Berlin JÜDISCHES MUSEUM - JEWISH MUSEUM

The Jüdisches Museum or the Jewish Museum Berlin is the largest Jewish museum found in Europe. It is considered as a classic monument in the history of the Jews and life in Germany. Regarded as one of the world’s acknowledged museums and architectural treasures, it is indeed a place where the abounding history could be witnessed. Its gala opening on September 09, 2001 proved to be a real success as more than four million visitors came to visit. The JMB symbolizes a cultural individuality, a lifelong Jewish existence as well as the displacement, and above all its endeavor to resolve the issues both physically and spiritually. Moreover, the implication of Holocaust made the Berliners aware of its significance.

In the year 1933, the first Jewish Museum in Berlin was launched at Oranienburger Strasse. However, the collections were removed in 1938 by the Gestapo. Afterwards, in the year 1735, a Jewish department was placed, which is previously a Baroque courthouse known as the Kollegienhaus, designed by Philipp Gerlach.

The museum features permanent and changing exhibitions. The permanent exhibition Two Millennia of German Jewish History introduces Germany through the perspective of the Jewish minority. The display starts off with the medieval communities along the Rhine, most particularly in Mayence, Speyer, and Worms. On the other hand, the changing exhibitions offer special themes, genres, and eras. Remarkable exhibitions are Typical: Clichés about Jews and Others in 2008, Kosher & Co: On Food and Religion in 2009–2010, Home and Exile in 2006–2007, and several other exhibitions.

The architect who designed the Jewish Museum was known as Daniel Libeskind. In 1992, the cornerstone of the museum’s expansion was positioned. The design of the Jewish department expansion was chosen among the 165 entries gathered in 1989. Daniel Libeskind’s first major international achievement is the Jewish Museum Berlin. He particularly named the Jewish Museum project as “Between the Lines”. His design is intricate yet spectacular. Starting with an image of two lines, the first line is straight, broken and sectioned, and the other is twisted but continuous. The components of fragmentation were given a visual figure, which is contemporaneous with hope, stability, and a connection to the Jews and Germans, East and West, as well as the tradition and its present state.

The monolithically shaped building has gleaming zinc-clad walls, with asymmetrical lines and a star-shaped crisscross ground created with light that impends through the uneven slits of the indicative vicious stabs on its smooth frontage. There are three underground ducts or axial routes linking the new building to the former Baroque. The first leads to the Stair of Continuity, museum, and the stable exhibition. The second underground directs to the Emigration and the Garden of Exile, while the third leads to the Holocaust Void, which is the only dead end. The Void represents the nonexistence of the Jewish citizens in Berlin. The Jewish Museum in Berlin has a current addition. In September 2007, a stunning Glass Courtyard called as Sukkah was adjoined. Sukkah is a Hebrew term for tabernacle. The steel, which supports the glass structure are curved in a branch-like structure. The place is used as a venue for social gatherings. Symposiums, performances, exhibitions, educational programmes, and more are done in this area.

For the tourists who want to make their visit to the Jewish Museum in Berlin worthwhile, it is suggested to engage in a guided tour. It would be more helpful to enquire through telephone, email, or schedule the tour guide in advance, most especially when one is in the company of younger children. The place is accessible for people in wheelchair. Superb Kosher café-restaurants are definitely a must-try.