The Yearbook of the Simon Dubnow institute for 2011 has as one of its major themes the Jewish presence in the local governments of Central Eastern Europe, particularly during the time between World War I and World War II and especially in Poland. A further theme considers matters of literary history after 1945 based on iconic texts as well as approaches determined by our knowledge of history.The general section and the other sections contain contributions on urban life in Eastern Europe, on the history of Jewish newspaper production, on the early studies of the Holocaust, on intellectual circles in the study of Judaism, and on the history of the transfer and effect of continental theories in America.

Dan Diner ist Professor emeritus für Moderne Geschichte an der Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Von 1999 bis 2014 war er Direktor des Simon-Dubnow-Instituts für jüdische Geschichte und Kultur und Professor am Historischen Seminar der Universität Leipzig.