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The Jewish Museum of Switzerland in
Basel
, french: link=no, Bâlois(e), it, Basilese
, neighboring_municipalities= Allschwil (BL), Hégenheim (FR-68), Binningen (BL), Birsfelden (BL), Bottmingen (BL), Huningue (FR-68), Münchenstein (BL), Muttenz (BL), Reinach (BL), Riehen (BS ...
provides an overview of the religious and everyday history of the Jews in Basel and
Switzerland
). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...
using objects of ritual, art and everyday culture from
the Middle Ages to the present.
History
The museum opened in 1966 as the first Jewish museum in German-speaking Europe after the
Second World War
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
. The initiative came from members of Espérance (a
chevra kadisha) who visited
Cologne
Cologne ( ; german: Köln ; ksh, Kölle ) is the largest city of the German western States of Germany, state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) and the List of cities in Germany by population, fourth-most populous city of Germany with 1.1 m ...
to see the exhibition "Monumenta Judaica" in 1963/64. They discovered that many of the ritual objects on display came from the Basel Judaica collection and decided to present these objects permanently in a Jewish museum in Basel.
When it first opened, the museum occupied two rooms at Kornhausgasse 8. The interior designer
Christoph Bernoulli Carl Christoph Friedrich Bernoulli (born 2 October 1897 in Basel; died 9 August 1981 in Rheinfelden) was a Swiss art dealer and interior designer from the Bernoulli family of scholars.
Early life
Christoph Bernoulli was born in 1897, into the wel ...
furnished the space in an “objective” style. The founding director, Dr.
Katia Guth-Dreyfus, headed the museum for four decades. In 2010 she was succeeded by Dr. Gaby Knoch-Mund. In 2015, Dr. Naomi Lubrich took over as director of the Jewish Museum of Switzerland.
Since 2016, Lubrich has re-organized the permanent exhibit, attracted new visitors and gained the museum media attention.
Collection
The first objects shown in the Jewish Museum's exhibition were Judaica collected by the Swiss Museum of Folklore (now
Museum der Kulturen Basel). The museum's collection expanded after 1966 to include objects from Basel and the Upper Rhine, from the two Surbtal villages
Endingen and
Lengnau as well as from the remainder of
Switzerland
). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...
and
Europe
Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...
. A noteworthy find, when it comes to the Surbtal valley, are the “
Lengnau Mappot", a collection of 218
Torah binders that span almost three centuries, making them the largest cohesive collection of mappot from a known community.
Highlights of the museum's collection include silver ceremonial objects, richly embroidered textiles from the 17th to the 20th centuries and documents from the cultural
history of the Jews in Switzerland. The monumental medieval gravestones and the Basel Hebrew prints are important historical testimonies. Documents on the Basel
Zionist Congresses and original letters from
Theodor Herzl
Theodor Herzl; hu, Herzl Tivadar; Hebrew name given at his brit milah: Binyamin Ze'ev (2 May 1860 – 3 July 1904) was an Austro-Hungarian Jewish lawyer, journalist, playwright, political activist, and writer who was the father of modern p ...
, the author of "
Der Judenstaat", show Basel as a city that made world politics. The museum is also collecting contemporary objects — Judaica, art, and objects from everyday life.
Exhibitions
1976: 10 Years Jewish Museum of Switzerland (10 Jahre Jüdisches Museum der Schweiz)
1999: Tefillin
1999-2000: Signs of the Zodiac (Tierkreiszeichen)
2000: The Rabbis Ris. A Family in the Region (Die Rabbiner Ris. Eine Familie in der Region)
2002: Mesusot
2002-2003: Dining on Shabbat (Speisen am Schabbat)
2003-2004: Jewish Wedding Contracts from the Braginsky Collection, Zurich (Jüdische Hochzeitsverträge aus der Braginsky Collection, Zürich)
2004-2005: Anne Frank. A Family History across Borders (Anne Frank. Eine Familiengeschichte über Grenzen)
2005-2006: Chest on the Move. A Jewish Family History from Frankfurt and Basel (Truhe auf Wanderschaft. Eine jüdische Familiengeschichte aus Frankfurt und Basel)
2006-2007: Bringing it into the Light. Acquisitions of the Last 10 Years (Ins Licht gerückt. Sammlungszugänge der letzten 10 Jahre)
2007-2008: Endingen-Lengnau. Traces of the Jewish Rural Communities in Aargau (Endingen-Lengnau. Auf den Spuren der jüdischen Landgemeinden im Aargau)
2009-2009: Strange. Objects that are out of Line (Merkwürdig. Objekte, die aus der Reihe tanzen)
2010-2016: Congratulations. Special Exhibition on the 150th Birthday of Theodor Herzl (HERZLichen Glückwunsch. Sonderausstellung zum 150. Geburtstag von Theodor Herzl )
2010-2014: "...and Hanna and Sarah" installation by Renée Levy („…und Hanna und Sarah“ Installation von Renée Levy)
2011: From New Moon to Full Moon (Von Neumond zu Vollmond)
2011-2012: In Transition. Bar and Bat Mitzvah (Am Übergang. Bar und Bat Mitzwa)
2012: 1001 Amulet. Protection and Magic - Faith or Superstition? (1001 Amulett. Schutz und Magie – Glaube oder Aberglaube?)
