Jewish Life in Germany: Past & Present
Core Exhibition
Rich, diverse and interactive – the core exhibition of the Jewish Museum Berlin presents Jewish history and culture in Germany, covering an area of over 3,500 square meters.
since Aug 2020
Where
Libeskind Building
Lindenstraße 9–14, 10969 Berlin
Historical Tour – Exciting Perspectives
A video installation in the Libeskind Building – Drummerrsss created specifically for the exhibition by Israeli artist Gilad Ratman – is the prelude to walking through the axes and ascending the impressive staircase to the exhibition rooms, where a sculpturally designed welcome point invites visitors to engage.
The subsequent tour of the exhibition combines historical narrative from the Middle Ages to the present with thematically bundled insights into Jewish culture and religion: What is sacred in Judaism? What happens on the Shabbat? What is the sound of Judaism?
Light projection on the stairs to the core exhibition; Jewish Museum Berlin, photo: Roman März
Insights into Jewish Culture and Tradition
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Jewish religious life revolves around the Torah, which is the main exhibit in the center of the first room in the exhibition; Jewish Museum Berlin, photo: Roman März
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Detail of the prism showcase with Judaica in The Jewish Object theme room; Jewish Museum Berlin, photo: Roman März
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What is Jewish music? View of the Musicroom; Jewish Museum Berlin, photo: Yves Sucksdorff
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The thematic space Art and Artists presents 33 artworks by 22 artists from the 1820s to the 1940s; Jewish Museum Berlin, photo: Yves Sucksdorff
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Visual Prayer (2009), video installation by Hagit Hollander-Shimoni in the Prayer and Practice room; Jewish Museum Berlin, loan of the artist, photo: Yves Sucksdorff
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Interview collage The way you walk; Jewish Museum Berlin, photo: Yves Sucksdorff
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The room dedicated to Shabbat; Jewish Museum Berlin, photo: Yves Sucksdorff
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The interactive Family Album, schnellebuntebilder. Studio für Animation und Interaktion, Berlin 2020; Jewish Museum Berlin, photo: Yves Sucksdorff
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Shevirat ha-Kelim (Breaking of the Vessels) by Anselm Kiefer, 1990–2020; Jewish Museum Berlin, owned by the artist, photo: Yves Sucksdorff
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The Hall of Fame; Jewish Museum Berlin, photo: Roman März
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Jewish religious life revolves around the Torah, which is the main exhibit in the center of the first room in the exhibition. In order to be able to read from the Torah, children around the world learn the Hebrew alphabet, or alef-bet, starting at an early age. At an interactive station, visitors can learn more about the Hebrew alphabet, and they can listen to a world map that offers samples of Jewish languages that developed in the Diaspora; Jewish Museum Berlin, photo: Roman März
Further information on the Thematic Space Torah on our website
Is it possible to define what makes an object a “Jewish object”? What objects are sacred in Judaism?
In a showcase that looks like cut crystal, almost one hundred ceremonial objects are presented in an attention-getting and spectacular manner according to their degree of holiness. At the center is a Torah scroll. Because it contains God’s name, it is considered kadosh, sacred. Accessories, such as the Torah mantle or crown, are also on display in the showcase. They are also holy because they come in contact with the Torah scroll. Some other objects gain religious significance only through their use in rituals. Any plate or candlestick holder—whether artistically designed, plain, or handmade—can be used for these rituals; Jewish Museum Berlin, photo: Roman März
What is Jewish music? Is there a specifically Jewish sound? In the Musicroom, you will receive more than just one answer to these questions. Become immersed in various soundscapes that include religious and secular forms of expression—the sound of the shofar, the bells on the Torah crown, the chanting of the prayer, or klezmer and Israeli pop music. There are booths where small groups can sit together. It is possible to select one’s own favorite music from a playlist; Jewish Museum Berlin, photo: Yves Sucksdorff
We have compiled a selection of audios from the Musicroom on this website.
Is there such a thing as “Jewish art”? The Art and Artists theme room opens up various perspectives on this question. Thirty paintings by Jewish artists from the 1820s to the 1940s are presented on glass panels. In addition to works by Felix Nussbaum, Moritz Daniel Oppenheim, Jankel Adler, and Jacob Liepmann, less well-known artists can also be discovered, such as Julius Jacob and Fritz Solominski. The room’s main eye catcher is the larger-than-life-size abstract sculpture Ascension by Otto Freundlich. With archiv by Edmund de Waal, there is also a contemporary work; Jewish Museum Berlin, photo: Yves Sucksdorff
How are Jewish commandments lived and interpreted today? What is their significance in everyday life? The Prayer and Practice room addresses these questions. The video installation Visual Prayer (2009) by Hagit Hollander-Shimoni (born 1982) finds an impressive visual language for the strength of Hebrew prayers; Jewish Museum Berlin, loan of the artist, photo: Yves Sucksdorff
In the interview collage The way you walk, Jews talk about their personal way of dealing with the religious commandments, about joyful, meaningful, and difficult moments; Jewish Museum Berlin, photo: Yves Sucksdorff
At the end of the section Prayer and Practice, visitors learn about Shabbat as a day of rest and contemplation; Jewish Museum Berlin, photo: Yves Sucksdorff
The Family Album is the Jewish Museum Berlin’s way of presenting itself as a place for collecting. Ten selected family archives displayed on an interactive wall invite visitors to participate in a very personal discovery of German-Jewish history and stories. The collections were entrusted to the museum by German Jews and their descendants, including the bequests of the Munich conductor Erich Eisner and the collection of the Berlin resistance fighter Dora Schaul; Jewish Museum Berlin, photo: Yves Sucksdorff
In his work Shevirat ha-Kelim (Breaking of the Vessels), artist Anselm Kiefer (born 1945) interprets the kabbalistic teaching of the drama of creation as developed by Isaak Luria (1534–1572) in Palestine. The Kabbalah is concerned with the mysteries of creation and the essence of God; Jewish Museum Berlin, owned by the artist, photo: Yves Sucksdorff
Further information on this artwork on our website
Alongside the presentation of objects, art installations, hands-on stations, and virtual reality over two levels await visitors, who can also see the wealth of the museum’s own collection – more than 70 percent of the over 1000 objects are from the museum’s own holdings. The conservators have been busy preparing objects for the exhibition to let them shine in a new light.
