Call for Papers
International Conference
Transformation of Heritage, Heritage of Transformation. Political Change and Its Impact on Synagogues
Organizers: Prof. Dr. Ruth Leiserovitz (Institute of Baltic Region History and Archaeology, Klaipėda University), PD Dr.-Ing. habil. Ulrich Knufinke and Zuzanna Światowy (Bet Tfila – Research Unit for Jewish Architecture in Europe at Technische Universität Braunschweig), Dr. Christhardt Henschel (German Historical Institute Warsaw)
Venue: Institute of Baltic Region History and Archaeology at Klaipėda University, Lithuania
Date: October 12–14, 2026
Until 1990, when massive political changes began in Central and Eastern Europe and the three Baltic states, synagogues in most places played, at best, a marginal role. If they had not been demolished during the Shoah or in its aftermath, they were mainly repurposed as sports halls, cultural centers, grain storage facilities, or for other purposes.
After the collapse of state socialism and the restoration of national independence (1989–91), the region underwent comprehensive legal reorganization. These took place as a result of political transformation and in the context of contemporary international developments, including the legal codification of cultural heritage and the European unification process. Most of the reorganized or restored states ratified the existing international UNESCO conventions and Council of Europe treaties along with other international agreements on the protection of cultural monuments.
All of these shaped developments within government agencies as well as the work of civil society actors involved in the administration of former Jewish buildings. Subsequent socio-political developments over the past 35 years, have rarely been straightforward and have exhibited very different dynamics.
The planned conference aims to describe and analyze the use, reuse, restructuring plans, restoration, preservation, and reconstruction of historic synagogues and other Jewish buildings as processes of heritage protection in Jewish, national, transnational, and international contexts, set against the backdrop of the legal processes of transformation and the restoration of political independence. These practices also include the presentation of Jewish, local, and regional history in former synagogues. The conference will also address further developments in the management of Jewish cultural heritage from recent decades.
By developing a more comprehensive, historically and critically informed understanding of these practices and by taking a comparative look at similar projects in neighboring countries, it will be possible to formulate guidelines for future appropriation and revitalization processes.
In the context of our conference, “heritagization” is understood as “the process by which objects and places are transformed from functional ‘things’ into objects of display and exhibition” (Harrison 2013). This processual understanding of heritage-making through commodification, protection, and institutionalization by different stakeholders is just as important as the dynamic and ongoing processes of “discursivization” and negotiation.
The conference welcomes contributions that present both successful and “failed” projects of appropriation, with a preference for cities or regions within Central and Eastern Europe whose territorial affiliation changed in the wake of World War II. (This explicitly includes the territory of the former German Democratic Republic.)
The conference is organized as part of the cooperation between the Institute of Baltic Region History and Archaeology at Klaipėda University with the Bet Tfila – Research Unit for Jewish Architecture in Europe at Technische Universität Braunschweig, and the German Historical Institute Warsaw, within the framework of Priority Program on “Jewish Cultural Heritage,” which is funded by the German Research Foundation (Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft, DFG).
Accepted conference presenters will be eligible for reimbursement of travel expenses in accordance with standard funding limits, and they will be provided with accommodation during the conference.
Submissions related to the broad theme of the conference are invited from any discipline. Reseachers, experts, and practitioners are welcome. Abstracts should be 200–300 words in length. The language of the conference will be English.
Please submit your abstract and a short CV by January 31, 2026 to Ruth Leiserovitz (ruth.leiserovitz@ku.lt) and Christhardt Henschel (henschel@dhi.waw.pl) for full consideration. Applicants will be informed whether they have been selected to participate by March 20, 2026.
