State Archives are available as digital facsimiles and annotated transcripts in the Key Documents online source edition published by the Institute for the History of German Jews. Brief commentaries also place the sources within their historical context and the broader context of German-Jewish history.
New Decree for the Jewish Population of Hamburg, September 7, 1710
StAHH, 522-1, Nr. 93b
Call for the Founding of a Jewish Library and Reading Room, Hamburg, October 1905
StAHH, 522-1, Nr. 887
Statistics on Hamburg’s Jewish Population on April 30, 1945
StaHH, 522-1, 1036
The Central Archives for the History of the Jewish People (CAHJP, in future Archives of the Jewish People, AJP) were founded in Jerusalem in 1939 and hold collections from thousands of Jewish communities and international Jewish organizations worldwide. The original material is divided into three primary collection categories: Jewish communities, international Jewish organizations, and private collections. [More]
The Institute for the History of the German Jews (Institut für die Geschichte der deutschen Juden – IGdJ) was founded in 1966, the first institution in the Federal Republic of Germany dedicated exclusively to the study of German-Jewish history. As a non-university research institute, it carries out research and outreach projects, such as those on migration, legal, and architectural history; the Shoah and its aftermath; Jewish life in the present; current issues of remembrance and commemoration; and Digital Jewish History. [More]
The Hamburg State Archives looks back on over 300 years of history as an independent administrative unit. Its origins date back as far as the Middle Ages. A municipal archive is first mentioned in a document from 1293. This served as a repository for legally significant documents and was directly supervised by the City Council. Nothing changed in this respect, even when a dedicated archivist was appointed in 1648. [More]