Space for the Jewish Present
The exhibition is divided into five historical chapters spanning from the beginnings of Jewish life in Ashkenaz, through the emancipation movement, the Enlightenment, and its failure, to the present. The largest space is dedicated to National Socialism and the chapter After 1945, where topics such as restitution and reparation, the relationship to Israel and Russian-speaking immigration from 1990 onwards are the central themes. As a “final chorus,” the video installation Mesubin (The Gathered) brings the polyphony of contemporary Jewish together.
Touch plan for the portrait of Albertine Heine as bride, August Theodor Kaselowsky, Berlin 1835; Jewish Museum Berlin, photo: Yves Sucksdorff
Touch plan for the portrait of Albertine Heine as bride, August Theodor Kaselowsky, Berlin 1835; Jewish Museum Berlin, photo: Yves Sucksdorff
View of the Rafael Roth Gallery with the 2020 installation DRUMMERRSSS by Gilad Ratman; Jewish Museum Berlin, supported by the U.S. Friends of the Jewish Museum Berlin, photo: Roman März
An Exhibition – Real Teamwork!
The exhibition was developed by a team of over 20 curators in close cooperation with the chezweitz consortium GmbH/Hella Rolfes Architects BDA.
Our Stories – Curators Present Exhibits
Our Stories: The Damaged Torah Wimpel with Aubrey Pomerance
The Catastrophe epoch room of the Jewish Museum Berlin’s new core exhibition includes an object that wears its tragic history on its sleeve: a Torah wimpel, or cloth binder, which was damaged during the destruction of the Worms Synagogue in the November pogroms of 1930 and exhibits conspicuous signs of fire. Archive director Aubrey Pomerance tells the object’s story and explains how it became part of the museum’s new core exhibition.
Jewish Museum Berlin, 2023
Our Stories: Alfred Benjmain with Ulrike Neuwirth
In 1942, a man’s body was discovered in the French Alps. In his coat pocket: a wallet containing photos and documents. Based on these, the man was the 31-year-old Alfred Benjamin of Germany. He had arrived France in 1934 on assignment for the now-banned German Communist Party and lived in Paris. Together with his wife Dora Schall, whom he had met in the Netherlands, he fought the Nazis as a member of the Resistance. Archivist Ulrike Neuwirth tells the couple’s story and explains how the wallet came to be in the Jewish Museum Berlin’s collection.
Jewish Museum Berlin, 2023
Our Stories: Entebee with Cilly Kugelmann
A postcard-sized work by the artist Boris Lurie: it features a white star on a yellow background, with the words “Judenknax,” “Fasanenstrasse – Synagoge,” and “Entebee”—what events does the work of art refer to? Cilly Kugelmann, head curator of the new core exhibition, tells the story of this small item in the exhibition and explains what makes it so valuable to the JMB collection.
Jewish Museum Berlin, 2020
Our Stories: The Ring with Miriam Goldmann
A tiny pewter ring with a menorah on it—it was found just twenty years ago in Kaiseraugst, Switzerland, but it dates to the 4th century. How did it arrive at its place of discovery and what does it tell us about the interwoven nature of Jewish and Christian culture? Miriam Goldmann, a curator for the core exhibition, tells the story of the oldest item in the new JMB core exhibition and explains why it is so valuable to the museum.
Jewish Museum Berlin, 2020
Our Stories: The Boxing Trophy with Leonore Maier
A small boxer made of bronze standing on a marble pedestal. His left arm is glued on, but its hand is missing—what does this object tell us about its owner and his life story? Leonore Maier, a curator of the new core exhibition, tells the moving story of Günter Loewinski, who survived the war in Berlin and rediscovered his boxing trophy in the ruins of his apartment building.
Jewish Museum Berlin, 2020
Our Stories: The Sweater with Tamar Lewinsky
A green and white knitted sweater and a photo of two sisters taken in a DP camp, in which one of them is wearing the sweater—what does this sweater tell us about the postwar era in Germany? Tamar Lewinsky, curator for contemporary history and for the new core exhibition of the Jewish Museum Berlin, tells a story of escape and persecution, new beginnings and memory.
Jewish Museum Berlin, 2020
Our Stories: Migration Objects with Theresia Ziehe
A compasses case, a child's painting, a kosher pan—what do these exhibition objects tell us about the migration experiences of Jews who came to Germany from the former Soviet Union? Theresia Ziehe, a curator of the new core exhibition at the Jewish Museum Berlin, talks about a daughter's longing gaze backwards and a woman's sense of connection to religious tradition in her family.
Jewish Museum Berlin, 2020
Our Stories: A Family Album with Aubrey Pomerance
Emigrate or wait and endure? In December 1936, to say farewell to his friends Erst and Margot Rosenthal, Bruno Heidenheim gave them an album: “Farewell, farewell, think of us oft, we'll send you our well-wishing thoughts. Happiness awaits across the sea, but saying goodbye to you isn't easy.”
Written and illustrated with an eye for detail, Heidenheim wanted to give his friends an “etiquette guide”
for America. Aubrey Pomerance, archive director and curator of the new core exhibition, talks about this testimony to a close friendship and two diverging life paths.
Jewish Museum Berlin, 2020
Our Stories: Fanny Lewald with Inka Bertz
A glimpse into a 19th-century work and living space : the cozy apartment belongs to the writer Fanny Lewald, who held a successful Berlin salon in her time. What does the image tell us about the inconspicuous-looking woman seated at the desk? Inka Bertz, director of the JMB collections and curator of the new core exhibition, tells the story of a luminary who fought for the emancipation of women and Jewish people.
