Encompassing 30 years of the Institute's activity, the Research Archive offers a comprehensive look at the scholarly work, public life, and international reach of its founder, Prof. Dr. Miriam Gillis-Carlebach. The bulk of the MGC Archive collection is housed at the CAHJP in Jerusalem. A significant portion of the research materials and media holdings is retained at the Carlebach Institute. The JCI Library provides also digital access to a growing selection of publications, rare printed works, manuscripts, and photographs from our collection.
You can learn more about our historical collections in the sections below:
Miriam Gillis-Carlebach (1922-2020) was born in Hamburg, the third daughter of Chief Rabbi Dr. Joseph Zvi Carlebach and Lotte Carlebach (nee Preuss). In November 1938, at the age of 16, she immigrated to Mandatory Palestine, where she continued her studies at the Religious Youth Village under the guidance of Dr. Eugen Michaelis.
In 1944, she married Moshe Gillis, a nature teacher, and the couple settled in Kfar Avraham near Petah Tikva. Early in her career, she served as a remedial teacher at the Amishav transition camps (Ma'abarot). Her academic journey culminated in 1985 when she earned a Ph.D. in Special Education and Hebrew Reading Instruction. A pioneering educator and researcher, she founded the Hadad Center for Dyslexia Research in 1986.
In March 1992, she established the Joseph Carlebach Institute for Modern Jewish Thought and Education. Created in collaboration with the University of Hamburg, the Institute commemorates the life and legacy of her father, Rabbi Dr. Joseph Zvi Carlebach (1883-1942), his family, and the Jewish community of Hamburg—many of whom perished in the Holocaust.
Over a career spanning nearly four decades, Prof. Dr. Miriam Gillis-Carlebach was deeply engaged in academic research and teaching. She authored and edited numerous works on the biographies of Rabbi Dr. Joseph Carlebach and Lotte Carlebach, the history of the Carlebach family, the Jewish communities of Hamburg and Altona, Holocaust education, and special education. In recognition of her significant contributions, she was honored with numerous awards including: Honorary Senator of Hamburg University (1995), Honorary Doctorate from Oldenburg University (2009), German Federal Cross of Merit [Bundesverdienstkreuz] (2008), and Medal for Art and Science from the City of Hamburg (2017).
CV and Publications [2012]The Institute was founded in March 1992 in honor of Joseph Zwi Carlebach, the last Chief Rabbi of the Hamburg Jewish community. This was a joint academic initiative in partnership with the Joseph Carlebach Workgroup of the University of Hamburg and the Institute for the History of the German Jews.
In accordance with the partnership agreements, the Institute organized eleven International Carlebach Conferences and coordinated long-term academic cooperation programs. These included an annual student seminar conducted in collaboration with the University of Magdeburg, held regularly for twenty years between 1997 and 2017.
From its founding until 2015, the Institute was led by its founder, Prof. Dr. Miriam Gillis-Carlebach. In May 2015, the directorship was assumed by Prof. Dr. George Yaakov Kohler.
JCI FlyerJoseph Zvi Carlebach (1883-1942) was born in Lubeck into a distinguished Orthodox rabbinic family. In 1910, he earned a Doctor of Philosophy degree from the University of Heidelberg, and in 1914, he completed his studies at the Rabbinical Seminary in Berlin. He served as a senior teacher in Jerusalem (1905-1907) and in Berlin (1908-1915). During World War I, he held the position of Head of the Jewish Real Gymnasium in Kovno. In 1921, he was appointed Director of the Talmud Torah school and later became the Chief Rabbi of the Jewish communities in Altona and Hamburg.
Joseph Carlebach was a prolific writer, publishing numerous books and articles in the contemporary Jewish press in Germany. Volume III of Carlebach's selected writings (G. Olms, 2004) includes a comprehensive list of his published works and manuscripts. Rabbi Joseph Carlebach served as Chief Rabbi of Hamburg and Schleswig-Holstein until his final day. He perished along with his wife, Lotte, and their three young daughters in March 1942 in the Bikernieki Forest near Riga.
This series comprises materials personally assembled and preserved by Miriam Gillis-Carlebach over several decades. It includes handwritten and typed documents, correspondence, photographs, and related documentation concerning Joseph and Lotte Carlebach family.
Personal and Family correspondence
The collection features the bulk of Joseph Carlebach's private correspondence, documenting his rabbinic and educational leadership. It also includes family correspondence addressed to his father, Rabbi Dr. Shlomo Carlebach, and his brother, Rabbi Ephraim Carlebach. Another major subseries dates from his final years as Chief Rabbi of Hamburg (1938-1941), primarily farewell correspondence authored by Lotte Carlebach-Preuss.
Microfilm Collection Copies
Contains manuscripts, letters, and family papers. Coordinated in 1976 by the Leo Baeck Institute (New York).
Das Joseph Carlebach Archiv
The archive's foundation lies in the Rabbi Dr. Ephraim Carlebach Collection. Following the family's immigration to Israel in March 1936, these records were meticulously preserved and later donated to the Joseph Carlebach Institute between 1996 and 1998.
This comprehensive series features personal papers, rabbinic manuscripts, and family documentation from Rabbi Alexander S. Adler, Rabbi Dr. Salomon Carlebach, Rabbi Dr. Emanuel Carlebach, alongside records from the Wilhelm and Miriam Cohn family.
The collection is further enriched by the papers of the third generation—including Esriel and Cilly Carlebach—representing the children of the primary creators. To provide a broader academic context, the archive includes complementary scholarly materials and writings by Dr. Moritz Stern (1864-1939), Rabbi Joseph H. Hacohen (1850-1948), and Rabbi Dr. Michael Cahn (1849-1920).