2014-2016: Wanted. Found. Partnership and Love in Judaism (Gesucht. Gefunden. Partnerschaft und Liebe im Judentum)
2016: Swiss Jews. 150 Years of Equal Rights / Voices for Emancipation (Schweizer Juden. 150 Jahre Gleichberechtigung / Stimmen zur Emanzipation)
2016: Jubilee! The Jewish Museum of Switzerland turns 50 (Jubiläum! Das Jüdische Museum der Schweiz wird 50)
2017: Altland. Theodor Herzls European Heritage (Altland. Theodor Herzls europäisches Erbe)
2017: Art after Chagall. The Century after the Breakthrough (in cooperation with
Kunstmuseum Basel
The Kunstmuseum Basel houses the oldest public art collection in the world and is generally considered to be the most important museum of art in Switzerland. It is listed as a heritage site of national significance.
Its lineage extends back to t ...
) (Kunst nach Chagall. Das Jahrhundert nach dem Durchbruch (in Zusammenarbeit mit dem Kunstmuseum Basel))
2018-2019: The Diary. How Otto Frank Brought Anne's Voice from Basel to the World (Das Tagebuch. Wie Otto Frank Annes Stimme aus Basel in die Welt brachte)
2019: ISREALITIES. Seven Photographic Journeys (ISREALITIES. Sieben fotografische Reisen)
2019-2020: Passports, Profiteers, Police. A Swiss War Secret (Pässe, Profiteure, Polizei. Ein Schweizer Kriegsgeheimnis)
2020: Pandemics and Poetics. A Jewish Dictionary (online) (Pandemie und Poesie. Ein jüdisches Lexikon (online))
Publications
2003: Jüdische Hochzeitsverträge aus Italien
2006: Truhe auf Wanderschaft. Eine jüdische Familiengeschichte aus Frankfurt und Basel
2006: Ins Licht gerückt. Sammlungszugänge der letzten 10 Jahre
2007: Endingen-Lengnau. Auf den Spuren der jüdischen Landgemeinden im Aargau
2010: HERZLichen Glückwunsch! Sonderausstellung zum 150. Geburtstag von Theodor Herzl
2011: Gaby Knoch-Mund et al., Am Übergang. Bar und Bat Mizwa. Wie werden jüdische Kinder und Jugendliche erwachsen? Basel. .
2013: 1001 Amulett. Schutz und Magie – Glaube oder Aberglaube
2014: Gaby Knoch-Mund, Gesucht. Gefunden. Partnerschaft und Liebe im Judentum, Basel. .
2018: Caspar Battegay, Naomi Lubrich, Jüdische Schweiz. 50 Objekte erzählen Geschichte / Jewish Switzerland: 50 Objects Tell their Stories, Basel, Christoph Merian Verlag.
2020: Fabio Luks, CHAI – חי. Oder wenn Grabsteine vom Leben erzählen/CHAI - חי. Or when Gravestones Speak of Life, Biel, edition clandestin. .
2020: Pandemie und Poesie. Ein jüdisches Lexikon. Pandemics and Poetics. A Jewish Dictionary. Biel, edition clandestin.
2021: Naomi Lubrich: ''Passports, Profiteers, Police. A Swiss War Secret.'' edition clandestin ISBN 978-3-907262-09-2
See also
*
Museums in Basel
The Basel museums encompass a series of museums in the city of Basel, Switzerland, and the neighboring region. They represent a broad spectrum of collections with a marked concentration in the fine arts and house numerous holdings of internationa ...
*
Jews in Switzerland
The history of the Jews in Switzerland extends back at least a thousand years. Jews and Judaism have been present in the territory of what is now Switzerland since before the emergence of the medieval Old Swiss Confederacy in the 13th century ...
References
External links
Jewish Museum of Switzerland websiteJewishEurope.orgJewish-Heritage-Europe.euIsrael Science and Technology Directory.com
{{coord missing, Switzerland
Jews and Judaism in Basel
Jewish museums
Museums in Basel