Leopold and Adelheid Zunz Collection
Scope and Contents
The collection contains items related to Leopold and Adelheid Zunz, such as articles about them, portraits, and correspondence. Also included are a handwritten catalog of Leopold Zunz's library and over 800 visiting cards; more than 270 of which contain original autographs.
The bulk of the collection consists of Leopold and Adelheid Zunz's correspondence with friends and relatives, including Philipp Ehrenberg, Samuel Meyer Ehrenberg, Salomon von Hönigsberg, and Meier Isler. Also included are letters from Adelheid Zunz, often with postcripts by her husband, Leopold Zunz, to Julie Ehrenberg (née Fischel).
Dates
- 1815-1959
Creator
- Zunz, Leopold, 1794-1886 (Person)
Language of Materials
The collection is in German.
Access Restrictions
Open to researchers.
Access Information
Collection is digitized. Follow the links in the Container List to access the digitized materials.
Use Restrictions
There may be some restrictions on the use of the collection. For more information, contact:
Leo Baeck Institute, Center for Jewish History, 15 West 16th Street, New York, NY, 10011
email: lbaeck@lbi.cjh.org
Biographical Note
Born in Detmold on August 10, 1794, Leopold Zunz was educated at the Samson'sche Freischule in Wolfenbüttel, and the universities of Berlin and Halle. In 1819, he was a founding member of the Verein fuer Cultur und Wissenschaft der Juden in Berlin, in which prominent intellectual figures like Eduard Gans, Heinrich Heine, M. I. Jost and Immanuel Wohlwill gathered. From this club, the so-called Wissenschaft des Judentums emerged, mainly based on two early works of Zunz, the programmatic article "Etwas über rabbinische Litteratur" (1818) and the major ground-breaking study on Jewish sermons, Die gottesdienstlichen Vortraege der Juden, historisch entwickelt (1832). After receiving his doctorate in 1821, he worked as a preacher and teacher and became the editor of the journal Zeitschrift für die Wissenschaft des Judenthums. In 1822, he married Adelheid Bermann (1802-1874). In later years, he retreated more and more from his public duties and dedicated his life to the study of Jewish literature. He died in Berlin on March 17, 1886.
Extent
1 Linear Feet
Abstract
Leopold Zunz (1794-1886) was one of the founders of the Wissenschaft des Judentums. The bulk of this collection consists of his and his wife Adelheid's correspondence. Also included is an extensive collection of visiting cards he received as well as a few images and articles about him.
Arrangement
The collection is divided into three series:
- Series I: Personal, 1817-1959
- Series II: Calling Cards, undated
- Series III: Correspondence, 1815-1884
- Subseries 1: To Leopold and Adelheid Zunz, 1816-1884
- Subseries 2: Between Leopold and Adelheid Zunz, 1819-1852
- Subseries 3: By Leopold Zunz, 1815-1871
- A) Samuel Meyer and Philipp Ehrenberg
- B) Meier Isler
- C) Various
- Subseries 4: By Adelheid Zunz, 1844-1873
Other Finding Aid
Several older finding aids, which contain item-level inventories, are included in this collection. They can be found in Series I and also at the beginning of the subseries they describe.
Microfilm
The collection is on three reels of microfilm (MF 1053):
- Reel 1: 1/1 - 1/48
- Reel 2: 1/49 - 1/89
- Reel 3: 1/90 - 1/93
- Title
- Guide to the Papers of Leopold Zunz (1794-1886) and Adelheid Zunz (1802-1874), 1815-1959 AR 3648 / MF 1053
- Author
- Processed by Ilse Turnheim and Viola Voss
- Date
- © 2006
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
- Language of description note
- Description is in English.
Revision Statements
- October 2010.: Microfilm inventory added.
- March 10, 2014 : Links to digital objects added in Container List.
Repository Details
Part of the Leo Baeck Institute Repository
