This book is the first systematic history of Jewish archiving activities in the twentieth century, with an emphasis on Germany, the United States, and Israel/Palestine. It argues that collecting and preserving archives was not only about the past, but also about the future. A series of case studies showcase how the question of who could claim to "own" history led to contentious debates and struggles, both before the Holocaust and especially in its aftermath in the context of the restitution of Nazi-looted archives.

Jason Lustig is a Lecturer and Israel Institute Teaching Fellow at the Schusterman Center for Jewish Studies at the University of Texas at Austin. He is the host and creator of the Jewish History Matters podcast. He was previously a Harry Starr Fellow in Judaica at Harvard University's Center for Jewish Studies and a Gerald Westheimer Early Career Fellow at the Leo Baeck Institute.

• Introduction


• 1. Archival Totality in the Gesamtarchiv der deutschen Juden


• 2. Ingathering the Exiles of the Past? Bringing Archives to Jerusalem


• 3. An Archive of Diaspora at the 'Jerusalem on the Ohio'


• 4. Making the Past into History: Jewish Archives and Postwar Germany


• 5. Digitization, Virtual Collections, and Total Archives in the Twenty-First Century


• Conclusion


• Notes


• Bibliography


• Index