Prof. Dr. Albert I. Baumgarten, Department of Jewish History, Bar Ilan University, Ramat Gan

My project is an intellectual biography of Elias Bickerman (1897-1981), in 20-th century one of the most distinguished historians of the Jews in antiquity. Bickerman was a Russian émigré in Berlin, student and young faculty member at the University, who arrived with his family in April 1922 and departed alone for Paris in December 1933.

One major focus of my work is on his father Joseph Bikerman. He figures as a major intellectual and ideological source of inspiration for his son, who took an active part in his father's public career. The stories of Joseph Bikerman, of the "Patriotic Union of Russian Jews Abroad," of his collaborators in that organization, such as Grigorii Landau and David S. Pasmanik, as well as of his opponents, such as Simon Dubnow, are all therefore important aspects of my work.

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