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During my visit to Berlin, I had the pleasure of checking out the Jüdisches Museum (Jewish Museum of Berlin) which is not only a museum dedicated to the history of the Holocaust but delves much deeper including a detailed history of the Jews in Berlin going back to 950 A.D.! Also, it is an architectural wonder with work by Daniel Libeskind and Menashe Kadishman.
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Daniel Libeskind, Designer of The Jewish Museum of Berlin
Architecturally appealing, The Jüdisches (Jewish) Museum in Berlin was designed in part by architect Daniel Libeskind. The building complex includes the old building (Baroque in style), the Libeskind building, a Garden of Exile, and the Holocaust Tower.
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| The Old Building |
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| The Libeskind Building |
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| The Holocaust Tower |
Inside the Libeskind Building
There is a zigzagged outline of a broken Star of David with sharp corners and pathways that can cause a sense of alienation and confusion. On the lower ground floor, there are the axes (axis of the holocaust, an axis of exile, holocaust tower and garden of exile). Personal documents, mementos, and photographs are exhibited throughout the axes.
Menashe Kadishman Installment – “Shalekhet”
On the ground floor, you’ll find the haunting Memory Void which contains an installment by Menashe Kadishman entitled, “Shalekhet” (Fallen Leaves).
A Theme of VOIDS at The Jewish Museum of Berlin
Making your way up towards the permanent exhibit, you’ll be interested to see the staircase which leads nowhere. This is a theme common throughout the exhibition of empty spaces – “voids”.
There are also two “trees” throughout the museum where visitors might share their opinions.
History of Jews in Berlin
After visiting the axes referencing the Holocaust, you’ll need a less intense hour or so and that is where the permanent exhibit comes in handy with a chronological history of the Jews in Berlin starting in 950.
The National Socialism (1933-1945) exhibit is appropriately haunting and testifying.
Recommendation for The Jewish Museum of Berlin
The museum’s exhibit focuses on the Jewish community in present-day Berlin.
More than 100,000 Jews live in Berlin today and lest we forget and relive the horrors of the past, a visit to the Jüdisches Museum is well worth the visit.
The history and architecture are rich at the museum.
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