William H. Weitzer, Ph.D. is the Executive Director Emeritus of the Leo Baeck Institute — New York|Berlin (LBI). LBI is a research library and archive that documents the history and culture of German-speaking Jewry, primarily in the 19th and 20th centuries, but also including documents dating back to the middle ages. LBI was founded in 1955 as a repository for the books, papers, photos, and documents that were salvaged from Central Europe after the Holocaust and donated to the Institute.
While continuing LBI’s important work in maintaining and digitizing the collections and supporting scholarly work, Dr. Weitzer expanded the Institute’s work in public history with an emphasis on the contemporary relevance of German-Jewish history. The LBI’s public history projects are aligned with the work of the Auschwitz Institute as they demonstrate how to document historical atrocities in a way that will educate students and the general public today.
Prior to serving as the Executive Director at LBI, Dr. Weitzer worked at Fairfield University, Wesleyan University, and the University of Massachusetts with responsibilities in academic affairs, budget and finance, fund raising, community relations, and program evaluation. Dr. Weitzer earned his B.A. at the University of Michigan. He has Master’s degree and a Ph.D. in Environmental Psychology from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst.