The network sees itself as an association of international scholars who focus on Jewish children’s and young adult literature, particularly that of the 20th and 21st centuries. It thus pursues an explicitly comparative and transdisciplinary approach that is open to researchers from various disciplines. Jewish children’s and young adult literature emerged as a literary tradition shaped by multilingualism—a characteristic that remains central to it today—and must be understood in relation to other literatures, languages, and cultural systems. This transnational and multilingual character of Jewish children’s and young adult literature makes it particularly worthwhile to connect the current state of research on Jewish children’s literature across its various subfields. Therefore, the network is dedicated to researching Jewish children’s and young adult literature in its various forms and media adaptations, both in its original languages and in translations, which have also played a formative role in this literature. 

The Shoah represents a historically unique rupture in the development of Jewish culture and thus also shapes Jewish children’s and young adult literature published after 1945. Although Jewish children’s and young adult literature published after 1945 and so-called Holocaust literature are not identical, they do exhibit significant overlaps. Consequently, questions regarding literary representations of the Holocaust, its impact on the system of children’s and young adult literature, and its influence on the conception of Jewish childhood and literature are all relevant. 

The network brings together researchers with diverse areas of focus and approaches and sees itself as a consortium dedicated to fostering scholarly exchange and dialogue. It serves to facilitate the exchange of information and networking among researchers, as well as to coordinate joint research projects and events that fall within the network’s scope. Furthermore, one of the network’s goals is to reach beyond the academic sphere to other educators and institutions that engage with Jewish children’s and young adult literature as well as general topics related to Judaism, antisemitism, and the Shoah.

Dr. Hadassah Stichnothe (Network Spokesperson, Freie Universität Berlin)

Prof. Marina Balina ( Illinois Wesleyan University)

Dr. Jana Mikota ( University of Siegen)

Dr. Ada Bieber (Humboldt University of Berlin) 

Mag. Dr. Susanne Blumesberger ( University of Vienna)

Dr. Theresia Dingelmaier ( University of Augsburg) 

Prof. Dr. Gabriele von Glasenapp (University of Cologne)

Dr. Daniel Feldman (Bar-Ilan University, Ramat Gan) 

PD Dr. Annette Kliewer (Wissembourg) 

Prof. Dr. Bettina Kümmerling-Meibauer(Eberhard Karls University of Tübingen) 

Dr. Annegret Völpel (University of Cologne)