Jewish Museum Berlin, 2020
Our Stories: The Flamenco Dress with Monika Flores
A white, purple, and pink flamenco dress, decorated with ribbons and heaped with ruffles. At first glance, there's nothing about this dress that one would generally associate with Jewishness. But it belonged to a Jewish person: Sylvin Rubinstein bought it, added certain details, and later wore it himself. Monika Flores, curator for the new core exhibition, tells the story of a distraught man who grieves his twin sister's death in his own way. Flores describes a Jewish object that reveals its identity upon close examination.
Jewish Museum Berlin, 2020
We would like to thank our friends, sponsors, supporters, donors, and lenders, whose participation made the exhibition possible.
Want to Learn More?
An audio guide in eight languages takes you through the exhibition – easy to use as an app on your own smartphone. Of course we also offer tours with guides for groups of different ages and needs, and visitors with or without previous knowledge. Touch models and plans, display cases designed to allow close viewing by wheelchair users, and clearly designated routes make the museum accessible for people with impairments.
Selected Works of Art: Art at the Jewish Museum Berlin (5)
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Art at the Jewish Museum Berlin
The Jewish Museum Berlin houses a collection of works of art which we would like to introduce to you.
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Shalekhet by Menashe Kadishman
This installation can be found in the Memory Void which is located on the ground floor of the Libeskind Building.
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Mesubin (The Gathered)
The video installation by Yael Reuveny brings the polyphony of contemporary Jewish together. On our website you can see four short films from the footage.
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Gallery of the Missing by Via Lewandowsky
On display in the Eric F. Ross Gallery on the ground floor of the Libeskind Building
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Shevirat ha-Kelim (Breaking of the Vessels)
Anselm Kiefer, 1990–2019, lead, iron, glass, copper wire, charcoal, Aquatec
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Rustling Papers
Installation by Judith Raum in the entrance area of the W. Michael Blumenthal Academy, with six audio works online
Credits & Legal
The New Core Exhibition of the Jewish Museum Berlin
With funding provided by the Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and the Media on the basis of a resolution by the German Bundestag.
With the support of the Friends of the Jewish Museum Berlin and the Friends of the Jewish Museum Berlin in the U.S.
Jewish Museum Berlin Foundation
Leadership
Hetty Berg (Director from 1 April 2020)
Prof. Dr. Dres. h.c. mult. Peter Schäfer (Director until June 2019)
Martin Michaelis (Managing Director)
Durmus Bülent (Organizational Director)
Head Curator
Cilly Kugelmann
Project Director
Dr. Michael Dorrmann
Project Manager
Henriette Kolb
Team of Curators
Inka Bertz, Julia Carls, Dr. Yaniv Feller, Monika Flores, Michal S. Friedlander, Miriam Goldmann, Dr. Christoph Kreutzmüller, Maren Krüger, Dr. Tamar Lewinsky, Martina Lüdicke, Dr. Haim Mahlev, Leonore Maier, Theresa Polley (exhibition assistant), Aubrey Pomerance, Dr. Lucia Raspe, Lisa-Maria Renner (exhibition assistant), Iris Saeger, David Studniberg, Theresia Ziehe
Council of Experts for the New Core Exhibition (2016 to 2019)
Prof. Dr. Anja Dauschek, Prof. Yaacob Dweck, Prof. Dr. Johannes Heil, Barbara Kirshenblatt-Gimblett, Christoph Sattler, Prof. Dr. Stefanie Schüler-Springorum
Advisory Council of the Jewish Museum Berlin (2019 to 2020)
Prof. Dr. Michael Brenner, Prof. Dr. Anja Dauschek, Prof. Dr. Dr. h.c. Dan Diner (Chairman), Prof. Dr. Barbara Hahn, Prof. Dr. Dr. h.c. mult. Christoph Markschies, Prof. Dr. Dr. h.c. mult. Angelika Neuwirth, Prof. Dr. Stefanie Schüler-Springorum
Research Trainees
Sabrina Akermann, Dr. Shelley Harten
Project Assistants
Sarah Binz, Anna Golus
Project Manager for Exhibition Operations
Daniel Ihde
Student Assistant
Nadine Grieser
Editing and Coordination
Dr. Michael Dorrmann, Henriette Kolb, Maren Krüger, Dr. Tamar Lewinsky, Martina Lüdicke, Marie Naumann, Katharina Wulffius; Kristina Friske (buerominimal. Büro für Text und Gestaltung)
Collection Management
Dr. Iris Blochel-Dittrich, Anna Gogonjan, Barbara Heinrich, Petra Hertwig, Gisela Märtz, Katrin Strube
Conservation Supervision
Frederike Beseler, Petra Breidenstein, Barbara Decker, Ava Hermann, Franziska Lipp, Stephan Lohrengel, René Otto, Gesine Siedler, Emilia Sleczek, Rüdiger Tertel, Regina Wellen, Ines Zimmermann
Photographic Documentation
Lukas Behrendt, Leyla Dibowski, Sonja Eichstädt, Stefanie Haupt, Svenja Kutscher, Birgit Maurer-Porat, Svenja Springob, Valeska Wolfgram
Digital & Publishing
Lisa Albrecht, Debora Antmann, Immanuel Ayx, Dr. Mirjam Bitter, Dagmar Ganßloser, Michael Geiger, Constantin Köhler, Marie Naumann, Heiko Niebur, Anika Nowak-Wetterau, Florian Schmeling, Madeleine Schneider, Dr. Doreen Tesche, Barbara Thiele, Katharina Wulffius
