Whether overt, latent or indirect hatred of Jews: there must be no place for anti-Semitism in Germany and Europe. This also calls for scientific research. The Federal Ministry of Research, Technology and Space (BMFTR) is therefore funding projects on the current dynamics and challenges of anti-Semitism.
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The fight against anti-Semitism is the task of the rule of law, of civil society - but also of academia. It helps to better understand the phenomenon. Because understanding it better means being able to fight it better. The Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMFTR) supports both basic and application-oriented research into anti-Semitism in Germany and Europe.
With its funding measures, the Federal Ministry of Research, Technology and Space (BMFTR) supports research networks at universities and non-university institutions throughout Germany.
In the first funding phase, ten research networks with a total of 31 sub-projects conducted research on topics including "Preventing antisemitism in education", "Dealing legally with antisemitic incidents", "Christian signatures of antisemitism" and "Antisemitism and online media", as well as on the reactions of Jews to antisemitic experiences. With in-depth findings and concrete concepts and measures, the projects are intended to help politicians and society to counter anti-Semitic words and deeds appropriately on the basis of scientific findings and to oppose them effectively.
The project results provide support for civil society and the administration in the fight against anti-Semitism. The aim of the funding line was also to strengthen anti-Semitism research in Germany and to anchor it more firmly in the German research landscape. To this end, research in various disciplines and research fields, which had previously often been unconnected, was now more closely interlinked across disciplines and locations. This was achieved on the one hand through collaboration on joint research questions within the funded networks and, in addition, through cross-network activities over a total of four years. The projects will be flanked by an accompanying programme until the end of 2025, which will support the researchers in their scientific networking and transfer measures.
The funding guideline (Federal Gazette of 07.04.2020), together with other BMFTR funding activities, is part of the extended thematic complex of radicalisation and extremism research of the BMFTR Framework Programme for the Humanities and Social Sciences. A brief introduction to the individual collaborative projects can be found below.
With the funding guideline "Causes and Dynamics of Contemporary Antisemitism" (Federal Gazette of 16 December 2024), the BMFTR is strengthening antisemitism research for a further four years. The projects are selected in a science-led review process.
The funding guideline aims to further deepen the knowledge base and understanding of the phenomenon of antisemitism in its current manifestations. In addition, Jewish life as a natural part of our society is to be made even more visible and supported. One aim of the guideline is to identify and analyse anti-Semitism through academic research projects with practical relevance and, where appropriate, to develop practical recommendations.
TU Berlin, Center for Research on Antisemitism
Project management: Prof. Dr. Stefanie Schüler-Springorum (TU Berlin)
Objective: The “meta project” supports the research projects, coordinates networking opportunities among them and ensures transfer of research findings to civil society stakeholders.
Europa-Universität Flensburg - Zentrum für Bildungs-, Unterrichts-, Schul- und Sozialisationsforschung (ZeBUSS); Heinrich-Heine-Universität Düsseldorf – Institut für Romanistik
Project management: Prof. Dr Iulia-Karin Partrut (Europa-Universität Flensburg)
Objective: The research group explores dynamics, characteristics and effects of Antisemitism in Europe and cooperates with schools in Germany, France, Spain and Romania to develop multi-lingual digital teaching materials across subjects for the prevention of Antisemitism.
Touro College Berlin gGmbH; Universität Potsdam – Departement Inklusionspädagogik; FH Bielefeld – Fachbereich Sozialwesen; Jüdische Gemeinde zu Berlin (Praxispartner)
Project management: Prof. Dr. Özen Odağ (Touro College Berlin gGmbH)
Objective: The research group RESPOND aims to develop a counter voice for young people in order to fight antisemitic hate speech online. In a first step, the project explores the forms of manifestation of Antisemitism in social media outlets and analyses young people’s vulnerability and competence in dealing with them. Subsequently, RESPOND will develop, implement and evaluate a training for disseminators in order to develop media literacy in dealing with antisemitic online hate speech. Findings from the training will be further disseminated to teachers.
Freie Universität Berlin – Seminar für Katholische Theologie; Georg-Eckert-Institut, Leibniz-Institut für internationale Schulbuchforschung; Evangelische Akademien in Deutschland e.V
Project management: Prof. Dr. Rainer Kampling (Freie Universität Berlin)
Objective: The research group identifies and analyses elements of Christianity in historic as well as contemporary forms of Antisemitism. A broad concept of transfer is supposed to ensure conveyance of research findings to the scientific community, schools and adult education. Three aligned sub-projects in historical fundamental research as well as research on educational media will explore the emergence of Antisemitism as well as its persistence.
Salomon Ludwig Steinheim-Institut für deutsch-jüdische Geschichte an der Universität Duisburg-Essen; Technische Universität Braunschweig – Bet Tfila –Forschungsstelle für jüdische Architektur in Europa; Bayerisches Landesamt für Denkmalpflege, Fachbereich „Erfassung jüdischer Grabmäler in Bayern“
Project management: Dr. Cordula Lissner (Salomon Ludwig Steinheim-Institut)
Objective: Jewish cemeteries are meant to last. However, attacks have shown that they are vulnerable places. The research group Net Olam makes an essential contribution through a broad and interdisciplinary data collection which is supposed to form a base for further research undertakings. By developing hand outs and specific measures for the protection of vulnerable objects, the project contributes to concepts of prevention.
