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Ulrich von Kritter’s Collection in Our Library

Illustrated Works of German-Jewish and Yiddish Literature

Aufgeschlagenes Buch mit einer Textseite und einer Schwarz-Weiß-Lithografie eines Geigers

Jakob Steinhardt, Der Purimgeiger, one of five original lithographs in the Musikalischen Novellen by Jizchok-Leib Perez (Berlin: Gurlitt 1920) from the collection of Ulrich von Kritter; Jewish Museum Berlin, Photo: Lea Weik

In 1994, our museum acquired a part of the library belonging to the bibliophile collector Dr. Ulrich von Kritter (1909–1999). The majority of the nearly sixty books are illustrated works of German-Jewish and Yiddish literature published between 1920 and 1990 in Israel and Germany.

These include a German-language edition of Musikalischen Novellen (Musical Novellas, 1920) by Jizchok Leib-Perez with original lithographs by Jacob Steinhardt and Avrom Liesin’s Yiddish-language Lider un Poemen (Songs and Poems, 1938) with illustrations by Marc Chagall.

Map with all buildings that belong to the Jewish Museum Berlin. The W. M. Blumenthal Academy is marked in green

Where

W. M. Blumenthal Academy, Library
Fromet-und-Moses-Mendelssohn-Platz 1, 10969 Berlin 
Postal address: Lindenstraße 9-14, 10969 Berlin

Furthermore, some titles published in East Germany can be found in the collection, such as Ostjüdischen Legenden (Eastern Jewish Legends, 1983), published by Alexander Eliasberg and illustrated by Anatoli

L. Kaplan.

Reference

Kritter, Ulrich von, et al., eds. Literarische Bilderwelten des 20. Jahrhunderts. Internationale Buchgraphik in Europa und Übersee aus der Sammlung v. Kritter. Vol. 2: Jüdische und jiddische Literatur (Literary Imagescapes of the Twentieth Century: International Book Graphic Design in Europe and Overseas from the Von Kritter Collection. Vol. 2: Jewish and Yiddish Literature). Bad Homburg vor der Höhe: Stiftung I. & U. von Kritter, 1993.

Isaac Leib Peretz (1852–1915)

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Jakob Steinhardt (1887–1968)

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Marc Chagall (1887–1985)

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Alexander Eliasberg (1878–1924)

More on Wikipedia (in German)

Anatoli L. Kaplan (1902–1980)

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Ulrich von Kritter Collection Titel List (in German)

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How can I conduct research using the museum’s archive, collections, and library?

Our Reading Room is open to the public. You can also research using our library’s holdings and some of our collection’s holdings online. To view additional holdings, please contact the responsible curators.

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I would like to depict or borrow an object from your collections. Who should I contact?

Your contacts for photo permissions are Valeska Wolfgram and Birgit Maurer-Porat (T +49 (0)30 259 93 433, email: fotodoku@jmberlin.de). Loan requests must be made at least six months in advance. For questions regarding administrative processes, please contact Katrin Strube (T +49 (0)30 259 93 417, email: k.strube@jmberlin.de).

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