1700 YEARS OF JEWISH LIFE IN GERMANY 

On 11 December 321, the Roman emperor Constantine the Great issued an edict legislating that Jews could and should hold municipal offices in the curia, Cologne’s municipal administration. The edict is definitive evidence that Jewish communities have been an integral part of European culture since as far back as late antiquity. A manuscript of this edict from the Early Middle Ages, kept today in the Vatican, is testimony to the more than 1700 years of Jewish history in Germany.

Heads of the society

The society owes its existence to the initiative of founding members Abraham Lehrer, 
Prof. Dr. Jürgen, and Dr. Matthias Schreiber. Further founding members include President of the Central Council Dr. Josef Schuster, ZDK President Prof. Dr. Thomas Sternberg, Mayor of Cologne Henriette Reker, and LVR Vice Chairman Prof. Dr. Jürgen Wilhelm. Central decision-makers include: 
DR. MATTHIAS SCHREIBER 
1st chairman
PFR. JOACHIM GERHARDT
2nd chairman
RUTH SCHULHOF-WALTER
Chair of the Board
 
ABRAHAM LEHRER
Chair of the General Assembly
Vice President of the Central Council of Jews in Germany, Vice President of the Central Council of Jews in Germany, Chairman of the Central Welfare Board of Jews in Germany
PROF. DR. DR. H.C. JÜRGEN RÜTTGERS
Chairman of the Board of Trustees 
Federal Minister, retd., Minister President, retd. 
DR. CHRISTIANE TWIEHAUS
Chair of the Scientific Advisory Board
ANDREI KOVACS
Executive Managing Director
SYLVIA LÖHRMANN
Secretary General
Minister of State, retd. 
DR. REGINA PLASSWILM
Managing Director

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