Holocaust survivor Anita Lasker-Wallfisch (left) and Niklas Frank (right), whose father was Governor of Nazi-occupied Poland, were in conversation with Trudy Gold (centre) at the University of Sussex's Holocaust Memorial Day event in 2019

Leading figures will discuss the rise of antisemitism at an event at the German Ambassador’s Residence in London to launch the University of Sussex’s new centre for Jewish studies.  

Booker Prize-winning author Howard Jacobson will join Baroness Neuberger, journalist Hella Pick and Lord Pickles on a panel addressing rising anti-Jewish sentiment in the UK and beyond. The discussion will be chaired by the author Thomas Harding.  

The event in March will celebrate the establishment of the Sussex Weidenfeld Institute of Jewish Studies, which has received significant backing from the German Government and aims to become a leading centre for Jewish studies. 

The Institute is being launched in memory of the late Lord Weidenfeld, a long-term supporter of the University of Sussex’s renowned work in German-Jewish studies and founding supporter of its more recently established Chair in Modern Israel studies.  

The German Ambassador, Peter Wittig, who is hosting the launch event at the German Embassy in London, said: 

“I am delighted that the German Government is able to support the Sussex Weidenfeld Institute of Jewish Studies and hope that we can lay the lasting foundations for a leading centre for Jewish and German-Jewish studies. 

“It is a poignant and very saddening sign of our times that we launch the Institute amid a discussion on the rise of antisemitism. This rise is a deeply troubling development, coming just over 80 years after the events of ‘Kristallnacht’ in Germany, when Nazi paramilitary troops and civilians unleashed a pogrom against Jewish citizens, unchecked and unchallenged by most of civil society. 

“Institutions such as the Weidenfeld Institute preserving Lord Weidenfeld’s legacy and his outstanding commitment to the fight against extremism are of the utmost importance amidst the challenges our world faces today. Germany’s contribution to this institute is further testimony to my country’s commitment to do our best to protect the values of our liberal societies.” 

Adam Tickell, Vice-Chancellor of the University of Sussex, said: “The teaching of German and Austrian history is largely neglected in the UK and our work focusing on Jewish people in German-speaking lands has always sought to address this. 

“We now see an opportunity, with the kind support the German Government is providing, to expand this programme and create a new and distinctive interdisciplinary research centre that will place the Jewish experience in a broader context and make it relevant to larger issues of our day. 

“For example, issues such as antisemitism will be investigated from historical, cultural, and socio-political standpoints to provide insights into the wider context of humanistic, democratic, and liberal values in modern society."  

Through its German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD), the German government will fund a new professorship. The new professor will join the Institute at management / executive level and is to be appointed in 2019. 

The Austrian government is also supporting the Institute, funding a summer school for PhD students, a Visiting Fellowship and a study trip for students to Austria. 

The University is now raising financial support for a programme of Visiting Fellowships, and for outreach and public events such as its long standing Holocaust Memorial Day. In addition, disseminating research findings amongst teachers, educators and parliamentarians will be a key aim of the Institute’s impact agenda.