JEWISH MUSEUM BERLIN

Description

Essentials about the Jewish Museum Berlin in brief

The Jewish Museum Berlin is not only one of the most interesting, but also one of the most architecturally impressive museums in Berlin. In addition, it is the largest Jewish museum in Europe and, with over 700,000 visitors a year, is one of the most visited museums in Berlin. In the permanent exhibition, visitors get an overview of 1,700 years of German-Jewish history and Jewish life in Germany. In addition, the Jewish Museum hosts several temporary exhibitions a year and houses archives, a library and research facilities on Jewish culture and Jewish-German history.

The history of the Jewish Museum Berlin

The Jewish Museum Berlin was opened on January 24, 1933, tellingly six days before the National Socialists took power. It was the first Jewish museum in the world to collect and exhibit not only works of art and historical evidence of Jewish culture, but also Jewish modern art. In November 1938, the museum was closed by the Gestapo and the museum inventory was confiscated. Today, parts of the former art collection are in museums in Jerusalem and Los Angeles. For the 300th anniversary of the Jewish Community of Berlin in 1971, the idea of re-founding the museum was born.

The buildings of the Jewish Museum Berlin

The museums was finally implemented starting in 2001 with an ensemble of three buildings with the spectacular but also controversial new building by U.S. star architect Daniel Libeskind as the central element. Libeskind designed a building in zigzag form made of titanium zinc with subterranean axes, sloping walls, empty rooms and unair-conditioned concrete shafts. Libeskind’s goal was not simply to design a museum building, but to use it to tell German-Jewish history and, in particular, to commemorate the immeasurable suffering and emptiness of the Holocaust. The building allows for many interpretations: To some, the shape reminds them of a broken Star of David, to others of a lightning bolt. In any case, it leaves many visitors feeling unsettled or disoriented, both from the outside and the inside.

Next to the Libeskind building, the second museum building is the former Kollegienhaus, the last surviving Baroque palace in historic Friedrichstadt, which houses the museum’s entrance, store, café and special exhibition areas. Completing the Jewish Museum is the W. Michael Blumenthal Academy across the street, which houses the library, archives, event halls, and educational programs for children and young people. Inside the Blumenthal Academy is the so-called Garden of the Diaspora, whose contemplative planting serves as a space for exchange and reflection.