• Jewish Museum Munich
Munich has been home to a Jewish community since the 13th century. The Jewish Museum Munich, which was opened in a new building in the town centre in 2007, presents the history of the community's everyday life.
Image: Munich, undated, Mariannenplatz on a pre-war postcard, Stiftung Denkmal
Munich, undated, Mariannenplatz on a pre-war postcard, Stiftung Denkmal

Image: Munich, 2008, The Jewish Museum and museum cafe, Franz Kimmel
Munich, 2008, The Jewish Museum and museum cafe, Franz Kimmel
The first records testifying to the presence of Jews in Munich date back to 1229; information about a synagogue dates back to 1380. After 1442, Jews were expelled from Munich and all of Bavaria. From the end of the 18th century, Jews began resettling in Munich. The Jewish community grew during the 19th century as the king of Bavaria, Maximilan I, granted Bavarian Jews settlement and trade rights. In 1815, the Israelite Community of Munich was founded. The number of members grew rapidly: in 1825, there were 607 members; in 1867, there were already 2067. After the First World War, anti-Semitic attacks began to take place more frequently in Munich. In 1933, the city was home to about 9,000 Jews. After the National Socialists' rise to power, Jews were excluded from public life and persecuted; many emigrated. On June 9, 1938, the city's main synagogue was torn down upon orders of Adolf Hitler. During the »Kristallnacht« that same year, members of the SA destroyed further synagogues and about 1,000 Jewish men were deported to the Dachau concentration camp. From autumn 1941 on, Jews still remaining in Munich had to move to the Milbertshofen transit camp. From there they were deported to ghettos and concentration camps in the east. At least 2,900 of the Jews deported from Milbertshofen perished.
Image: Munich, undated, Mariannenplatz on a pre-war postcard, Stiftung Denkmal
Munich, undated, Mariannenplatz on a pre-war postcard, Stiftung Denkmal

Image: Munich, 2008, The Jewish Museum and museum cafe, Franz Kimmel
Munich, 2008, The Jewish Museum and museum cafe, Franz Kimmel
The Jewish Museum Munich is dedicated to the history of Jewish everyday life and the history of Munich's Jewish community from 1229 on.
Image: Munich, 1938, The burned down synagogue on Herzog-Rudolf-Straße following »Kristallnacht«, Yad Vashem
Munich, 1938, The burned down synagogue on Herzog-Rudolf-Straße following »Kristallnacht«, Yad Vashem

Image: Munich, 2007, View of the permanent exhibition »Voices_Places_Times«, Jüdisches Museum München
Munich, 2007, View of the permanent exhibition »Voices_Places_Times«, Jüdisches Museum München
On July 19, 1945, the Israelite Community of Munich was re-established. In March 1946, the community had about 2,800 members. The former synagogue of the Eastern European community in Reichenbachstraße 27 was dedicated as the synagogue for new community on May 20, 1947. First plans for establishing a Jewish Museum had been made already in 1928. In the 1960s, these plans were picked up on by the long-time chairman of the Jewish community Hans Lamm, to no effect however. In the 1980s, Munich-based gallery owner Richard Grimm opened a private Jewish museum, which was shut down ten years later for financial reasons. The Israelite Community took over Grimm's collection and put it on display in the synagogue on Reichenbachstraße 27. Richard Grimm was the director of this temporary museum until 2001. In 1998, the Munich city council and the Israelite Community Munich decided to establish a permanent Jewish museum, which was set up together with the Jewish Centre (synagogue and community hall) on St.-Jakobsplatz. The synagogue was opened on November 9, 2006, the Jewish Museum was opened in the spring of 2007.
The permanent exhibition's concept is not about depicting history in an encyclopaedic and chronological manner. Due to this, there is also no special section on the Holocaust in the exhibition; instead, the effects of persecution on Jewish life are thematised in various contexts.
Image: Munich, 2008, Building ensemble on St.-Jakobs-Platz, Roland Halbe
Munich, 2008, Building ensemble on St.-Jakobs-Platz, Roland Halbe

Image: Munich, 2007, View of the permanent exhibition »Voices_Places_Times«, Jüdisches Museum München
Munich, 2007, View of the permanent exhibition »Voices_Places_Times«, Jüdisches Museum München
Name
Jüdisches Museum München
Address
St.-Jakobs-Platz 16
80331 München
Phone
+49 (0) 89 233 960 96
Fax
+49 (0) 89 233 989 960 96
Web
http://www.juedisches-museum-muenchen.de
E-Mail
juedisches.museum@muenchen.de
Open
Tuesday to Sunday: 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Possibilities
Library, guided tours, newsletter, children's workshop, bookshop