Museum of Jewish Heritage

The Museum of Jewish Heritage, located in Battery Park City in Manhattan, New York City, is a memorial to those who perished in the Holocaust. The building, designed by Roche-Dinkeloo, is topped by a pyramid structure called the Living Memorial to the Holocaust. The museum opened in 1997. More than 1.5 million visitors from all over the world have visited the museum. The mission statement of the museum is "to educate people of all ages and backgrounds about the broad tapestry of Jewish life in the 20th and 21st centuries — before, during, and after the Holocaust."[1]

Museum of Jewish Heritage
Aerial view of the Museum of Jewish Heritage
Established1997
Location36 Battery Place, New York, NY, 10280
Coordinates40.706211°N 74.018750°W / 40.706211; -74.018750
TypeHolocaust/Jewish museum
DirectorJack Kliger, President & CEO
ArchitectRoche-Dinkeloo
Public transit accessBus: M15, M15 SBS, M20, M55 to South Ferry, M9 to Battery Park City
Subway:
​ trains at Bowling Green
​​​ trains at South Ferry/Whitehall Street
Websitewww.mjhnyc.org

Since 2010 the museum has been a partner of Austria's volunteer program, Austrian Holocaust Memorial Service.[2]

History
The pagoda-like structure of the museum

The Museum of Jewish Heritage was incorporated and chartered in 1984, dedicated in 1986, and built between 1994 and 1997 in New York City's Battery Park City. The museum's $21.5 million building, designed by architect Kevin Roche opened to the public on September 15, 1997.[3] David Altshuler was the founding Director of the Museum, a position he held from 1984 until December 1999, when he left to become president of the Trust for Jewish Philanthropy.[4][5]

Between 1946 and the 1960s, government officials lacked interest in building the museum until the American Jewish Community expressed interest and made an intervention for the museum creation;[6]:5 the American Jewish Community's interest was catalyzed by the Six Day War in 1967.[6]:24 The intervention also contributed to the building process delay.[6]:5

President Jimmy Carter, with the support of Mayor Ed Koch, proposed placing the national memorial in New York City instead of Washington D.C. but it was ruled out.[6]:15 Mayor Ed Koch's appointment of a Task Force on The Holocaust in 1981 was crucial. The Task Force, “which evolved in 1982 to the New York Holocaust Commission,”[7] recommended the creation of a museum. President Jimmy Carter, in 1978, created the President's Commission which placed the issue on the US government's agenda.[6]:25 The agenda remained present until it became a reality in President Bill Clinton’s term on 1993.[6]:26

Before the museum became a realization, there were many political events that occurred that slowed down the museum creation. Political events included debates based on the structure, location, and even other priorities such as a funding crisis.[6]:5 One of the co-chairman wanted to "personalize" the museum building.[6]:5 The museum's site, originally proposed to be located within the Alexander Hamilton U.S. Custom House, was relocated to Battery Park City in 1986.[6]:144[8] The funding crisis was when "Black Monday", which occurred on October 19, 1987, "wiped out" funds of potential donors for the museum as well as dropped real estate prices.[6]:6

Initially, Mayor Ed Koch's administration and co-chairmen George Klein were going to obtain the Custom House for the museum. In 1985 Governor Mario Cuomo’s broker negotiated site change to Battery Park City. George Klein alongside with other leaders were enthusiastic about the change since they wanted to create the best museum for the least price. Many plans for the Museum of Jewish Heritage was submitted but they were rejected by City's planning authorities.[6]:144

In 1990, the museum merged with the Center for Holocaust Studies in Brooklyn. Architect Kevin Roche begin designing the museum in 1993. In the same year, Howard J. Rubinstein also joined the museum's board.

The New York City Holocaust Memorial Commission, established in 1982, was reincorporated in 1986 as the New York Holocaust Memorial Commission, with Governor Mario Cuomo and Mayor Ed Koch, as well as George Klein, Robert M. Morgenthau and Manfred Ohrenstein and Peter Cohen as chairmen of its board.