Leibniz-Institut für jüdische Geschichte und Kultur – Simon Dubnow (DI); Georg-Eckert-Institut – Leibniz-Institut für internationale Schulbuchforschung; Arbeitskreis Deutsch-Jüdische Geschichte im Verband der Geschichtslehrer Deutschlands e.V. (VDG)
Project management: Prof. Dr. Yfaat Weiss (Leibniz-Institut für jüdische Geschichte und Kultur – Simon Dubnow)
Objective: The research group combines cultural-historic fundamental research and applied research on educational materials. The results will be processed and conveyed to disseminators and teachers in the field of historical-political education to use them for the prevention of Antisemitism. Jews are here not portrayed primarily as victims of discrimination and persecution but as subjects with plural-religious, secular and political identities.
Website Turning the object into the subject
Justus-Liebig-Universität Gießen - Fachbereich Rechtswissenschaft; Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin – Lehrstuhl für Öffentliches Recht und Geschlechterstudien; Universität Heidelberg – Institut für ausländisches und internationales Privat- und Wirtschaftsrecht; Moses Mendelssohn Zentrum für europäisch-jüdische Studien; Bundesverband der Recherche- und Informationsstellen Antisemitismus e.V.
Project management: Prof. Dr. Thilo Marauhn (Justus-Liebig-Universität Gießen)
Objective: The research group analyses the role of the judiciary in fighting Antisemitism. It takes stock of the most important legal fields, explores the legal interpretation of (the term) Antisemitism, addresses its consideration in the context of legal processes and takes into account the perspective of those affected.
Sigmund-Freud-Institut; Katholische Hochschule Nordrhein-Westfalen; Technische Universität Berlin – FG Allgemeine Linguistik
Project management: Dr. Kurt Grünberg (Sigmund-Freud-Institut)
Objective: The interdisciplinary project focusses on the experiences of Antisemitism among Third Generation – descendants of Shoah survivors. It will be analysed if and how contemporary Antisemitism re-actualizes the grandparents’ experiences of persecution in a transgenerational manner in the life of today’s Third Generation descendants.
Hochschule für Jüdische Studien Heidelberg / Zentralrat der Juden in Deutschland; Duisburger Institut für Sprach- und Sozialforschung e.V.
Project management: Rabbinerin Prof. Birgit Klein (Hochschule für Jüdische Studien Heidelberg)
Objective: The project examines to what extent Jews are being influenced in their ritual practice by anti-Jewish portrayals or anti-Jewish reactions toward their rituals. Workshops and different online materials will contribute to the conveyance of unprejudiced knowledge on Jewish ritual practice.
Ruhr-Universität Bochum – Historisches Institut und Center for Religious Studies; Tikvah Institut gemeinnützige UG; Universität Bielefeld – Fakultät für Erziehungswissenschaft; Eberhard-Karls-Universität Tübingen - Hector Institut für Empirische Bildungsforschung; Hochschule für Polizei und öffentliche Verwaltung NRW
Project management: Prof. Nicola Brauch (Ruhr-Universität Bochum)
Objective: The research group EMPATHIA³ professionalizes trainee teachers and police officers in handling Antisemitism. In order to do so, the project will develop, implement and evaluate a key curriculum for the prevention and countering of Antisemitism, a test for the assessment of knowledge and attitudes as well as a shared course program for the target groups.
Johann Wolfgang-Goethe-Universität Frankfurt am Main – Fachbereich Erziehungswissenschaften; Institut für die Geschichte der deutschen Juden – Hamburg; Universität Hamburg, Akademie der Weltreligionen
Project management: Prof. Dr. Isabell Diehm (Johann Wolfgang-Goethe-Universität Frankfurt am Main)
Objective: The interdisciplinary research group explores religiously coded construction of difference among children in three different pedagogical settings (taking into account the perspectives of children, parents, pedagogues and teachers), to spot antisemitic attitudes at the time of their emergence in order to counteract them early on.
In another collaborative project, "Der Sammler und seine Dinge” (The Collector and His Things), the Centre for Research on Anti-Semitism (ZfA) at the TU Berlin and the Foundation of the German Historical Museum (DHM) are researching the comprehensive "Wolfgang Haney Collection" that has around 15,000 artefacts. The ZfA examines the history of anti-Semitic everyday objects and links them to the history of the collection as well as to the biography of the collector Wolfgang Haney. With financial support from the Federal Ministry of Research, Technology and Space (BMFTR), the Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and the Media and the Cultural Foundation of the German Federal States, the DHM acquired the "Wolfgang Haney Collection", which is outstanding for research into anti-Semitism.
