Yfaat Weiss

Yfaat Weiss serves as Director of the Dubnow Institute and Professor of Modern History, specializing in Jewish History, at the University of Leipzig since April 2017. She previously held professorships at Hebrew University in Jerusalem since 2008 and directed the Franz Rosenzweig Minerva Research Center for German-Jewish Literature and Cultural History from 2010 to 2017. Her academic journey began with studies in History and Modern German Literature at the University of Hamburg, followed by a PhD from Tel Aviv University in 1997 on 'Citizenship and Ethnicity. German and Polish Jews on the Eve of the Holocaust.'

• Scientific Assistant at Historical Seminar of University of Munich (1997-1999)
• Senior Lecturer then Associate Professor at University of Haifa (1997-2006)
• Founder and Director of Bucerius Institute for Research of Contemporary German History and Society (2001-2007)

Weiss's research focuses on Jewish History, German-Jewish Relations, Cultural Heritage, Material Culture, Holocaust Studies, and Spatial History. Her work examines Jewish material culture in twentieth-century Europe, cultural restitution after 1945, historical memory, and spatial aspects of Jewish history, particularly the Mount Scopus Enclave in Jerusalem. She has pioneered research on Jewish everyday culture in Germany, German-Jewish literary relations, and the material legacy of Jewish institutions.

Analysis of her recent publications reveals consistent engagement with spatial dimensions of Jewish history, cultural restitution, and the material aspects of Jewish heritage. Her work bridges historical analysis with contemporary relevance, connecting past Jewish experiences with present-day cultural memory and restitution debates. The articles demonstrate interdisciplinary approaches combining history, cultural studies, and spatial theory.

• Polonsky Prize for Creativity and Originality in the Humanistic Disciplines (2015)
• Hannah-Arendt-Preis für politisches Denken (2012)
• The Hebrew University Rector Prize for emerging scholars

Weiss leads the International Graduate College 'Belongings: Jewish Material Culture in Twentieth-Century Europe and Beyond' (since 2024) and serves on numerous advisory boards including the Scientific Advisory Board of University of Vienna, Directorate of Leibniz Science Campus Eastern Europe Global Area, and Board of Trustees of Jewish Museum Berlin. She has secured significant research funding for projects on German-Jewish cultural heritage, Jewish everyday culture in Germany, and Soviet Yiddish literature.

As Director of the Dubnow Institute, Weiss oversees multiple research initiatives and publication series including the Dubnow Institute Yearbook, toldot. Essays on Jewish History and Culture, and hefez. Works on Jewish History and Material Culture. She collaborates with international institutions including Hebrew University Jerusalem, Leo Baeck Institute, and University of Regensburg on projects examining Jewish cultural heritage, material culture, and spatial dimensions of Jewish history.