The Division of Russian and East European Studies in the Department of German, Russian and East European Studies at the Hebrew University is the only program in this field in Israel. The Depatrment of Russian and Slavic Studies was founded by Lea Goldberg in 1965. Our graduates teach at some of the most prestigious universities in the world and have successful careers in other fields, including foreign affairs, translation, journalism, business, and politics.

German Literature is in many ways unique, since it is not only a mirror of German culture, society, history and politics, but also a constant  reflection on these issues. This reflection has not only aesthetical and philosophical implications, but it also deeply affects German Jewish Literature. In the German case it is practically impossible to detach the engagement in its literature from the big questions that accompany this culture, a culture which starts with an image of an enlightened utopia of freedom and justice in the 18th century and collapses in the catastrophe of the Third Reich. But Germany after the Second World War in search for reconciliation with its past is still striving for a new cultural identity following the division between West and East Germany during the cold war and the unification between these two Germanies within the new framework of Europe.