Goethe referred to Christian Wilhelm Dohm's writings as "a precious gift," and his friend Moses Mendelssohn regarded him as equal to Lessing: "Lessing and Dohm, the former as a philosophical poet and the latter as a philosophical political scientist, have contemplated the great purpose of Providence, the destiny of man, and the rights of humanity in connection." It was also Mendelssohn who inspired Dohm's groundbreaking memorandum "On the Civil Improvement of the Jews" (1781/1783). From an explicitly political perspective, Dohm discusses the relationship between a secular state, Judaism, and Christianity, as well as religion and tolerance, and advocates for the equality of Jews. As the first volume of Dohm's "Selected Writings," this edition offers the complete text of both parts of the "Civil Improvement." For the first time, a critical apparatus documents all revisions.