The museum's Robert M. Morgenthau wing

The plans weren't completely accomplished in the beginning because the funds weren't sufficient to cover the vision, so in the early 2000, the realization took place with the guidance of David Marwell.[7] In 2003, the dedication of Robert M. Morgenthau wing included auditoria, classrooms, conference center, and a temporary exhibition space.

At an event held at the Museum of Jewish Heritage on January 29, 2017, Elisha Wiesel suggested that protesting against Executive Order 13769 ("Protecting the Nation from Foreign Terrorist Entry into the United States") was part of his father Elie Wiesel's legacy.[9]

Exhibitions

Core Exhibition
Outside view of the museum

The museum's collection contains more than 25,000 items relating to modern Jewish history and the Holocaust. Many of these rotate into the Core Exhibition, while others are featured in temporary exhibitions. In addition, many can be viewed in the museum's searchable online collection.[10] The Core Exhibition tells the story of 20th and 21st century Jewish life from the perspective of those who lived it. Through a rotating collection that includes artifacts, photographs, and documentary films, the Core Exhibition places the Holocaust in the larger context of modern Jewish history. It is organized into three chronological sections: Jewish Life A Century Ago, The War Against the Jews, and Jewish Renewal — each told on a separate floor. It is housed in a six-sided building, symbolic of the six points of the Star of David and the six million Jews who perished in the Holocaust. The Core Exhibition consists of the following:

Entry Rotunda
The visitor experience begins with a nine-minute, multimedia presentation that introduces the themes of the museum.
Jewish Life a Century Ago
The first floor of the Core Exhibition explores vibrant and multifaceted Jewish life in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Personal artifacts and family photographs accompanied by documentary films.
The War Against the Jews
The second floor galleries present the history of the Holocaust from the point of view of Jews who lived through it, using their own artifacts, photographs, testimony, and historical footage. Chronological displays provide a framework for the historical events of the period.
Jewish Renewal
The third floor of the Core Exhibition focuses on how Jewish individuals and communities rebuilt their lives after the Holocaust and continue to thrive in the 21st century. The exhibition concludes with how contemporary Jewry has embraced the Jewish value of Tikkun Olam (Repairing the World) and fighting for justice for everyone.

Auschwitz. Not long ago. Not far away

This special exhibition opened in May 2019 and runs until August 30, 2020.[11]

Ordinary Treasures: Highlights From The Museum Of Jewish Heritage Collection

This exhibition features drawings and everyday items, many of which were donated by the relatives of the original owners. The exhibition shows some aspects of daily life for European Jews under Nazi rule.[12]

Andy Goldsworthy's Garden of Stones

Andy Goldsworthy's living memorial garden, his first permanent commission in New York City, opened to the public on September 17, 2003. An eloquent garden plan of trees growing from stone, the garden was planted by the artist, Holocaust survivors, and their families. This contemplative space, meant to be revisited and experienced differently over time as the garden matures, is visible from almost every floor of the Museum.

Keeping History Center

The Keeping History Center, an ongoing exhibition, presents the Museum's ideas and collections in an interactive, digital visitor experience. The Center occupies a 2,200-square-foot (200 m2) area that has panoramic views of New York Harbor and the Statue of Liberty. The Center features Voices of Liberty, a soundscape of diverse voices responding to arriving in America for the first time, including Holocaust survivors, Soviet refuseniks, and others. The Center also contains a virtual exploration of Andy Goldsworthy's Garden of Stones, called "Timekeeper."

Edmond J. Safra Hall

In the 375-seat Edmond J. Safra Hall, the museum offers a schedule of films, concerts, and panel discussions throughout the year. Past programs have included symposia on the Holocaust, interfaith dialogues, and concerts featuring established and emerging artists.

Over the last few years, the museum has held a day-long symposium on Darfur with policy makers and leaders on human rights; presented performers such as Idan Raichel and David Strathairn; hosted film screenings with actors and directors such as Kirk Douglas, John Turturro, Quentin Tarantino, Claude Lanzmann, and Ed Zwick; explored Justice after the Holocaust with experts like Alan Dershowitz; and hosted the revival of a Yiddish operetta, Die Goldene Kale.

