In 1928, Nahum Goldman’s Eshkol Publishing Society in Berlin began publication of a comprehensive reference work on the history and culture of the Jewish people. The German-language Encyclopaedia Judaica was never finished due to the Nazi takeover of power.

The original, pre-war ten volumes (Aach to Lyra) of the first Encyclopaedia Judaica stand today as an evocative and tragic reminder of the barbarism of Hitler's Germany, enduring as a testament to the intellect and spirit of European Jewry.

Goldman was the last surviving member of the editorial board of the German-language Encyclopaedia Judaica. Using funds he received as reparations, he helped revive the Encyclopaedia Judaica, this time in Israel. Work began on the project in 1966 at Keter Publishing House in Jerusalem.

In 1972, more than 45 years after it was begun, the first completed English language edition of Encyclopaedia Judaica was finally released by Keter and Macmillan Reference USA. Like its unfinished predecessor, this Encyclopaedia aimed to provide an exhaustive and organized overview of Jewish life and knowledge. The 16-volume set was hailed as “a work of transcendent value” by Choice magazine and as “an indispensable reference tool” by the Library Journal review.

The American Library Association named the Encyclopaedia Judaica  a “major reference work of the 20th century.” Now the second edition is here to serve as a rich source of information on Jewish thought and knowledge for a new century and a new generation.