Archive
Franziska Bogdanov, Ulrike Neuwirth, Susanne Schuur, Dominic Strieder, Jörg Waßmer
Education
Dr. Diana Dressel, Sarah Hiron, Tanja Petersen, Fabian Schnedler, Andy Simanowitz, Nina Wilkens, Marc Wrasse
Visitor Experience & Research
Christiane Birkert, Susann Holz, Alexa Stahr, Dr. Johannes Rinke
Rights Management
Martha Altenstein, Sascha Brejora, Henrike Büscher, Hartmut Goetze, Philipp Hartog, Martina Krause, Henriette Mögel, Dr. Gerhard Stahr
Building Management
Felix Blank, Guido Böttcher, Mirko Dalsch, Manuela Konzack, Jochen Mindak
ICT
Michael A. Concepcion, Kathleen Koehler, Ulf Neubert, Sebastian Nadler
Management Office
Milena Fernando, Mathias Groß, Janine Lehmann, Vera von Lehsten
Finances
Odette Bütow, Rainer Christoffers, Andreas Harm, Mirela Lüders, Stefan Rosin, Grit Schleheider, Katja Schwarzer
Personnel
Kathrin Gottschalk, Manuela Gümüssoy, Katrin Krüger, Matthias Mund, Birgit Riedeberger, Miriam Simonsohn, Katja Vathke, Nasanin Zekrgoo
Marketing & Communication
Kerstin Crowley, Ha Van Dinh, Julia Jürgens, Johanna Mirea, Katrin Möller, Sascha Perkins, Gesine Tyradellis, Lena Wanner, Lisa Weber, Judith Westphal, Petra Wiege, Sylvia Winkler
Development
Johanna Brandt, Anja Butzek, Luna Fischer, Kristin Mayerhofer, Julia Mitrach, Annelie Müller, Amelie Neumayr, Nana Prinzen, Heike Rohde-Siebel
Interns
Jonah Cowen, Corinna Sohst, Aaron Wei Zhang
Voluntary Social Year
Paul Herbusch
Exhibition
Scenography, Exhibition Design, Exhibition Architecture
ARGE chezweitz GmbH I Hella Rolfes Architects BDA: Dr. Sonja Beeck, Detlef Weitz, Hella Rolfes
Team chezweitz: Detlef Weitz (overall scenography), Morten Ohlsen (project management), Sonja Beeck, Johannes Bögle, Danielle Gringmuth, Hans Hagemeister, Elena Lee, Jana Mateijka, Wenke Merkel, Lena Schmidt, Jan Stauf, Jaroslav Toussaint, Katerina Vraga, Leila Weber, Tanja Wehking, Lars Weitemeier, Janina Zimmermann
with Marcus Bahra, Jan Kalfus, and Barbara Weinberger
Team Hella Rolfes Architects BDA: Hella Rolfes (overall project management), Joachim Kleine Allekotte (project management), Brigitte Fischer, Gesa Gerstenberger, Andrea Kubinszky, Laura Maasry, Anna Schedler
Light design team: Urs Schreiner and Sascha Homburg (Envue Homburg Licht GmbH), Fanny Perineau, Martina Tillemann
Video installation/media design: Stefan Hurtig (Sehen & Zeigen)
Media Planning
Framegrabber Medien GmbH: Gerald Engler, Timo Mugele, Sebastian Rau, Edin Rodjakovic
Further Planners and Experts
3-D models of the exhibition floors: Scan3D Dienstleistungsgesellschaft mbH; acoustics: Müller BBM GmbH; building climate control: Prof. Dr.-Ing. Henning Löber, Dipl.-Ing. Uwe Meinhold; lighting control: Johnson Controls Systems & Service GmbH; consulting and proofing of exhibition materials: Federal Institute for Materials Research and Testing (BAM); electrical design: Planungsbüro M. Fabis (wiring), IFE Grothe GmbH (renovation of electronic sub-distribution); risk assessment: Arbeitsschutz Jeannette Borch e. K.; vibration engineering: Dr.-Ing. Kerstin Kracht; air-conditioning: Klimakonzept Ingenieurgesellschaft bR, Prof. Dr.-Ing. Klaus Fitzner; flooring renovation planning: Die Bodenkanzlei GmbH; fire safety planning: HHP West Beratende Ingenieure GmbH; testing engineer for fire safety: Dr.-Ing. Wolfgang Menzel; testing engineer for structural stability: Dr.-Ing. Thomas Klähne; expert for paint and varnish work: Walter Felder; expert for glass construction: GSK GmbH; health and safety coordination: IPS Ingenieurbüro Peter Schubert GmbH; structural planning: GSE Ingenieur-Gesellschaft mbH Saar, Enseleit und Partner; glass structural planning: Hildebrandt Ingenieure Gesellschaft für Tragwerkplanung mbH; welcome tree structural planning: Vít Červený
Display cases and exhibition construction
2. Ground floor: Schreinerei Langner; 1st floor: Nüssli (Switzernland) AG; prism display cases: Bayer Glasbau GmbH with Harald Müller Metall Sonderfertigung GmbH and Artis GmbH
Special construction
Welcome point: Rühling Shop + Objekt; Shabbat room: Schreinerei Langer; projection wall for "The Way You Walk" / "Sound" thematic room: Blank GmbH; wall design for "Locations of Expulsion in the Middle Ages" / map of Germany for "Letters of Protection": Atelier Burkhard Witzmann; film room and "Anti-Semitism Debate Room": Nüssli (Switzerland) AG; busts in "Hall of Fame": Objektleuchten Berlin / Hansen GmbH; glass pillars and bar construction 1st floor: flz – Stahl- und Metallbau Lauterbach GmbH; metal construction: Artex Museum Services GmbH / Tomkin GmbH Event & Service GmbH; seating and seat pads: Unique Factory, Bjelosevic Mensud & Music-Zander GbR; cavity flooring with surface layer: BARiT Kunstharz – Belagstechnik GmbH; carpeting: Berliner Ausbau GmbH; lighting: mawa design. Licht- und Wohnideen GmbH; neon lettering: Ilm-neon GmbH
Further Trades Groups / Preparatory Construction Measures
