13 March 2026

Nordhausen, 13 March 2026 - What can a university do specifically to strengthen Jewish life and criticise anti-Semitism? On 10 March 2026, Nordhausen University of Applied Sciences joined forces with Michael Panse to look for answers - and they show: It takes more than good intentions.

Michael Panse, Commissioner of the Free State of Thuringia for Jewish Life and for Combating Anti-Semitism, was invited to Nordhausen University of Applied Sciences (HSN) on 10 March 2026.

Prof Dr Cordula Borbe, the representative against anti-Semitism at Nordhausen University of Applied Sciences, initiated the meeting together with the President Prof Dr Jörg Wagner, Prof Sabrina Schramme, Kathleen Hahnemann and two students.

No important question was left out of the exchange: What is life like as a Jewish person in Thuringia today? Where are the problems at universities? Panse put it in a nutshell: Universities are not neutral spaces - they are places where attitudes are formed. Nordhausen University of Applied Sciences is committed to accepting this responsibility.

The Commissioner against Antisemitism uses the IHRA working definition of antisemitism as a compass for her work - a proven international framework for recognising antisemitism in all its manifestations.

Jewish life in Thuringia

Countering anti-Semitism through encounters. Together with Panse, bridges to Jewish initiatives, cultural institutions and civil society actors in the region were planned: through guest lectures and courses on Jewish history and the present, cooperation in research and remembrance work as well as cultural encounter formats on campus.

Networked and capable of action

Cordula Borbe is a member of the support group of the Network of Jewish University Teachers (NJH) - a nationwide platform for the visibility, exchange and mutual strengthening of Jewish academics.

At a national level, Nordhausen University of Applied Sciences is part of the German Rectors' Conference's (HRK) Competence Network for the Prevention of Antisemitism at Universities (KoNHAP). What is trialled in Nordhausen is incorporated into nationwide strategies - and vice versa. Michael Panse's visit has shown: HSN doesn't just want to have a say. It wants to help shape it.

„Preventing anti-Semitism starts with attitude, knowledge and encounters. As a university, we have a responsibility to create spaces in which Jewish life is visible and anti-Semitism is clearly named and rejected,“ emphasises Cordula Borbe.