Jewish Museum of Greece

The Jewish Museum of Greece ( Greek Evraiko Mousio tis Ellados Εβραϊκό Μουσείο της Ελλάδος ) in Athens documented as one of three museums ( next to the Jewish Museum of Thessaloniki and the small Jewish Museum of Rhodes ) the history of Judaism in Greece. Although since ancient Jews live in Greece, the focus of the exhibits is in modern times.

History

In the 1970s, the Jewish community of Athens supported the creation of a museum, which was finally realized in an extension of a synagogue in 1977. The exhibits were mainly personal artifacts and jewelry, which had been confiscated during the Bulgarian occupation of Greek Thrace ( Western Thrace ) and returned by the communist leadership in Bulgaria. The Association of Friends of the Jewish Museum of Greece was founded in 1981 and consisted of the Jewish communities of Athens and Thessaloniki. In 1984 for reasons of space, a move to rented premises and in 1997 acquired a new building with the help of the Ministry of Culture and remodeled for the museum. The collection has been growing since 2000 at about 250-300 exhibits a year.

Exhibition

In 1984, the Jewish community was dissolved in Patras due to lack of members. Parts of the synagogue furnishings were rebuilt in the museum. Other sacred objects come from the synagogues of Rhodes, Ioannina and the area around Thessaly. Thematically is documented about the support of the Greek liberation struggle, the Holocaust and Jewish life in the present. The objects here are everyday objects, art works and writings. On 800 m² approximately 8000 objects are shown.

Others

The building is located in the Niki -Str. 39 in the center of Athens. It is close to Syntagma Square. On Jewish and Christian holidays it is closed.

In addition to the exhibition at the Museum, a photo archive, a library and a laboratory is housed for conservation and restoration.