Adjustments to the ventilation system: Apleona HSG Ost GmbH; floor renovation: Steinveredelung Finsterwalde GmbH; restoration of doors in the stairwell: Tischlerei K &V; window film: Rudolph Folientechnik GmbH; floor wiring channels: Yücel Heße Diamant-Kernbohrungen & Sägen; scaffolding: Quadriga Gesellschaft für Gerüstbau mbH, Union Gerüstbau GmbH; painting: Marotzke Malerbetrieb GmbH, Lazar Malermeister GmbH; Leitwerk Messe- und Ausstellungsbau; plaster patching: Vesta Baugeschäft GmbH; lock system: Kiowski Sicherheitstechnik GmbH; drywall installation: Thomas Lutter Bauausführungen GmbH; firedoor renovation: Hodapp GmbH & Co. KG; renovation of smoke exhaust flaps: Schlentzek & Kühn GmbH; renovation of sub-distributors: Judis Elektro & Telekommunikation GmbH; wiring: Ritter Starkstromtechnik Berlin GmbH & Co. KG
Graphics Production
Graphic exhibits: Eicher Werkstätten GmbH &Co. KG; design of exhibition labels: Darius Samek; printing of exhibition labels: PIGMENTPOL Sachsen GmbH; reproductions: Labor Pixel Grain GmbH
Delivery and Installation of Media Technology
AVE Audio Visual Equipment
Furnishings
Fißler & Kollegen GmbH: Robert Bach, Jan Dunkel, Thomas Fißler, Tobias Herrmann, Franziska Hülsenberg, Daniel Klawitter (project management), Alexander Klenz, Frank Maier, Ruth Münzner, Emmanuel Post, Matthias Röhrborn, Georg Sadowicz, Jan Stradtmann
Transport
Belaj Fine Art Service; Brandl Fine Art Service; Hasenkamp Internationale Transporte
Insurance
Kuhn & Bülow Versicherungsmakler GmbH
Photography
Roman März, Yves Sucksdorff
Translators
English: Adam Blauhut, Allison Brown, Amanda DeMarco, Jake Schneider, Dr. Kate Sturge, Maria Swiderski
German: Michael Ebmeyer, Ulrike Granitzki
Editing of English Texts
Richard Toovey, Paul Hockenos
Media Stations
Drummerrsss Artist: Gilad Ratman; sound design and music direction Daniel Meir; percussion: Alejandra Levi, Haggai Fershtman; cinematography Asi Oren; production: Eyal Vexler; co-production: Frederik Kunkel; post-production: Quentin Verbruggen
Implementation at the Jewish Museum Berlin Gregor H. Lersch, Deniz Roth
The Way You Walk
Director and producer: Ruth Olshan; co-director: Niva Ehrlich; dramaturg: Christiane Schniebel; director of photography: Rasmus Sievers; 2nd camera: Antonia Schäfer; film editing: Christiane Schniebel, Jessica Ehlebracht; sound design: Maximilian Rodegra – Loop Postproduktion UG
In cooperation with the international film school cologne (ifs)
Musicroom
Programming 2av GmbH; sign language videos: yomma GmbH; sound recordings: Jürgen Copenhaguen-Bormuth
Use of VR for Destroyed Synagogues
Virtual reconstruction: Technical University Darmstadt, Digital Design Unit - Marc Grellert, Manfred Koob; revision and VR programming: Architectura Virtualis GmbH, partner of TU Darmstadt, Marc Grellert, Jakob Reising; expert consultation: Salomon Korn, Wolfgang Liebenwein, Hanna Salomon; funding: Federal Ministry of Education and Research
The Outsider as Insider. Jews in the Weimar Republic
A video installation by chezweitz GmbH, museale und urbane Szenografie, Berlin
Directors: Dominique Müller & Detlef Weitz; project assistant: Lars Weitemeier; graphic design: Janina Zimmermann; installation: Dominique Müller; sound design: Samuel Gfeller
Family Album
schnellebuntebilder. Studio für Animation und Interaktion, Berlin
Topography of Violence
Urban Complexity Lab project team of the FH Potsdam: Viktoria Brüggemann, Fabian Ehmel, Prof. Dr. Marian Dörk; design & development: Fabian Ehmel
Emigrate—But Where To?
Framegrabber Medien GmbH; artistic director: Timo Mugele; creative director: Sebastian Rau; Art director/animation: Philipp Quast; exhibit development: Margarethe Mielentz; programming: Martin Maurer; exhibit construction: Expotec GmbH
Chaim Rumkowski's Speech
Actor: Udo Samel; director, dramaturg: Patricia Schon; cinematography, editing: Stefan Hurtig; sound assistant: Louis Volkmann; make-up: Yael Neander; sound recording: Küß Mich Musik Produktion & Verlag, Eshel Sound Studios, Tel Aviv; narrators: Mendy Cahan, Cathlen Gawlich
Anti-Semitism Debate Room
Programming: 2av GmbH, Martin Schmitt, Manuel Herr, Surya Wöhrle; animated films: Philipp Seefeldt; cinematography and editing: Peter Schnappauf
Mesubin
A video installation by: Yael Reuveny / Clemens Walter; producer: Tina Mersmann; color correction and editing assistant: Vanessa Dahl; title design: Mieke Ulfig & Anne-Katrin Ahrens; sound design: Jana Irmert; cinematography assistant: Na’ama Landau
Other media stations
2av GmbH; Architectura Virtualis GmbH; chezweitz GmbH, museale und urbane Szenografie; buchstabenschubser GbR Jan Gabbert & Ellen Stein; Framegrabber Medien GmbH; Graphscape GmbH / h neun Berlin; Hagit Hollander-Shimoni; jetaido; OUTERMEDIA GmbH; Sammler & Jäger Filmproduktion GmbH
Film Editing and Processing
Peter Wollring
Subtitles
alias film und sprachtransfer GmbH
Transcription
Digitalmeister GmbH; Yael Attia
Sound Recording and Processing
Tonstudio Schieffer
Narrators
Robert Besta, Oliver Brod, Mendy Cahan, Yvette Coetzee, Nancy du Plessis, Cathlen Gawlich, Marianne Graffam, Stephen Jacob, Katharina Koschny, Filip Kosior, Rachel Pattison, Marty Sander, Vera Teltz, Stewart Tryster, Jan Uplegger
