Jüdisches Museum | Jewish Museum Berlin

The Jüdisches Museum (Jewish Museum) in Berlin is a museum dedicated to 2,000 years of history, culture and traditions of the Jewish communities in Germany.

The museum was originally founded in the 1970s as a department of the Berlin city history museum, in 2001 the Jewish Museum became a separate institution and was housed in a dedicated complex, currently formed of four parts.
A 1735 baroque building, the Collegienhaus, houses the entrance hall of the museum, various visitor services and a restaurant; the palace was renovated on a project by Daniel Libeskind, who in 2007 also designed  the Glass Courtyard, a fascinating space inspired to the Jewish Sukkah booths, realized by covering the Collegienhaus courtyard; this space is used for special events, concerts and as a temporary theatre. The so-called Liebeskind building is a 15,000 square metres construction completed in 2001; famous for its intriguing appearance and its zigzagging shape, it houses the museum exhibition galleries.
A new building, the Academy, was added in 2012, again on a design by Libeskind; it contains an auditorium, an open-access library, educational spaces and offices.

As mentioned earlier, the Jewish Museum Berlin permanent exhibition, entitled Two Millenia of German Jewish History, presents the history of the Jewish communities in German-speaking countries. Through objects, images, artworks, documents, clothes, videos and multimedia exhibits, the everyday life, religion, philosophy, science, culture, the contribution by Jewish people to German history, the Nazi persecution and the tragedy of the Shoah, are depicted in the museum.
Impressive art installations, such as the famous Shalekhet (Fallen Leaves) work by Menashe Kadishman, also form an important part of the Jewish Museum Berlin permanent exhibition.

The museum also organizes special and temporary exhibitions, special events, concerts and educational programs for adults, children and schools.
At the museum, a shop and a restaurant, specialized in Jewish cuisine, are available.

Except a small area in the temporary exhibition, the Jüdisches Museum Berlin is fully accessible to wheelchair users.

Review by Riccardo Bianchini, Inexhibit
Photos: cover, 2 and 3 © Jüdisches Museum Berlin, Foto: Jens Ziehe; 1© Jüdisches Museum Berlin, Foto: Günter Schneider;  4 © Jüdisches Museum Berlin, Foto: Thomas Bruns. 5 by Michel Kalff