• Jewish Museum Berlin
The Jewish Museum Berlin was opened in 2001. The permanent exhibition is located in an architecturally spectacular new building designed by Daniel Libeskind.
Image: Berlin, 2001, Model of the synagogue in Glockengasse in Cologne, Jüdisches Museum Berlin, Marion Roßner
Berlin, 2001, Model of the synagogue in Glockengasse in Cologne, Jüdisches Museum Berlin, Marion Roßner

Image: Berlin, 2001, Exterior view of the Old Building and the Libeskind Building, Jüdisches Museum Berlin, Marion Roßner
Berlin, 2001, Exterior view of the Old Building and the Libeskind Building, Jüdisches Museum Berlin, Marion Roßner
The Jewish community of Berlin opened the city's first Jewish museum in the Oranienburger Straße in 1933, just days before Adolf Hitler was appointed Reich chancellor. After the »Kristallnacht« of November 1938, the Gestapo shut down the museum and confiscated its entire collection. Most of the exhibits have gone missing.
Since the 1970s, there were more and more voices in favour of re-establishing a Jewish museum. At the same time, there were discussions going on in West Berlin's cultural politics circles surrounding an extension of the Berlin Museum, which was located in Berlin's Kreuzberg district, in order to be able to permanently display the museum's collection on Jewish history. A architectural tender competition was issued in 1988, the winner of which was by Daniel Libeskind with his remarkable concept.
Following long debates, the Jewish Museum was split away from the Berlin Museum, thus becoming an independent institution. The Jewish Museum Berlin, which was opened in 2001, has since been using both the old museum building as well as the new extension on its own. A federal foundation has been administering the museum since 2001.
Image: Berlin, 2001, Model of the synagogue in Glockengasse in Cologne, Jüdisches Museum Berlin, Marion Roßner
Berlin, 2001, Model of the synagogue in Glockengasse in Cologne, Jüdisches Museum Berlin, Marion Roßner

Image: Berlin, 2001, Exterior view of the Old Building and the Libeskind Building, Jüdisches Museum Berlin, Marion Roßner
Berlin, 2001, Exterior view of the Old Building and the Libeskind Building, Jüdisches Museum Berlin, Marion Roßner
The museum is dedicated to Jewish culture and Jewish history in Central Europe from the Middle Ages on.
Image: Berlin, 2001, Exhibition at the Jewish Museum Berlin, Jüdisches Museum Berlin, Jens Ziehe
Berlin, 2001, Exhibition at the Jewish Museum Berlin, Jüdisches Museum Berlin, Jens Ziehe

Image: Berlin, 2001, Aerial view of the Libeskind Building, Jüdisches Museum Berlin, Jens Ziehe
Berlin, 2001, Aerial view of the Libeskind Building, Jüdisches Museum Berlin, Jens Ziehe
The entrance area of the museum is located in the baroque Collegienhouse, built in the early 18th century. After 1969, this building was home to the Berlin Museum.
The Libeskind building, which is connected to the old building by an underground passage, was completed in 1999. Even though there was no permanent exhibition on display yet, tens of thousands of visitors had come to see the building by 2001. The public enthusiasm for the architectural design of the museum played an important part in bringing about the decision to establish the museum as an independent institution.
The museum - the largest Jewish museum in Europe - was opened in 2001, and its permanent exhibition »Two Millennia of German-Jewish History« presented to the public. The exhibition is located on the upper floor of the Libeskind building and covers an area of 3,000 square metres. The central topics dealt with in the exhibition are: Jewish culture in Central Europe, German-Jewish history since the Middle Ages as well as the volatile history of relations between Jews and non-Jews.
The Holocaust is addressed both in the permanent exhibition and in the museum's architecture. Documents and personal objects testify to the National Socialist period, persecution, resistance and emigration. The Libeskind building contains empty rooms, so-called voids. These symbolise all that has been lost and destroyed due to the Holocaust. One of these voids - a tall, empty tower - is situated at the end of the so-called Holocaust axis. Another void contains 10,000 iron discs, scattered on the floor, depicting screaming faces. To many of the museum's visitors, this installation by Israeli artist Menashe Kadishman inspires associations with the victims of the mass murders in the death camps.
Across from the museum's main buildings the W. Michael Blumenthal Academy was opened in 2012 with the intention of providing additional space for education, research and discussions.
Image: Berlin, 2001, Interior view of the Jewish Museum Berlin, Jüdisches Museum Berlin, Jens Ziehe
Berlin, 2001, Interior view of the Jewish Museum Berlin, Jüdisches Museum Berlin, Jens Ziehe

Image: Berlin, 2001, Exterior view of the Libeskind Building, Jüdisches Museum Berlin, Jens Ziehe
Berlin, 2001, Exterior view of the Libeskind Building, Jüdisches Museum Berlin, Jens Ziehe
Name
Jüdisches Museum Berlin
Address
Lindenstraße 9-14
10969 Berlin
Phone
+49 (0)30 259 93 300
Fax
+49 (0)30 259 93 409
Web
http://www.jmberlin.de
E-Mail
info@jmberlin.de
Open
Monday 10 a.m. to 10 p.m., Tuesday to Sunday 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Possibilities
Permanent exhibition and temporary exhibitions, guided tours in several languages, city tours, workshops for children and youths, various collections, library, archive, archive of the Leo Baeck Institute, cultural events