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Jewish Museum, Berlin
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Jewish Museum, Berlin |
|
Basic Information |
| Location 52.5020° N, 13.3950° E |
| Country Germany |
| City Berlin |
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General Information |
| Open to visitors no |
| Need appointment no |
| Handicap accessibility no |
| Website http://www.juedisches-museum-muenchen.de/?L=1 |
| Geographical Coordinates 52.50197,13.39497 |
52.50197 13.39497
Contents
Summary
The Jewish Museum Berlin (Jüdisches Museum Berlin) is one of the largest Jewish Museums in Europe. In two buildings, one of which is a new addition specifically built for the museum by architect Daniel Libeskind, two millennia of German Jewish history are on display in the permanent exhibition as well as in various changing exhibitions. German-Jewish history is documented in the collections, the library and the archive, in the computer terminals at the museum's Rafael Roth Learning Center, and is reflected in the museum's program of events. The museum opened to the public in 2001.
Princeton economist W. Michael Blumenthal, who was born in Oranienburg near Berlin and was later President Jimmy Carter’s Secretary of the Treasury, has been the director of the museum since December 1997.
History and time period
The original Jewish Museum in Berlin was founded on Oranienburger Straße in 1933, but was closed soon thereafter, in 1938, by the Nazi regime. In 1975 an "Association for a Jewish Museum" formed and, three years later, mounted an exhibition on Jewish history (1978). Soon thereafter, the Berlin Museum, which chronicled the city’s history, established a Jewish Department, but already, discussions about constructing a new museum dedicated to Jewish history in Berlin were being held.
In 1988, the Berlin government announced an anonymous competition for the new museum’s design. A year later, Daniel Libeskind's design was chosen by the committee for what was then planned as a “Jewish Department” for the Berlin Museum. While other entrants proposed cool, neutral spaces, Libeskind offered a radical, zigzag design, which earned the nickname 'Blitz'.
Construction on the new extension to the Berlin Museum began in November 1992. The empty museum was completed in 1999 and attracted over 350,000 people before it was filled and opened on September 9, 2001.
