VERBAND DER VEREINE FUER JUEDISCHE GESCHICHTE UND LITERATUR

VERBAND DER VEREINE FUER JUEDISCHE GESCHICHTE UND LITERATUR (Ger. "Association of Societies for Jewish History and Literature"), association of societies founded in Berlin in 1893 under the leadership of Gustav *Karpeles. The Verband was founded following a wide-ranging process that saw the formation of such societies throughout Germany, a process that bore witness to a great rise in the interest in Judaism, its culture and history in the early 1890s. The societies aimed at increasing their members' knowledge of Jewish history and literature, especially through lectures and discussions. The society in Berlin, founded in 1892 and headed by Karpeles, was among the leaders of that process, encouraging and supporting the foundation of other societies and initiating the founding of the Verband as an umbrella organization. The Verband became the largest Jewish organization in Germany, with 12,149 members in 131 societies by 1900. Karpeles led it until 1909, and was followed by I. *Elbogen, who remained in office until 1938. The Verband tried to coordinate the activities of its constituent societies and published popular literature. From 1898 it published an annual, Jahrbuch fuer juedische Geschichte und Literatur, which reached a peak of 5,000 subscribers. After World War i other organizations assumed some of the functions of the Verband, leading to a decline in its membership. Nevertheless, it continued to exist until 1938.

bibliography:

J. Borut, in: lbiyb 41 (1996), pp. 89–114.

[Zvi Avneri /

Jacob Borut (2^nd ed.)]