
offered by the Hamburg State and University Library
The beginnings of Yiddish studies as a university discipline can be traced back to the Yiddish courses that Salomo Birnbaum (1891–1989) taught at Hamburg University from the winter semester of 1922/23. 100 years later, in September 2022, the University of Hamburg and the Salomo Birnbaum Society commemorated this milestone in the history of science and the subject representative who, as a Jew, was expelled by the National Socialists in 1933, ending the brief heyday of Yiddish studies in Hamburg. This volume documents the speeches given at the ceremony, which examine Birnbaum's biography as well as the history of Yiddish studies, and also identify the failings of Hamburg University. The short text of a video message with which Birnbaum's youngest son David (born 1933) from Toronto enriched the event is a special highlight.