Foundation for Contemporary Jewish History

The purpose of the foundation is to create and foster a documentation centre for Jewish contemporary history in the Archives of Contemporary History at the ETH Zurich’s Institute of History. Source documents of Jewish contemporary history are to be safeguarded against loss and made accessible to a wide audience.

Documentation centre for contemporary Jewish history

The documentation centre for Jewish contemporary history defines itself as a central archive to safeguard private legacies and institutional archives containing documents connected with Jewish life in Switzerland from the second half of the 19th century to the present day. The records highlight Switzerland’s significant Jewish cultural heritage, much of which has remained unknown for a long time. The collection includes the legacies of Gertrud Kurz, Carl Lutz, Peter Surava and Paul Vogt.

Composition of the foundation and ties with the SIG

Ever since the foundation was set up jointly by ETH Zurich and SIG in 1995, the SIG has been closely involved in its operations. The SIG has always had a seat on the foundation’s board of trustees, currently held by SIG President Ralph Lewin. Moreover, the SIG’s own archive is also located in the ETH Zurich’s Archives of Contemporary History and is open to interested parties for research purposes.