The Jewish Museum London is a museum of British

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

life, history and identity. The museum is situated in

Camden Town Camden Town (), often shortened to Camden, is a district of northwest London, England, north of Charing Cross. Historically in Middlesex, it is the administrative centre of the London Borough of Camden, and identified in the London Plan as o ...

in the

London Borough of Camden The London Borough of Camden () is a London borough in Inner London. Camden Town Hall, on Euston Road, lies north of Charing Cross. The borough was established on 1 April 1965 from the area of the former boroughs of Hampstead, Holborn, and St ...

, North London. It is a place for people of all faiths to explore Jewish history, culture, and heritage. The museum has a dedicated education team, with a programme for schools, community groups and families.

Charles III Charles III (Charles Philip Arthur George; born 14 November 1948) is King of the United Kingdom and the 14 other Commonwealth realms. He was the longest-serving heir apparent and Prince of Wales and, at age 73, became the oldest person to ...

is a patron of the museum. The events, programmes and activities at the museum aim to provoke questions, challenge prejudice, and encourage understanding.

History

The museum, a

registered charity A charitable organization or charity is an organization whose primary objectives are philanthropy and social well-being (e.g. educational, religious or other activities serving the public interest or common good). The legal definition of a ch ...

, was founded in 1932 in the Jewish communal headquarters in

Bloomsbury Bloomsbury is a district in the West End of London. It is considered a fashionable residential area, and is the location of numerous cultural, intellectual, and educational institutions. Bloomsbury is home of the British Museum, the largest mus ...

. In 1995, it moved to its current location in

. Until 2007 it had a sister museum in

Finchley Finchley () is a large district of north London, England, in the London Borough of Barnet. Finchley is on high ground, north of Charing Cross. Nearby districts include: Golders Green, Muswell Hill, Friern Barnet, Whetstone, Mill Hill and H ...

, operated by the same charitable trust and sited within the Sternberg Centre. The Camden branch reopened in 2010 after two years of major building and extension work. The £10 million renovation was funded by the

Heritage Lottery Fund The National Lottery Heritage Fund, formerly the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF), distributes a share of National Lottery funding, supporting a wide range of heritage projects across the United Kingdom. History The fund's predecessor bodies were ...

and private donations. The museum is in a row of buildings in Albert Street that have been listed Grade II by

Historic England Historic England (officially the Historic Buildings and Monuments Commission for England) is an executive non-departmental public body of the British Government sponsored by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport. It is tasked wit ...

Collections

The museum houses a major international-level collection of

Jewish ceremonial art Jewish ceremonial art, also known as Judaica (), refers to an array of objects used by Jews for ritual purposes. Because enhancing a mitzvah by performing it with an especially beautiful object is considered a praiseworthy way of honoring God's ...

including the

Lindo lamp The Lindo lamp is a silver Chanukah menorah. It is the oldest known example of a Chanukah menorah made in Britain. History The lamp was created by London silversmith John Ruslen in 1709. It was commissioned to celebrate the marriage of Elias Lin ...

, an early example of a British

Hanukkah menorah A Hanukkah menorah, or hanukkiah,Also called a chanukiah ( he, מנורת חנוכה ''menorat ḥanukkah'', pl. ''menorot''; also he, חַנֻכִּיָּה ''ḥanukkiyah'', or ''chanukkiyah'', pl. ''ḥanukkiyot''/''chanukkiyot'', or yi, ח ...

. The building includes a gallery entitled ''Judaism: A Living Faith'', displaying the museum's noted collection of Jewish ceremonial art. This collection has been awarded "designated" status by the

Museums, Libraries and Archives Council The Museums, Libraries and Archives Council (MLA) was until May 2012 a non-departmental public body and registered charity in England with a remit to promote improvement and innovation in the area of museums, libraries and archives. Its function ...

in recognition of its outstanding national importance. The museum's ''Holocaust Gallery'' includes items and filmed survivor testimony from

Leon Greenman Leon Greenman OBE (18 December 1910 – 7 March 2008) was a British anti-fascism campaigner and survivor of the Auschwitz concentration camp. He gave regular talks to school children about his experience at Auschwitz, and also wrote a book, ' ...

, who was one of the few British subjects to be interned in the

death camps Nazi Germany used six extermination camps (german: Vernichtungslager), also called death camps (), or killing centers (), in Central Europe during World War II to systematically murder over 2.7 million peoplemostly Jewsin the Holocaust. The v ...

section at

Auschwitz Auschwitz concentration camp ( (); also or ) was a complex of over 40 concentration and extermination camps operated by Nazi Germany in occupied Poland (in a portion annexed into Germany in 1939) during World War II and the Holocaust. It con ...

. The museum also has exhibitions recounting the history of Jewish life in England, supported by a diverse collection of objects. There are also collections of paintings, prints and drawings, and an archive of photographs, which consists mainly of black and white photographs from the 1900s to the 1940s, along with militaria from the former

Jewish Military Museum The Jewish Military Museum was a museum located in Hendon, Barnet, North London, which featured exhibits about Jews serving in the British armed forces from the 18th century to the present day. It has now closed and the collection was moved to ...

