In 1942, the Nazis closed the "Hochschule für die Wissenschaft des Judentums" in Berlin. It was the end of an era that had begun in
1836 with Abraham Geiger's call for the founding of a Jewish theological department at a German university. Geiger (1810 - 1874) envisioned a school both dedicated to Jewish tradition and committed to the principle of academic freedom.
Abraham Geiger College is the first liberal rabbinical seminary in Continental Europe since the Shoah. Its mission is the education of Rabbis for Jewish communities in Central and Eastern Europe.
Abraham Geiger College, founded in 1999 as an institute at University of Potsdam, matriculated its first class of students in 2001. In an historic ceremony on September 14, 2006 at the New Synagogue in Dresden this first class was ordained.
Rabbinic studies are integrated into the extensive curriculum of the Institute of Jewish Studies as they provide the ambience and resources of a large state university. This structure helps to promote an understanding of Judaism within a pluralistic context. At the same time the Abraham Geiger College provides for pastoral training and practice, it maintains its own academic profile. In addition to the Potsdam program there are a large number of courses in Judaic Studies available at the three major Universities in the Berlin area.
Contact:
Abraham Geiger Kolleg
P.O. Box 120852
10598 Berlin
Phone: (030) 31805910
Fax: (030) 318059110
E-Mail: office@geiger-edu.de
Contact person: Dr. Anne Brenker
