Publications
Le Worms juif dans les réseaux urbains et seigneuriaux du Rhin supérieur septentrional (env. 1000 à 1350)
A significant discovery emerges from the study of Worms' Jewish community between 1000 and 1350, highlighting its unique integration within the episcopal and imperial networks of the Upper Rhine region. The research reveals that Worms' Jews enjoyed substantial autonomy in internal affairs since 1090, a privilege later renewed, while maintaining close ties with neighboring communities, particularly Mainz and Speyer. This cooperation, formalized through the SchUM alliance in the High Middle Ages, had lasting implications for Jewish legal life beyond the Upper Rhine. The study employs historical and network analysis to trace these relationships, offering insights into the complex dynamics of medieval urban governance and Jewish autonomy.
These I recall: traces of a repeated past in the Worms Synagogue reconstruction
Germany's first Jewish World Heritage Site, the ShUM Sites of Speyer, Worms, and Mainz, offers a unique lens to examine the complex interplay between memory, materiality, and identity. The study reveals that the reconstructed Worms Synagogue, despite its lack of a congregation, serves as a powerful symbol of resilience and continuity, challenging conventional narratives about shifts in material cultures of memory post-modernity. By employing a regional, decentralized, and colloquial understanding of memory-work, the research highlights the mundane materialities of the site as evidence and storyteller of conflicting, contradictory, and often semi-fictitious struggles for agency and identity. Traditional Jewish ritual and liturgical conceptions of memory are utilized to expand and complicate readings of this site, questioning prominent assumptions about fundamental shifts necessitated by events like the Holocaust.
Jewish Attitudes to the Reconstruction of Synagogues in post World War II Europe
This study examines Jewish attitudes toward the reconstruction of synagogues in post-World War II Europe, focusing on the ShUM cities of Speyer, Worms, and Mainz. It reveals that while material reconstruction is possible, the spiritual essence—rooted in eschatological thought and Mishnaic traditions—remains a contentious issue. The research explores whether synagogues can be 'de-sanctified' or if their value lies solely in use rather than material form. By analyzing historical events, community values, and changing interpretations, it highlights the tension between existential and historical models of Jewish identity. The study also contrasts these attitudes with the restoration debates surrounding the Bamiyan Buddhas, underscoring broader themes of impermanence and the consequences of racism.
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