, which merged into it in January 2015.

Exhibitions

There are two temporary exhibition spaces. The third floor houses major exhibitions, with smaller exhibitions in the temporary exhibition space on the ground floor.

Previous exhibitions

* '' Asterix in Britain: The Life and Work of René Goscinny'' * '' Elspeth Juda: Grit and Glamour'' * ''Designs on Britain'' * ''Scots Jews: Photographs by Judah Passow'' * ''Shaping Ceramics: From

Lucie Rie Dame Lucie Rie, (16 March 1902 – 1 April 1995) () was an Austrian-born British studio potter. Life Early years and education Lucie Gomperz was born in Vienna, Lower Austria, Austria-Hungary, the youngest child of Benjamin Gomperz, a Jewis ...

Edmund de Waal Edmund Arthur Lowndes de Waal, (born 10 September 1964) is a contemporary English artist, master potter and author. He is known for his large-scale installations of porcelain vessels often created in response to collections and archives or th ...

'' * ''

Dorothy Bohm Dorothy Bohm (22 June 1924 – 15 March 2023) was a German-born British photographer based in London, known for her portraiture, street photography, early adoption of colour, and photography of London and Paris; she is considered one of the doye ...

: Sixties London'' * ''Moses, Mods and Mr Fish: The Menswear Revolution'' * ''Through a Queer Lens: Portraits of LGBTQ Jews'' * ''Blood: Uniting & Dividing'' * ''Memory Quilts: Triumph Over Adversity'' * ''Tiger, Mog and Pink Rabbit: a

Judith Kerr Anna Judith Gertrud Helene Kerr (surname pronounced ; 14 June 1923 – 22 May 2019) was a German-born British writer and illustrator whose books sold more than 10 million copies around the world.

Retrospective'' * ''Your Jewish Museum: Love, Journeys and Sacrifice'' * ''Blackguards in Bonnets'' * ''For Richer, For Poorer: Weddings Unveiled'' * ''Designing the 20th Century: Life and Work of

Abram Games Abram Games (29 July 191427 August 1996) was a British graphic designer. The style of his work – refined but vigorous compared to the work of contemporaries – has earned him a place in the pantheon of the best of 20th-century graphic desi ...

'' * ''For King and Country? The Jewish Experience of the First World War'' * ''Four Four Jew: Football, Fans and Faith'' * ''

Amy Winehouse Amy Jade Winehouse (14 September 1983 – 23 July 2011) was an English singer and songwriter. She was known for her deep, expressive contralto vocals and her eclectic mix of musical genres, including soul, rhythm and blues and jazz. A membe ...

: A Family Portrait'' * '' R.B. Kitaj: Obsessions – The Art of Identity'' * ''Morocco: Photographs by Elias Harrus and Pauline Prior'' * ''Entertaining the Nation: Stars of Music, Stage and Screen'' * ''No Place Like Home'' * ''World City: Refugee Stories'' * ''

Ludwig Guttmann Sir Ludwig Guttmann (3 July 1899 – 18 March 1980) was a German-British neurologist who established the Stoke Mandeville Games, the sporting event for people with disabilities (PWD) that evolved in England into the Paralympic Games. A Jewis ...

: Father of the Paralympic Games'' * ''

Adi Nes Adi Nes ( he, עדי נס; born 1966) is an Israeli photographer. Education * 1989-1992 Bezalel Academy of Arts and Design, Jerusalem, photography Life and career Adi Nes was born in Kiryat Gat. His parents are Jewish immigrants from Iran. He ...

: The Village'' * ''

Roman Vishniac Roman Vishniac (; russian: link=no, Рома́н Соломо́нович Вишня́к; August 19, 1897 – January 22, 1990) was a Russian-American photographer, best known for capturing on film the culture of Jews in Central and Eastern Euro ...

Rediscovered'', presented simultaneously at

The Photographers' Gallery The Photographers' Gallery was founded in London by Sue Davies opening on 14 January 1971, as the first public gallery in the United Kingdom devoted solely to photography. It is also home to the Deutsche Börse Photography Prize, established i ...

. * '' Jews, Money, Myth'', exploring antisemitic imagery linking Jews with money. Alongside manifestations of antisemitic imagery dating back to

Judas Judas Iscariot (; grc-x-biblical, Ἰούδας Ἰσκαριώτης; syc, ܝܗܘܕܐ ܣܟܪܝܘܛܐ; died AD) was a disciple and one of the original Twelve Apostles of Jesus Christ. According to all four canonical gospels, Judas betr ...

and

Thirty pieces of silver Thirty pieces of silver was the price for which Judas Iscariot betrayed Jesus, according to an account in the Gospel of Matthew 26:15 in the New Testament. Before the Last Supper, Judas is said to have gone to the chief priests and agreed to hand ...

, the exhibit featured a display case of the popular Polish "

Lucky Jew The Jew with a coin (, also little Jew (), or lucky Jew ()) is a good luck charm in Poland, where images or figurines of the character, usually accompanied by a proverb, are said to bring good fortune, particularly financially. For most Poles ...

" figurines. * ''Charlotte Salomon: Life? or Theatre?''

References

External links