Accessibility in the Exhibition
Inkl. Design GmbH – Agentur für Gestaltung; yomma GmbH
Hands-On Stations
Franke – Steinert GmbH Ausstellungsgestaltung für Museen; Leitwerk Messe & Ausstellungsbau; Dipl.-Des. Felix Rupprath
Illustrations
buchstabenschubser GbR; Jessica Deutsch; Rutu Modan
Portrait Drawings for Hall of Fame
Andree Volkmann
Reproduction of the Torah Binder
Heiner Büld and Twist (Ines Zimmermann)
Replicas of Hebrew Lead Letters
Typefoundry Rainer Gerstenberg
Gravestone Models
Frank Rüdiger, stonemason and master sculptor
Synagogue Cutaway Models
Digital models: Technical University Darmstadt, Digital Design Unit, and Architectura Virtualis GmbH; conception and creation of print data for stainless steel printing: Architectura Virtualis GmbH; production: Brezina & Schreiber
Design of the Booklet Art and Artists
Ulrike Damm
Brand Development and Corporate Design
Stan Hema
Advertising Campaign
Brandyourlife
Invitation Design
buerominimal. Büro für Text und Gestaltung
Media Partners
Radioeins, Yorck Kinogruppe, Dussmann das Kulturkaufhaus, tip Berlin, Tagesspiegel
Video Communication Production
PxB Studios
Legal Advising
BÖRGERS Rechtsanwälte Partnerschaft mbB; Müller-Wrede & Partner Rechtsanwälte
Redesign of The Axes
Concept and project management: Maren Krüger; design: eckedesign GmbH; production: Nowka + Forster GmbH; display cases and film application: A-Z Glaserei & Folientechnik GmbH; Schöninger Vitrinenbau GmbH; technical consulting: Leitwerk Messe- und Ausstellungsbau
JMB App
Director of digital & publishing: Barbara Thiele; JMB App project manager: Lisa Albrecht; concept and project team: Dr. Michael Dorrmann, Monika Flores, Susann Holz, Constantin Köhler, Henriette Kolb, Maren Krüger, Heiko Niebur (JMB)
Concept, programming, and design: NOUS Wissensmanagement GmbH; dramaturgy, copywriting, translation, and production: Antenna Audio GmbH; narrators: Elmar Börger, Stephan Buchheim, Robert Frank, Sandra Hüller, Ilka Teichmüller, Heike Warmuth; musical interpretations: Bnaya Halperin-Kaddari and Roni Brenner; accessibility consulting: Allgemeiner Blinden- und Sehbehindertenverein Berlin, Andreas Döltgen, Silvia Gegenfurtner, Domingos de Oliveira
Lenders
Rabbi Barbara Aiello, Serrastretta, Italy
Akademie der Künste, Berlin, Art Collection
Archäologische Staatssammlung Munich
The Beckhardt and Couchman families
The Federal Republic of Germany
Center for the History of Psychology, The University of Akron
Jonah Cowen
The Demant family
Cathedral Museum, Brandenburg an der Havel
Domschatzkammer Osnabrück
The Eger family
Sibylle Ehrlich
Konrad and Rahel Feilchenfeldt
Dr. Wolfgang Georg Fischer, Vienna / London
Christoph Frank, Lugano
The Fürstenberg family
Fundació Carulla – Museu de la Vida Rural
Fränkisches Museum Feuchtwangen
Rabbi Joan Friedman, Akron
The Friedlaender siblings
Michal and Noam Friedlander
Friends of the Jewish Museum Berlin, Princeton
Fritta-Haas
The Mohun Himmelweit family
Germanisches Nationalmuseum, Nuremberg. Loans from the Federal Republic of Germany
Dr. Ruth Gross, Bildarchiv Abraham Pisarek
The Jewish Museum London
The Jewish Museum, New York
Manfred Joachim
Jewish Community Frankfurt am Main
Jewish Museum Vienna
Jewish Museum Worms in the Rashi House
The Israel Museum, Jerusalem
The Israel Museum, Jerusalem – The Feuchtwanger Collection
Rabbi Naamah Kelman, Jerusalem
Anselm Kiefer
The Kirschner family
Rabbi Elisa Klapheck, Frankfurt am Main
University of Cologne Department of Art History
Landesmuseum Burgenland
Loan from a member of the Jewish Community of Dresden
Dmytro Melnyk
Dr. Erika Michael
The Magnes Collection of Jewish Art and Life, University of California, Berkeley
Museum Augusta Raurica, Augst
Museum Brot und Kunst – Forum Welternährung, Ulm
Museum für Kunst und Gewerbe Hamburg
Museumslandschaft Hessen Kassel, Neue Galerie, Städtische Kunstsammlung
Georg Muzicant, Vienna
Vera Primakova
John and Ellen Rothman, as well as Bill and Renée Rothman and Susan Rothman Seeley
Robert Schulzmann, Berlin
Rabbi Tanya Segal, Krakow
Spertus Institute, Chicago
Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, Alte Nationalgalerie
Staats- und Stadtbibliothek Augsburg
Staatsbibliothek zu Berlin/ Preußischer Kulturbesitz, Handschriftenabteilung
Stadt Köln, Dezernat Kunst und Kultur VII-3, Archäologische Zone, Romano-Germanic Museum of the City of Cologne
Stichting Joods Historisch Museum, Amsterdam
Stiftung Neue Synagoge Berlin – Centrum Judaicum
Rabbi Jackie Tabick, London
Elena Tanaeva
Thüringisches Landesamt für Denkmalpflege und Archäologie, Weimar
University Archives and Special Collections, Paul V. Galvin Library, Illinois Institute of Technology
The Wiener Holocaust Library Collections, London
Yeshiva University Museum, New York
YIVO Institute for Jewish Research, New York
Zentralarchiv zur Erforschung der Geschichte der Juden in Deutschland, Heidelberg
As well as other private lenders who do not wish to be named.
