Biographical Note
Joseph Zvi Carlebach (1883-1942) was born in Lübeck into a distinguished Orthodox rabbinic family.
Read more
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. His first article appeared in Der Israelit in July 1903, and his final article was published in the Hamburger Familienblatt in October 1938. Volume III of Carlebach's selected writings (G. Olms, 2004) includes a comprehensive list of his published works and manuscripts.
Rabbi Joseph Carlebach served as Chief Rabbi of 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.
Collection Overview
This series comprises materials personally assembled and preserved by Miriam Gillis-Carlebach over several decades. It includes handwritten and typed documents, correspondence, photographs, and related documentation concerning Joseph and Lotte Carlebach family.
Read more
The collection is organized into two complementary sections:
Original letters, manuscripts and personal papers
The collection features the bulk of Joseph Carlebach's private correspondence, documenting his rabbinic and educational leadership in Kovno, Altona, and Hamburg. It also includes records of his tenure as secretary of the Freie Vereinigung für die Interessen des orthodoxen Judentums.
The family correspondence includes a significant series of letters written from Berlin and Jerusalem (1902–1906), addressed to his father, Rabbi Dr. Shlomo Carlebach in Lübeck, and his brother, Rabbi Ephraim Carlebach in Leipzig.
Another major subseries dates from his final years as Chief Rabbi of Hamburg (1938–1941). These documents serve primarily as farewell correspondence to his community and his children abroad. Most letters from this period were authored by Lotte Carlebach-Preuss, including a substantial collection addressed to her mother, Martha Preuss, in Jerusalem.
Microfilm Collection Copies
The Microfilm copies collection of the Joseph Carlebach Archive contains manuscripts, article drafts, biographical papers, and printed materials. This project was coordinated in 1976 by the Leo Baeck Institute (New York), which holds a duplicate copy of these records.
Access and Resources
The Joseph Carlebach Collection is housed at the Central Archives for the History of the Jewish People (CAHJP) in Jerusalem. Much of the collection is cataloged and searchable through the CAHJP Online Catalog.
Collection Highlights:
Selected Joseph Carlebach's Writings
| Year | Title | Actions |
|---|