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RABBI DR. JOSEPH ZVI CARLEBACH
PERSONAL AND FAMILY PAPERS

'Und wenn es uns an Taten fehlt und wir arm sind an Gerechtigkeit und Liebe, dann denke doch an die Frömmigkeit unserer Väter, der hehren, die in der Erde ruhen, der starken, die unser Ideal waren, und vergiß nicht das Wirken aller Großen in Tora und Gottesfurcht, die ewiges Leben gepflanzt in unsere Gemeinde.' Joseph Carlebach, Hamburg, 22.4.1936.

Biographical note

Joseph Zwi Carlebach (1883-1942) was born in Lübeck into a distinguished Orthodox rabbinic family. In 1910, he earned a Doctor of Philosophy degree from the University of Heidelberg, and in 1914, he completed his studies at the Rabbinical Seminary in Berlin. He served as a senior teacher in Jerusalem (1905-1907) and in Berlin (1908-1915). During World War I, he held the position of Head of the Jewish Real Gymnasium in Kovno. In 1921, he was appointed Director of the Talmud Torah school and later became the Chief Rabbi of the Jewish communities in Altona and Hamburg.
Carlebach was a prolific writer, publishing numerous books and articles in the contemporary Jewish press in Germany. Volume III of Carlebach's selected writings (G. Olms, 2004) includes a comprehensive list of his published works and manuscripts. His first article appeared in Israelit in July 1903, and his final article was published in the Hamburger Familienblatt in October 1938.
Rabbi Joseph Carlebach served as Chief Rabbi of the Hamburg and Schleswig-Holstein until his final day. He perished along with his wife, Lotte, and their three young daughters in March 1942 in the Bikernieki Forest near Riga.

Joseph Carlebach - Biographical essay, by Meir Seidler [in German]

The Rabbi Dr. Joseph Carlebach Collection is a valuable historical resource for exploring the life, work, and family of one of the last Orthodox rabbis in Germany during the Holocaust. Spanning the years 1902 to 1941, it includes published works, correspondence, manuscripts, photographs, and other archival materials. The collection was compiled over nearly 50 years through the dedicated efforts of his daughter, Miriam Gillis-Carlebach, who gathered bio-bibliographic and historical materials, authored studies, and published works by and about Rabbi Joseph Carlebach.
It is important to note that this collection serves as a significant complement to the Joseph Carlebach Archive, preserved by the descendants of Rabbi Shlomo Carlebach z"l (1922-2022) in New York. Miriam Gillis-Carlebach detailed the development of the collection in a dedicated booklet published following her work there in 1976. A microfilm of the collection's documents, created in collaboration with the Leo Baeck Institute in New York, remains housed at the institute to this day.

The collection encompasses the following broad subject areas:

Personal Papers - Includes biographical documents, manuscripts, private correspondence, and more.

Family Letters (1936-1941) - Correspondence between Joseph and Lotte Carlebach and their children, relatives, and friends.

Microfilm Archive - A microfilm copy of the archival collection preserved in New York.

Digital Photo Archive - A collection of digitized photographs from private collections.

Published Works - Books and magazine articles by and about Joseph Carlebach and his family.

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