Donors
Horst Abraham, Miriam Alexander, Barbara Algaze, Michal Alon, Robert Altner, Steven and Hilary Anson, Fred Antman, Robert Auerbach, Ralf Bachmann, Friedel Bagg, Ronald Barnes, Rudi Barta, Jacqui Becker, Fred Becker and Liesel Becker Sabloff, Peter Julius Benjamin, Marion J. Bergmann, Gert Berliner, Naomi Billauer née Terner and Wolf Terner, Hermann Blaschko, Max Bloch, Leonore Boehm, Dorothea Brander (née Merzbacher), Michael Brenner, Ralph Brill, Brill family archives, Melanie Bruce, Gerd Brunn, Avi Brünn, Annelise B. Bunzel, Renata Chase, Guy Conston, Toni Vera Cordier, Jonathan Davies, Vera de Jong (née Krotoschiner-Radzewski), William Dieneman, Virginia Van Leer Dittrich, Alla Donkhina, Rachel Doron, the Draper family, Hedy M. Dresel, Manfred Eisner, Gabriella Ekberg, Erinnern für die Zukunft e.V., Liselotte Eschenbach, Erika Estis, Evelyn Valery Fielden, John and Alice Fink (née Redlich), Dorothee Fliess, George J. Fogelson, Leonie and Walter Frankenstein, Avi Friedlander, Michal S. Friedlander and Noam Friedlander, Brigitte Friedländer-Rodriguez, David Friedman, the Fürstenberg family, Julian Futter, Rosalie Gehrike, John Gendal, Carol Gill, Eva Gluckman (née Luft), Lea Goldschmidt, Fred Gottlieb, Evelyn Grill-Storck in memory of Prof. Dr. Joachim Wolfgang Storck, Dr. Gitta Guttmann and Dr. Rosa Guttmann, l. Dinah Haller, Wolfgang Haney, Hans Peter Heilmann, Gabriel Heim, Eri Heller, Ulrich Hentschel, Hanne and Ernst Hesse, Kathleen Heymann, Susan Himmelweit, Eva Hirsh, Frank R. Hochfeld and Hanna Renning, Lore Holtz-Gutwillig, Ruth J. Inall, Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Berlin, Raúl Jacob, Ilse Jacobson, Rita Jakubowski, Naomi Johnson, Burkhard Jost, Jüdischer Nationalfonds e.V. – Keren Kayemeth LeIsrael, Vernon Kahn, descendants of Josef Kamerling, Benno Katz, Hillel Kempler, Werner Kilian, Ilana Kira, Judith Kirschner, Cora M. Klahn, Marion Kroner, Naum Kruk, Hans Samuel and Miriam Kühnberg, Ernst Stefan Kunz, Paul Kuttner, Gabriele (Taubenschlag) Kuvin, Rudi Leavor, Peter-Hannes Lehmann, Ellen Lenk (née Schurgast), Herbert Lenk, Elisheva Lernau (née Elsbeth Kahn), Orna Leshem, Hertha Levy, Erich Leyens, Hanna Liebenthal, Henry Linker in memory of Eva Linker (née Straus), Lions Club Alexanderplatz, Marion Lippmann, Margaret Littman and Susan Wolkowicz in memory of their parents Kurt and Hilde Gabriel (née Salomonis), Günter Loewinski, Gerda Maison, Manfred Rolf K., Ernest J. Mann (formerly Ernst Glücksmann), Mario and Mirjam Marcus, Shimshon S. Marcus, Frances Marks, Albert Mautner, Susan Mayerowitz, Ruth Meltsner, Dirk Meyer, Erich Meyer, Trude Meyer, Georgina I. Meyer Düllmann and Ronaldo Meyer, Marianne Meyerhoff, Gabriele Ascher Michels, Albert W. Miller, Isa Milman and Sepora Mayim Jacobson, Hannelore Mintscheff, Martha Müller, Ruth Nahm, Peter Neuhof, Ruth and Harold Neumann, Beatrice Newman, Peter H. Newman and Dr. Claus G. H. Newman, Rosemarie Obst, Henry A. Oertelt and Kurt Messerschmidt, John F. and Hertha Oppenheimer, Rita Ostrovska, Joelit Pajenson, Monica Peiser, Monica Phillips, Janos and Melanie Plesch – memorial gift from Prof. Dr. Peter H. Plesch, Werner and Jutta Preuss, Projektgruppe Oldenburg, Proskauer Erna, Dr. Heinz J. Pulvermann, Werner Renberg, David M. Repper, Harvey Richeimer, Karen A. Riesenfeld, Carol Roberts, Verna S. Roberts, Walter Roos, the family of Walter Roos, Kurt and Barbara Rosenbaum, Karin and Steve Rosenthal, Rolf Werner Rosenthal, John F. Rothmann, Thomas S. Salinger, Peter Schaul, Irene Alice Scherk, Harald Scheurenberg, Meta Schiowitz, Heinz Schleich, Esther-Eva Schmidt, Werner Schmidt, Astrid Schrön, Paul Anthony Seshold, Marilyn and Jonathan Glago, Diane Shavelson, Henry Shindler, Lothar Sieskind, Carla and Stefan Helmut Simon, Herbert and Elisabeth Simon, Ilona Simon Strimber, Koji Sket, Sari Srulovitch, Irene Starr and Richard Stiefel in memory of their parents and family, Brigitte Meyer Steele, Vojislav Stefanovic, Beatrice Steinberg, Werner Stertzenbach, Ann Stieglitz, Gert and Brigitte Stroetzel, Rivka and Zvi Tenenbaum Collection, in memory of their son, the flutist Yadin Tenenbaum, who fell in 1973 in the Yom Kippur War, Elizabeth C. Thiel (née Rosenbaum), Kurt Treitel, Renate Ursell (née Zander), Ronit Vered, Arnold Victor, Mara Vishniac Kohn, Ralph Wagner, George Warburg, Siegbert J. Weinberger, Erica Weingarten, Herta Weinstein (née Silzer), Judith Weissenberg (née Ucko), Stephanie Wells, Agnes Wergin, Bodo Westphal, Rachel I. Mendelsohn, Ruth Weyl and Dr. Yona F. Gruenfeld, Roselotte Winterfeldt (née Lehmann), the family of Marianne Jacobi Wolff, Jon Wolffsky, Henry M. and Ingrid Wuga, Elke Wulk Voltmer, Elisabeth Wust, Thomas Wüsten, Andre Zanger, Ruth Ziegler, Lilli Gehr Zimet, Ronald Zimet, Klaus M. Zwilsky
Statement of Thanks
The exhibition team would like to thank all of those who support the work of the Jewish Museum Berlin.
