Budapest University of Jewish Studies

The Budapest University of Jewish Studies (Hungarian: Országos Rabbiképző – Zsidó Egyetem, or Országos Rabbiképző Intézet / Jewish Theological Seminary – University of Jewish Studies. It was opened in 1877, a few decades after the first European rabbinical seminaries had been built in Padua, Metz, Paris and Breslau. Still, it remains the oldest existing institution in the world where rabbis are graduated. On March 19, 1944 German troops marched into Budapest. The next day, the rabbinical seminary was confiscated by the Schutzstaffel (SS) and turned into a prison. From there, Adolf Eichmann organized the deportation of thousands of Hungarian Jews and some political detainees into the concentration camps, mainly to Auschwitz. Just in time before the German invasion, the most valuable manuscripts had been brought into an underground safe. Still, an important part of the library was seized by the Nazis. 3000 books were dispatched to Prague, where Eichmann planned the construction of a "Museum of an extinct race" in the former Jewish quarter. Only in the 1980s were the books discovered in the cave of the Jewish Museum of Prague and brought back to Budapest in 1989. The library remains a source of pride for the university. It is considered one of the most important collection of Jewish theological literature outside Israel. After the end of communism (1989), thanks to donations from abroad, the seminary building was renovated, the library modernized and some of the valuable old books were being restored.

Hungary

Nice building, patinated library

Thank you for everything!

I've studied here until eve. Real campus. I'm not a Jew, but I was totally accepted. Rector Ur good teacher and man. Istvan Darvas is an enlightened and righteous rabbi. Brave man. From the student department to the secretaries, I met all kind and loving people. Family Family Open University. Their secular majors are also recognized. Their old teacher, Szip