Papers about Jewish history from East Prussia and the neighbouring areas.
On this page you will also find texts from the time when we asked research questions at the beginning (about 20 years ago) and in the following years we searched for traces in archives and family albums. For the historical processes of this region between Prussia and Russia or the German province and the successor states of Russia after the First World War (Poland and Lithuania) have so far been outside the great historical interest. But we notice that people are surprised when they learn that here the German Reich bordered directly on the Pale of Settlement and that there were interesting interfaces here. The historical processes of this “interface region” continue to this day, the inaugiration 2018 of a synagogue in Kaliningrad, which stood until 80 years ago in Königsberg, is an impressive symbol for this – again almost unnoticed by the world public.
Jewish Identity Transformations In East Prussia: Paradigms, Scientific publication of University of Klaipeda (Memel), Ruth Leiserowitz, main text German, Abstract and Summary in English >>
Jewish Migration from Lithuania to East Prussia (starting 1813)
If we investigate where the immigrants came from it turns out to our surprise to be mainly a short distance migration. A large number of Jews who were naturalised in the 19th century, i.e. one called naturalisation the process whereby one becamea citizen in Prussia at that time, originated from the region directly lying on its boarders. The tangle of relationships between Jews on both sides of the boarder has been explored very little till now. Read more…….. >>
Litvak Migratory Decisions 1860-1885
from the Conference of the Kaplan Centre in Cape Town JAN07 >>
“If this ugly war would just be over”
Jewish Live in the Esat Prussion province (1939-1943), about Holocaust in East Prussia, essay (German) by Ruth Leiserowitz >>
Reverberations of Kristallnacht in the East Prussian province towns
(Conference Kaliningrad NOV13) >>
Book: “Sabbat Candlesticks and Veterans Association >>, Jews in the Eastern Prussian – Lithuanian border region 1812-1942″ published by GHI Warsaw 2010, Author Ruth Leiserowitz