ALEH, Allgemeiner Blinden- und Sehbehindertenverein Berlin gegr. 1874 e. V., Fritz Backhaus, Daniel Barenboim, Yael Barzilai, “The Bayit” - Hebrew Institute of Riverdale, Kathrin Becker, Anton Bennis, Dr. Margit Berner, Prof. Dr. W. Michael Blumenthal, Dr. Johanna Brade, Prof. Dr. Michael Brenner, Prof. Dr. Claudia Bruns, Marina Chernivsky, Anna Chernyak, Chmol, Prof. Dr. Detlev Claussen, Prof. Mark R. Cohen, Prof. Dr. Dr. h.c. Dan Diner, Prof. Dr. Anja Dauschek, the Demant family, Alexandros Dimoulas, Prof. Yaacob Dweck, Yad Eliezer, Andreas Fiedler, Waltraud Forelli, Richard Franklin, Prof. Errico Fresis, Amanda Friedman Shechter, Jana Fritsche, Prof. Dr. Barbara Hahn, Prof. Dr. Svend Hansen, Felicitas Heimann-Jelinek, Herzog Anton Ulrich Museum, Herzog August Bibliothek, Lotte Higson, Julius Higson, Josh Gershuny, Marc Grellert, Dr. Sibylle Groß, Elaine Heumann Gurian, Prof. Dr. Johannes Heil, Dr. Wolfgang Horn, Rabbin Delphine Horvill€, ifs international film school cologne, interview subjects for the installation "Mesubin," Prof. Dr. Uffa Jensen, Tobias Katz, Dr. Gabriele Kaiser, Prof. Anthony Kauders, Monika Kerkmann, Anselm Kiefer, Dr. Michael Kiefer, Barbara Kirshenblatt-Gimblett, Dr. Thomas Klähne, Dr. Brian Klug, Claudia Koby, Meryem Kocabas, Kolel Chibas Yerushalayim, Barrie Kosky, Kuno Kruse, Andreas Krüger, Dr. Thomas Lackmann, Lev Lalev Charity Fund, Cooper Lake, Dr. Elad Lapidot, LATET, Hanno Loewy, Magen David Adom, Prof. Dr. Dr. h.c. mult. Christoph Markschies, Léontine Meijer-van Mensch, Prof. Daniel Miller, Chasdei Naomi, Prof. Jascha Nemtsov, Prof. Dr. Dr. h.c. mult. Angelika Neuwirth, Dr. Everardus Overgaauw, Meir Panim, Pantry Packers – Colel Chabad, Dr. Sebastian Panwitz, Christian Porzelt, Prof. Dr. Till van Rahden, Mathias Reese, Prof. Elchanan Reiner, Dr. Sebastian Ristow, Udo Samel, Christoph Sattler, Elena Savenkova, Manfred Schmaus, Prof. Dr. Stefanie Schüler-Springorum, Franziska Schurr, Dr. Josef Schuster, Claudia Schleyer, Rabbiner Tobias Jona Simon, Rabbi Joshua Spinner, Renata Stein, Michael P. Steinberg, Shlomit Steinberg, Martin Steiner, Prof. Dr. Christoph Stölzl, Martin Sutter, Dr. Amir Theilhaber, Dr. Christiane Twiehaus, United Soup Kitchens in Israel, Dr. Klaus Voigt, Elisabeth Weber, Michael Werner, Jürgen Willinghöfer
Exhibition Information at a Glance
- When starting 23 August
- Free of charge You can book tickets for a specific time slot online before your visit at our ticket shop, or in person at the ticket counter.
- Where Libeskind Building
Lindenstraße 9–14, 10969 Berlin
See Location on Map
Exhibition trailer
Exhibition Jewish Life in Germany: Past & Present: Features & Programs
- Exhibition Webpage
- Current page: Jewish Life in Germany: Past & Present: Core exhibition of the Jewish Museum Berlin, since Aug 2020
- Guided Tours
- JMB App: Audio guide, available in English, German, German plain language, German Sign Language, French, Italian, Spanish, Hebrew and Russian, available for download
- Guided Tours for Adults as Individual Visitors or in Groups: Fixed dates or by appointment, on site or digitally, in several languages
- Guided Tours and Workshops for School Groups: Appointment, on site or digitally, in several languages
- Publications
- The JMB Book: History, architecture and core exhibition of the museum, available in English, German, French, Spanish and Italian
- Open: JMB Journal #21, with interviews and background information on the exhibition
- Digital Content
- Thematic Space Torah: Audios and objects on words, writing and language
- Musicroom: Playlists with religious and secular music from the core exhibition
- Topography of Violence. Antisemitic violence in Germany 1930–1938: Media application from the exhibition’s historical chapter Catastrophe
- 13 Objects – 13 Stories: Unusual objects from our core exhibition
- New Accents: Interview with Cilly Kugelmann, chief curator of the core exhibition
- See also
- The Libeskind building
- History of the museum
With the Support of
With funding provided by the Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and the Media on the basis of a resolution by the German Bundestag.
With the support of the Friends of the Jewish Museum Berlin and the Friends of the Jewish Museum Berlin in the U.S.
Partner
