Jewish Museum London, United Kingdom

The Jewish Museum London is a museum of British Jewish life, history and identity. The Mission is to surprise, delight and engage all people, irrespective of background or faith, in the history, identity and culture of Jews in Britain: by inspiring discovery, provoking questions and encouraging understanding. The Vision is of a world where cultural diversity and the contribution of minority communities are explored, valued and celebrated, for the enrichment of society as a whole.

The museum is situated in the London Borough of Camden, North London. It is a place for people of all ages, faiths and background to explore Jewish history, culture, and heritage. The museum has a dedicated education team, with an extensive programme for schools, community groups and families alike. The events, programmes and activities at the museum aim to provoke questions, challenge prejudice, and encourage understanding.

The Jewish Museum reopened in 2010 after a million transformation creating a landmark museum that celebrates Jewish life and cultural diversity. Its new displays and exhibitions tell the story of Jewish history and culture in an innovative and compelling way and engage with people of all backgrounds and faiths to explore Jewish heritage and identity as part of the wider story of Britain. The only museum in London dedicated to a minority community, the Museum’s expansion and redevelopment was supported by a grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund.

Displayed across four permanent galleries, the huge variety of objects, films, photography, hands-on exhibits and personal stories on display paint a rich and nuanced picture of British Jewish life and history as well as exploring contemporary social issues around immigration and settlement. The new Museum also houses a Changing Exhibitions Gallery, a 100-seat auditorium, an Education Space, and a cafe and shop.

The Jewish Museum was founded in 1932 by Professor Cecil Roth, Alfred Rubens and Wilfred Samuel. Originally located in Woburn House in Bloomsbury, it moved to an elegant early Victorian listed building in Camden Town in 1994.

The London Museum of Jewish Life was founded in 1983 as the Museum of the Jewish East End with the aim of rescuing and preserving the disappearing heritage of London’s East End – the heartland of Jewish settlement in Britain. While the East End has remained an important focus, the museum expanded to reflect the diverse roots and social history of Jewish people across London, including the experiences of refugees from Nazism. It also developed an acclaimed programme of Holocaust and anti-racist education.

In 1995 the two museums were amalgamated. Between 1995 and 2007 the combined Jewish Museum ran on two sites, but with a long term aim to find the means to combine the two collections, activities and displays within a single site.

Following years of planning and fundraising the museum bought a former piano factory behind the Camden Town site and raised the required funds to combine and remodel the buildings. The new Museum opened to the public on 17 March 2010.

In 2015 the Jewish Museum London partnered with the Jewish Military Museum. The partnership has seen the Jewish Museum London assume care and responsibility for the Jewish Military Museum’s entire collection, research archive and its learning programme. Key objects from the Jewish Military Museum are now on display and integrated into the existing permanent galleries.

The museum houses a major international-level collection of Jewish ceremonial art including the notable Lindo lamp an early example of a British Menorah (Hanukkah). The new 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 in recognition of its outstanding national importance. The museum’s Holocaust Gallery includes items and filmed survivor testimony from Leon Greenman, who was one of the few British subjects to be interned in the death camps section at Auschwitz.

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.