THE SITE
Halberstadt, situated on the northern edge of the Harz Mountains in Saxony-Anhalt, is a town whose urban fabric reflects both its long medieval history and the profound ruptures of the twentieth century. The historic centre preserves important examples of religious architecture and traditional timber-framed buildings, while large surrounding areas were destroyed during the air raids of April 1945 and subsequently rebuilt with post-war urban structures. This juxtaposition of surviving heritage and reconstruction forms an essential part of Halberstadt’s historical narrative.
From the Middle Ages until the rise of National Socialism, Halberstadt was one of the most important centres of Jewish life in Central Germany. A Jewish community is documented here from at least the thirteenth century, developing over centuries into a place of religious scholarship, commerce, and cultural exchange. Around 1700, the Court Jew Berend Lehmann, who served Augustus the Strong of Saxony, founded the “Klaus”. The term "Klaus" in the context of Jewish heritage derives from the Western Yiddish "Klaus" or Eastern Yiddish "klojs, klous," which in turn comes from the term "Klause" in German or "clausura" in Medieval Latin, meaning "closed space" or "enclosure." A “Klaus” was traditionally a study house or school funded by community members where Jews could engage in Torah and Talmud studies. It often functioned alongside a synagogue, providing a dedicated space for religious learning and discussion. In most traditional settings, a “Klaus” was not just a place of study but also a communal centre for scholarly and religious activity. Today, such “Klaus” (plural: klojsn) are still found within Hasidic communities where they continue to serve as vital centres for religious study and community life.
The Klaus complex in Halberstadt, housed in a timber-framed structure, became an important centre of Jewish Neo-Orthodoxy during the nineteenth century under prominent rabbis and scholars. Supported in particular by the Hirsch family, whose industrial enterprise Aron Hirsch & Sohn developed into a major metal company, the site combined religious learning with engagement in wider social and economic life. In 1857, a new building incorporating a synagogue space and a bet ha-midrash was erected, reflecting this period of intellectual and communal prosperity. The Lehrhaus (house of learning) possessed an extensive library of Hebrew literature, with works dating back to the sixteenth century, which served generations of students and scholars and contributed to the reputation of Halberstadt as a centre of Jewish learning with influence far beyond the region.
The November Pogrom of 1938 marked the violent destruction of this environment. While the Klaus building itself survived physically, it was expropriated during the process of “Aryanisation” and misused as a so-called “Jewish House,” from which the remaining Jewish inhabitants were deported in 1942. During the final phase of the war, the complex was further altered and used as a forced labour camp. The historical library of the Klaus was lost, and its whereabouts could not be clarified after the war. After 1945, the building underwent a series of utilitarian reuses, including as a factory and residential accommodation, which significantly changed its internal structure.
Research and restoration campaigns in the late twentieth century revealed important material traces of earlier use, including the remains of a sukkah structure integrated into the roof construction Historical evidence showed that sections of the roof could be opened during the festival of Sukkot, allowing ritual meals to take place under the open sky. Such discoveries provide rare insight into the lived cultural and religious life once embedded in the architecture.
In addition to the Klaus, Berend Lehmann had commissioned a representative Baroque synagogue in 1712. Distinguished by its prominent cupola, it was one of the earliest synagogue buildings in Germany to assert a visible architectural presence. The structure was plundered during the pogrom of 1938 and demolished soon thereafter; today only fragments of its entrance structure survive, marking the site of destruction. Both the sukkah area and the remains of the Baroque synagogue have been locations of previous European Heritage Volunteers Training Courses, during which conservation work was carried out.
Following German reunification, ownership of the Klaus complex was restituted to the Jewish Claims Conference in 1998. Today the Moses Mendelssohn Academy and the Berend Lehmann Museum for Jewish history and culture are housed in the restored buildings.
The ensemble today represents a complex site in which surviving architecture, reconstructed collections, and commemorative interventions bear witness to the intellectual vitality of Halberstadt’s Jewish community and to the violence that led to its eradication. At the same time, it serves as a place of scholarship, remembrance, and public engagement, where the preservation of material heritage is closely linked to the reconstruction of historical knowledge.
THE PROJECT
The European Heritage Volunteers Project in Halberstadt in 2026 continues the long-standing cooperation with the Moses Mendelssohn Academy dedicated to the preservation and interpretation of the city’s Jewish heritage. Following previous projects carried out at different components of the historic Jewish quarter, the 2026 activities will focus on documentation and conservation-related work within the historical archive and library holdings of the Klaus.
The original library of the Klaus, once an important collection of Hebrew literature used for study and teaching over several centuries, no longer exists. However, the collection has been partially reconstructed through research, donations, and acquisitions, bringing together publications that were most likely part of the former library. These books, dating from the seventeenth to nineteenth centuries, form an essential part of the museum’s exhibition and research work and show clear traces of long use. Their current condition reflects their historical function and must therefore be preserved while ensuring their long-term stability.
The work will concentrate on the systematic documentation and condition assessment of selected volumes according to principles of paper conservation. Participants will record the physical state of the books, describing damages, materials, and previous repairs, and preparing the basis for future conservation measures. The aim is the careful safeguarding of these historically used objects while maintaining their authenticity and visible signs of use.
All activities will be carried out in close cooperation with specialists of the Moses Mendelssohn Academy and the Berend Lehmann Museum, as well as external experts in paper conservation, introducing participants to methods of archival documentation, the handling of fragile historical materials, principles of preventive conservation, and the historical, religious, and intellectual context necessary to understand the significance of the collected books. Through this work, the project contributes to the long-term preservation of a collection that represents an important testimony to Jewish scholarship and intellectual life in Halberstadt.
The educational programme will address the history of Jewish learning in Halberstadt, the role of the Klaus as a centre of religious and scholarly life, and the destruction of this environment during the National Socialist period. Guided visits, and discussions will connect the practical work with broader questions of remembrance culture, documentation of lost heritage, and the responsibilities involved in preserving material traces of communities that were displaced or annihilated.
An integral element of the educational programme will be the participants’ presentations. Each participant is required to prepare and deliver a presentation related to the thematic focus of the activities on site, introducing a case study from their country of origin. This component connects the practical work undertaken during the programme with comparable heritage practices in different cultural and institutional contexts. Through this structured exchange, participants reflect on conservation approaches, management frameworks, and current challenges, contributing to a broader comparative understanding of heritage preservation. The presentations are intended to encourage critical dialogue, intercultural exchange, and the articulation of informed professional perspectives within an international group of emerging heritage practitioners.
The project will take place from August 16th to August 29th, 2026, and is organised by European Heritage Volunteers jointly with the Moses Mendelssohn Academy Halberstadt.
