History

Learning from the past for the present in order to shape the future.

The Ilse Blank-Mezger-Hesselberger Foundation promotes research, education and scientific and social dialogue on Jewish life, anti-Semitism in the past and present and ideologies of all kinds that are hostile to humanity and freedom.

Research

Our work focuses on the history of Jewish citizens of Munich and Bavaria, in particular the Blank, Mezger and Hesselberger families and their relatives. Their lives exemplify the decisive contribution of the Jewish population to German society, and at the same time the existential rupture caused by the anti-Semitism of the Nazi reign of terror culminating in the Shoah.

Learning from the past for today and tomorrow: We promote academic debate on totalitarian ideologies of all kinds, combined with the clear mission of strengthening historical awareness through sound education and contributing to the fight against ideologies that are hostile to humanity and freedom.

Education

Education is a prerequisite for historical awareness and social development. Only through knowledge of the past can we shape the future. The Foundation promotes the transfer and exchange of knowledge, links science with politics and culture, and initiates dialogue between experts and the general public.

Discussions, lectures, seminars and evening meetings will take place in Haus Blank, the founder’s former home, following its renovation as a new place for education and encounters in Munich. Visitors will be able to experience Ilse Blank directly as the “hostess” in a permanent exhibition on her life and family history.

PROJECTS

Tücher and Bücher. From Augsburg to the Netherlands: Hein Kohn (1907–1979)

The special exhibition Tücher and Bücher. From Augsburg to the Netherlands is dedicated to the remarkable life of the Jewish publisher, literary agent and cultural mediator Hein Kohn. It tells a story of courage, cultural responsibility and an extraordinary journey from Augsburg into exile.

Retro-digitization of the Publication Series of the Heidelberg University of Jewish Studies (HfJS)

The long-standing publication series of the Heidelberg University of Jewish Studies will soon be freely accessible worldwide under a new open-access agreement with Winter Verlag.

Digitization of the Library of the Jewish Community of Munich and Upper Bavaria

The library of the Jewish Community of Munich and Upper Bavaria is one of the most important Jewish special libraries in the German-speaking world.

Remembered Present – An Exhibition on the Theresienstadt Ghetto

In the travelling exhibition „Remembered Present“, artist Marlies Poss engages with the Theresienstadt Ghetto through original documents, personal stories, and artistic reflections.

Displaced Persons Camp Pocking-Waldstadt

After the end of the Second World War, numerous Jewish DP camps were established in the western occupation zones. For around 200,000 survivors of the Shoah, they became places of refuge, transition, and new beginnings.

Klezmer and More – Encounter with Jewish History and Culture

The project organized by the Network for Jewish History and Culture in Bavarian Swabia offers young people an engaging introduction to Jewish history and culture.

Travelling exhibition: “Yours, Anne. A Girl Makes History.”

The travelling exhibition tells the story of Anne Frank from her childhood to her last seven months in the camps of Westerbork, Auschwitz and Bergen-Belsen.

The Bf Prize 2024 – Promotional award for critical design-related texts

The bf Prize was donated in memory of Wilhelm Braun-Feldweg, the noted pioneer of design.

Ichenhausen synagogue talks for the future

Ichenhausen, in the district of Günzburg, was home to the largest rural Jewish community in Bavaria.

Tücher and Bücher. From Augsburg to the Netherlands: Hein Kohn (1907–1979)

Retro-digitization of the Publication Series of the Heidelberg University of Jewish Studies (HfJS)

The long-standing publication series of the Heidelberg University of Jewish Studies will soon be freely accessible worldwide under a new open-access agreement with Winter Verlag.

Digitization of the Library of the Jewish Community of Munich and Upper Bavaria

The library of the Jewish Community of Munich and Upper Bavaria is one of the most important Jewish special libraries in the German-speaking world.

Remembered Present – An Exhibition on the Theresienstadt Ghetto

In the travelling exhibition „Remembered Present“, artist Marlies Poss engages with the Theresienstadt Ghetto through original documents, personal stories, and artistic reflections.

Displaced Persons Camp Pocking-Waldstadt

Klezmer and More – Encounter with Jewish History and Culture

The project organized by the Network for Jewish History and Culture in Bavarian Swabia offers young people an engaging introduction to Jewish history and culture.

Travelling exhibition: “Yours, Anne. A Girl Makes History.”

The travelling exhibition tells the story of Anne Frank from her childhood to her last seven months in the camps of Westerbork, Auschwitz and Bergen-Belsen.

The Bf Prize 2024 – Promotional award for critical design-related texts

The bf Prize was donated in memory of Wilhelm Braun-Feldweg, the noted pioneer of design.

Ichenhausen synagogue talks for the future

Ichenhausen, in the district of Günzburg, was home to the largest rural Jewish community in Bavaria.

Contact

History

Research

Education

PROJECTS

Tücher and Bücher. From Augsburg to the Netherlands: Hein Kohn (1907–1979)

Retro-digitization of the Publication Series of the Heidelberg University of Jewish Studies (HfJS)

Digitization of the Library of the Jewish Community of Munich and Upper Bavaria

Remembered Present – An Exhibition on the Theresienstadt Ghetto

Displaced Persons Camp Pocking-Waldstadt

Klezmer and More – Encounter with Jewish History and Culture

Travelling exhibition: “Yours, Anne. A Girl Makes History.”

The Bf Prize 2024 – Promotional award for critical design-related texts

Ichenhausen synagogue talks for the future

Tücher and Bücher. From Augsburg to the Netherlands: Hein Kohn (1907–1979)

Retro-digitization of the Publication Series of the Heidelberg University of Jewish Studies (HfJS)

Digitization of the Library of the Jewish Community of Munich and Upper Bavaria

Remembered Present – An Exhibition on the Theresienstadt Ghetto

Displaced Persons Camp Pocking-Waldstadt

Klezmer and More – Encounter with Jewish History and Culture

Travelling exhibition: “Yours, Anne. A Girl Makes History.”

The Bf Prize 2024 – Promotional award for critical design-related texts

Ichenhausen synagogue talks for the future

Contact