Change in the Jewish Museum : Before us, the deluge

although There is still a whole year until the opening, but the concept of the new permanent exhibition at the Jewish Museum in Berlin, takes a behind-the-Scenes, of course, already forms. The former, opened in 2001, and in December of 2017 closed-end permanent exhibition had weaknesses, it was partly overloaded and non-harmonised well with the architecture of the Libeskind building, which focuses primarily on the effect of the Blank.

in the Future, the topics of Religion, anti-Semitism and the Holocaust should be taken more into account. Director Peter Schäfer emphasizes that the history of Ashkenaz, therefore, of the German Jewry, and its relationship to the non-Jewish environment in the centre, not about the history of Judaism in General, or the regional history of the Berlin Jews.

Think

encourage The new permanent exhibition will have a historic-chronological strand, beginning in the first century ad. There are several themed rooms in which specific aspects of deepening should be treated. As in the past, the tour of the house when the axes of exile and the Holocaust in the starts start in the basement and then to the top floor. In order to mitigate the threshold of the long stairs, - Letter projections to guide the visitors to the top, in the first place is: "word", which deals with the Central importance of Scripture in Judaism.

The topics space, "music" to make it clear how important it is – much like in Protestantism – sounds, in Judaism, singing, Synagogal or compositions by Louis Lewandowski. In "Kabbalah" is all about Jewish mysticism, it is also planned to present the absurdity of the bureaucratic extermination machinery of the NS-regime, since 1933, visually, through the walls of all the 962 laws that restricted opportunities for Jews gradually more and more.

Other plans, and that visitors are actively encouraged to Think about what anti-Semitism actually is. On the basis of short scenes, each with a question follows: "Is this antisemitic?", the experts answer from their point of view. The new permanent exhibition is planned by an in-house Curatorial team, the former program Director Cilly Kugelmann is involved by means of a consulting contract.

Netanyahu called for financing stop

The opening of the new permanent exhibition has been postponed from autumn 2019 and spring 2020. Reason structural problems to be the only Museum Director Peter Schäfer insured in the conversation.

In the recent past, there has been repeated political Controversies up to the attempted intervention in the case of the special exhibition "Welcome to Jerusalem" and events of the Museum. In December, for example, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called, in a letter to German Chancellor Angela Merkel, and the financial support of the Jewish Museum Berlin by the Federal government, not because of this anti-Israeli activities, support, and until the end of April to be seen in Jerusalem-the exhibition take into account the views of the Israeli government enough.

"Even if the discussion has not been kind to us, it has harmed us in any way," explains Schaefer, whose contract as Director of the Jewish Museum on 31. August will end in 2019. "The state Minister for culture Monika Grütters has made it clear that Netanyahu has exceeded his powers." The debate on the Palestinian expert on the middle East sa'ed Atshan, who could not hold in the summer of 2018, a lecture to queerem life in East Jerusalem for alleged proximity to the controversial anti-Israeli organization, the BDS after protests by the Israeli Embassy as provided for in the Jewish Museum Berlin, Peter shepherd as ended. "We were beaten for having invited him and for him. It is the choice between plague and Cholera.“ The Jewish Museum was made aware of this, speakers will want to continue studying – without a attitude test.

responsibility as a Jewish theme

Also beginning in 2020, to open up to the Jewish Museum on the other side of Linden street in the former the flower hall, the new children's Museum. It wants to break down religious topics for visitors of three to ten years, on the basis of the Noah's ark story, because for all three monotheistic religions is significant. "We will not conceal the fact that God sent a flood," says Peter shepherd, "but the focus is on the responsibility of all of us, a new, better world to build. The connections to the current climate - and environmental problems are obvious.“ When asked what are the specifically Jewish about says shepherd: The responsibility of all people for the world not in an imaginary Afterlife, but in the Here and Now, an elementary Jewish theme.