Moderne Genisaforschung in Deutschland

Abstract Hidden in the attics of old synagogues in Germany, the very last remnants of former Genizot survived unnoticed not only the NS period, but also the following years of secular use of these buildings. Since the 1950s Genizot have been found mostly in the course of renovation work on the synagogues. After ages of storage in the attics, Genizah findings are usually in very bad condition. The finders standing before dirty »shambles out of paper« often considered Genizot to be rubbish. Only after some time researchers began to study the material, soon realizing that these findings were much more than »sacred trash«, since they could provide insight into the life of Jewish rural communities from the 17th to 19th century. Till today, dozens of Genizot have been saved in Germany. The Genisaprojekt Veitshöchheim and other researchers are dealing with the inventory, the digitization and the publication of the finds. However, there are still hardly any studies drawing concrete conclusions about Jewish community life based on the Genizah findings.