Explore Jewish History and the Holocaust at The Jewish Museum in Berlin

History and Futuristic Design

The Nazi regime closed the original Jewish Museum on Oranienburger Straße in 1938, just five years after its opening in 1933. It remained vacant until 1975 when Jewish groups decided to do something. It was in 1988 that the design by architect Daniel Libeskind trumped the rest, winning the contest announced by the Berlin government to create a new design for the museum.
Located in what used to be West Berlin, before the fall of the Wall, the museum today comprises a Baroque building, called the “Kollegienhaus” as well as Libeskind's creation, the new Deconstructivist-style building. Libeskind's building is accessible only through an underground passage that begins in the old Baroque building.
Libeskind's design was based on the premise that the Holocaust can never be erased from Germany's collective conscience, nor can the contribution of the Jews to Berlin's reconstruction be undermined.

The Jewish Way of Life Relived

Visitors discover Germany from the Jewish perspective in the permanent exhibition, 'Two Millennia of German Jewish History'. It spans various time frames in history such as the Baroque period, the 19th century 'Age of Anticipation', in which Jews flourished in their endeavours, the World Wars and the reconstruction period in post-war Germany. The Rafael Roth Learning Centre presents Jewish history in an interactive multimedia format. Do take the audio guide and look out for unsettling architectural elements such as the Entry Void, the Holocaust Tower, the Garden of Exile and Emigration and the Stair of Continuity, a reference to the inevitable continuity of life.
The Jewish Museum in Berlin is one of the most visited museums on German soil. Visit and you will see why.

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Author: David Rickerson-Seidel

Guest Relations Manager at NH Collection Berlin Mitte Friedrichstrasse

My name is David Rickerson-Seidel and I have been part of the NH Hotel Group since September 2015 when the first NH Collection Hotel opened in Germany. After 16 years of hotel experience, I was offered a great chance to meet people from all over the world and each time I was able to learn from them – this is one of the reason why I love my position as a Guest Relation Manager. My daily task is to fulfil our guest’s needs before they actually asking for it. With my passion for my job it is always a great pleasure to see our guests happy and smiling before they leave the hotel and I know that we have done the job right. I always say that the only thing that a guest can’t buy and book in advance is our smiling receptionist with a warm welcoming, the friendly breakfast host who would like to know if you slept well, and our elusive room maid, who is preparing the room so that it feels like home – our employees make the difference – this is why you are not checking into your room at a terminal. Whatever you need – we are always there for you.