Between World War I and World War II in Europe, Jewish studies witnessed a parallel process of both professionalization and popularization. New professional institutions and associations were established to counterbalance the fact that the major Western universities, with only few exceptions, were still opposed to the inclusion of Jewish studies in their curricula. At the same time, grand projects, including encyclopedias, handbooks, and translations were underway to summarize the academic results of the first century of Wissenschaft des Judentums, as the academic study of Judaism and the Jews was called, for a broader audience.

Already in prewar years, the major rabbinical seminaries of central Europe (Breslau, Berlin, Vienna, Budapest), were no longer the only academic institutions occupied with the research and teaching of Jewish studies. In Germany, the Gesellschaft zur Förderung der Wissenschaft des Judentums (established 1902) became a central vehicle for the publication...