The permanent faculty members and researchers at the Koebner Minerva Center conduct their individual research (see the individual sections of fellows (>People<) on the site). The following section refers to larger joint research project ("Drittmittelprojekte") conducted under the umbrella of the Koebner Minerva Center:
The main current projects are:
1) “The Nature of German Jews: Environmental Identities in Transition, 1870-1945”; supported by funds of the Israel Science Foundation (IDF); funds for three years: 120,000 NIS per annum, total 360,000 NIS; period: Oct 2024-Sept 2027 (with possible extension till Sept 2028); PIs: Ofer Ashkenazi (HUJI); Guy Miron, Open University - Department of History, Philosophy and Judaic Studies.
2) “In Europe, In Transit: Daily Life of German-Jewish Refugees in Europe, 1933-1929”; supported in the context of the Internationalization Program “European Research Area” of Minerva Centers - through funds of the Minerva Foundation by the generosity of the BMBF; period Jan 2024-Dec 2024; PI: Prof. Ofer Ashkenazi (HU) with Prof. Annette Vowinckel (Berlin/Potsdam) and Dr. Rebekka Grossmann (University of Leiden, The Netherlands) as cooperation partners.
3) “Between Aliyah and Escape. Jewish Youth Movement and Zionist Education under the Nazi Regime and in pre-State Israel 1933-1945” („Zwischen Alija und Flucht. Jüdische Jugendbünde und zionistische Erziehung unter dem NS-Regime und im vorstaatlichen Israel 1933-1945”); - funded by the DFG in the context of the Program: Middle East Collaboration; period: January 2023-December 2025; PIs: Prof. Ofer Ashkenazi, HUJI; Prof. Ulrike Pilarczyk, TU Braunschweig (Institut für Erziehungswissenschaften). - Read more on the project> https://www.juedischejugendkultur.de/
4) "German Jewish Photo-Albums, 1928-1948: Meaning and Agency in Inconceivable Times"; - funded by the ISF (Israel Science Foundation); period: October 2020 - September 2024; PI: Prof. Ofer Ashkenazi.
Closed Research Projects (last six years):
1) “Transforming the Use of Images in Holocaust Museums Around the World: New Practices and New Analyses”; supported in the context of the Internationalization of Minerva Centers by funds of the BMBF through the generosity of the Minerva Foundation; period Jan 2022-Dec 2022 (with extension till June 2024); PI: Prof. Ofer Ashkenazi (HU) with Prof. Maiken Umbach, Nottingham University UK, as cooperation partner. -
2) “Rethinking the Use of Images and Ego-Documents in Holocaust Museums Around the World” Transforming Visitor Experiences in Holocaust Museums Globally”; supported in the context of the Internationalization of Minerva Centers by funds of the BMBF through the generosity of the Minerva Foundation; total funds: 45.000 Euro; period Jan 2021-Dec 2021 (with extension till 30 June 2024)
3) “Jewish Photography of Crisis: The German Reality in the Eyes of Jewish Photographers, 1928-1938”; - funded by the GIF; period: April 2019 - December 2022; PIs: Prof. Ofer Ashkenazi, HUJI; Dr. Annette Vowinckel, Zentrum für Zeitgeschichtliche Forschung, Potsdam, Germany.
4) “National Jewish Youth Culture and Zionist Education in Germany and Palestine between the World Wars” („Nationaljüdische Jugendkultur und zionistische Erziehung in Deutschland und Palästina zwischen den Weltkriegen”; - funded by the DFG; period: July 2018 - June 2022; PIs: Prof. Ofer Ashkenazi, HUJI; Prof. Ulrike Pilarczyk, TU Braunschweig (Institut für Erziehungswissenschaften). The publication "Hachschara und Jugend-Alija : Wege jüdischer Jugend nach Palästina 1918 - 1941"" is now availalbe online as Open-Source Version. - Read more on the project> https://www.juedischejugendkultur.de/ .
5) “Citizen Science Study of Holocaust Visual Media”; - funded by Minerva Project Funds; period: Januar 2020 - December 2020; PIs: Prof. Ofer Ashkenazi and Prof. Hagai Perets (Technion).
6) “Jewish Photography in Nazi Germany”; - funded by the ISF (Israel Science Foundation); period: 2016-2019 (extended till Sept 2021); PI: Prof. Ofer Ashkenazi.
7) “Documents of Daily Life in Nazi German, 1933-1945”; - funded by Minerva Project Funds; period: 2016-2018; researchers: Prof. Ofer Askenazi, Dr. Noah Benninga.
8) “Dokumente - Erinnerungen - Geschichtsschreibung. Der zweite Theresienstadtfilm, seine Dokumentation und seine Rekonstruktion aus der Perspektive der Überlebenden”; - funded by the Volkswagen Stiftung; period: November 2017 - November 2019; PIs: Prof. em. Hans-Georg Soeffner, Kulturwissenschaftliches Institut Essen (KWI); Prof. Ofer Ashkenazi, Koebner Minerva Center, HUJI; Prof. em. Moshe Zimmermann, Koebner Minerva Center, HUJI; Prof. Benjamin Pollock, Franz Rosenzweig Minerva Research Center, HUJI; ; Dr. Ehrhardt Cremers, Technische Universität Dresden, Institut für Soziologie; Prof. Michael R. Müller, Technische Universität Chemnitz, Institut für Medienforschung; Prof. Jürgen Raab, Universität Koblenz-Landau, Institut für Sozialwissenschaften; read more> https://www.uni-koblenz-landau.de/de/landau/fb6/sowi/soziologie/theresie...
9) “Displaced Heimat: The National Landscape in the Works of German-Jewish Émigrés”; - funded by the I-CORE Program (Israel Center of Research Excellence), cluster: “Da'at Hamakom”: Center for the Study of Cultures of Place in the Modern Jewish World; period: 2013-2018/19; PI: Prof. Ofer Ashkenazi.
10) “German Banking in Mandatory Palestine and Israel: The Contribution of German Jews to the Development of Local Banking, 1933-1967”; - funded by the Beit Elran Fund Tel Aviv; period 2018/2019; PI: Dr. Ofer Ashkenazi; research conducted by Dr. Sharon Livne.