The Center for Jewish Cultural History, which started in May 2004, is a new and unique inter-disciplinary and trans-disciplinary institution in Salzburg and Austria.

The team investigates Judaism as a phenomenon without chronological limitation from Antiquity up to the present. Judaism and Jewish history are not seen as isolated phenomena but as (important) parts of culture that are connected and intertwined with the majorities or other minorities in different conditions of coexistence.

Our research focuses on Europe, whereby European Judaism has to be analyzed in its interaction with Israel and the USA, the homeland of the largest Jewish diaspora.

We focus on Judaism as a paradigm for Europe, since the Jews are the longest continually existing minority in Europe and thus a paradigmatic cultural entity for a long-term assessment of the question up to modern times. Today the term is used to describe the displacement and migration of other groups and entities as well. Nevertheless, it is highly relevant to explore the common aspects of these experiences and to apply the insights gained from the Jewish experience in a wider and more global context.