Rendering Witness: Holocaust-Era Art as Testimony

This exhibition "features art made during and immediately after the Holocaust by those who lived it," including art made by prisoners in concentration camps and American liberators.[13] The exhibit is intended to showcase the Holocaust as people saw it during the time. [14]

Affiliates

JewishGen

JewishGen is the leading internet site for Jewish genealogy and provides free online access to a vast collection of Jewish ancestral records. JewishGen and the museum affiliated in 2003. JewishGen features over 22 million records (including family trees containing 7 million individuals, 3 million burial records, and 2.75 million Holocaust records), hundreds of translated Yizkor Books, research tools, a family finder, educational classes, and many other constantly updated resources.

Auschwitz Jewish Center

In addition to the New York campus, the Museum has also operated the Auschwitz Jewish Center in Oświęcim, Poland, since 2006.

Before the invasion of Poland and later occupation of Poland by Nazi Germany Oświęcim (renamed Auschwitz by the Nazis) was just an ordinary Polish town. The majority of its citizens were Jewish. Following the end of the World War II Auschwitz became the ultimate symbol of the Holocaust. In September 2000, the Auschwitz Jewish Center opened its doors to honor the former residents of the town and to teach future generations about what was lost. Located less than 2 miles (3.2 km) from Auschwitz-Birkenau, it is the only remaining Jewish presence in the town.

The AJC's mission is also to provide all visitors with an opportunity to memorialize victims of the Holocaust through the study of the life and culture of a formerly Jewish town and to offer educational programs that allow new generations to explore the meaning and contemporary implications of the Holocaust. The Center provides regularly scheduled exhibitions and educational programs. The United States Service Academy Program takes cadets and midshipmen to Poland for a three-week trip to learn from survivors, scholars, and historians. The Auschwitz Jewish Center Fellows program is a three-and-a-half-week study trip for students who are matriculated in graduate programs or are completing undergraduate degrees.

See also

References
  1. "About: MJHNYC". Museum of Jewish Heritage. Archived from the original on May 19, 2015. Retrieved May 11, 2015.
  2. "Service Locations of the Austrian Holocaust Memorial Service". Austrian Service Abroad.
  3. Jackson, Kenneth T., ed. (2010). The Encyclopedia of New York City (2nd ed.). New Haven: Yale University Press. p. 868. ISBN 978-0-300-11465-2.
  4. "After 13 Years of Uncertainty, Holocaust Museum to Rise in New York". Jewish Telegraphic Agency. August 24, 1994. Retrieved July 21, 2019.
  5. Blumenthal, Robert (December 8, 2000). "Museum of Jewish Heritage Names New Director". The New York Times. Retrieved July 21, 2019.
  6. Saidel, Rochelle G. Never Too Late to Remember: The Politics behind New York City's Holocaust Museum. New York: Holmes & Meier, 1996. Print.
  7. [Mais, Yitzchak. "Museum of Jewish Heritage: A Living Memorial to the Holocaust (MJH: ALMTTH)." Encyclopaedia Judaica, edited by Michael Berenbaum and Fred Skolnik, 2nd ed., vol. 14, Macmillan Reference USA, 2007]
  8. Oreskes, Michael (April 5, 1985). "Battery Park City Offers Holocaust Museum a Site". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved April 19, 2020.
  9. Gordon, Amanda L. (January 30, 2017). "Elisha Wiesel Reflects on Immigrant Ban and Father's Legacy". Bloomberg. Retrieved April 19, 2017.
  10. "MJH Collections". collection.mjhnyc.org.
  11. "About the exhibition Auschwitz. Not long ago. Not far away". Museum of Jewish Heritage — A Living Memorial to the Holocaust. Retrieved December 18, 2019.
  12. "Ordinary Treasures: Highlights from the Museum of Jewish Heritage Collection". Museum of Jewish Heritage. Retrieved December 18, 2019.
  13. "MJH Exhibition: Rendering Witness: Holocaust-Era Art as Testimony". Museum of Jewish Heritage — A Living Memorial to the Holocaust. Retrieved March 17, 2020.
  14. Berger, Judy. "Museum of Jewish Heritage Debuts Holocaust-Era Victims' Art". www.jewishlinkbwc.com. Retrieved February 10, 2020.
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