Jewish Museum Milwaukee facts for kids
| Established | 2008 |
|---|---|
| Location | Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States |
| Public transit access |  MCTS The Hop |
The Jewish Museum Milwaukee is a special place in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA. Its main goal is to share the story of Jewish people in the Milwaukee area. The museum also celebrates Jewish history and culture. Through its exhibits, programs, and collections, it helps everyone learn about Jewish life, both locally and around the world.
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About the Museum
The Jewish Museum Milwaukee started in 2008. But its history goes back even further! For over 20 years before opening, people were already collecting and saving important items. The museum's collection began in the 1980s. This early work led to the creation of the Milwaukee Jewish Historical Society in 1997.
What You Can See
The museum's main exhibit explores Jewish history. It shows how Jewish people lived both in Milwaukee and across the globe. Each year, the museum also creates up to three new exhibits. These special shows focus on culture, history, or art.
The museum's motto is "Where Conversations Happen." It aims to connect different groups of people. It does this by looking at shared historical experiences. The museum also explores current issues through history, art, and culture. It follows a Jewish idea called Tikkun Olam, which means "repair the world." Because of this, the museum often focuses on topics of social justice.
The Museum's Collection
The Jewish Museum Milwaukee has a large collection of items. These include old photos, handwritten papers, and stories told by people. There are also newspaper clippings. All these items tell the story of the Jewish community in Milwaukee.
Many of these materials were given by local families. They show the journey of Jewish immigrants. This includes the first arrivals from Germany and Eastern Europe in the 1800s. It also covers those who came from the former Soviet Union in the 1970s.
The Building
The museum is located in the Helfaer Community Service Building. This building was designed by Edward Durell Stone. He was a famous architect. He also designed the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington D.C.
When to Visit
The Jewish Museum Milwaukee is closed on Saturdays. It also closes for many Jewish holidays and holy days. These include Rosh Hashana, Yom Kippur, Sukkot, Shemini Atzeret, Simchat Torah, the first and last two days of Passover, and Shavuot.
Where to Find Us
The Jewish Museum of Milwaukee is at 1360 N Prospect Avenue in Milwaukee. The museum is in Milwaukee's museum area. This area is just north of the downtown part of the city. You can walk to several other museums from here in about ten minutes. These include the Milwaukee Art Museum and the Betty Brinn Children's Museum.
Special Exhibits
The Jewish Museum Milwaukee often features interesting special exhibits. Here are a few examples of past exhibits.
Stitching Histories from the Holocaust
This exhibit tells a very moving story. It's about Hedwig Strnad and her husband Paul. They lived in Prague, which was controlled by the Nazis. Hedwig sent letters to a cousin in Milwaukee. In these letters, she included designs for dresses. She hoped these designs would help them get visas to leave.
Sadly, both Hedwig and Paul were killed in the Holocaust. But Hedwig's beautiful dress designs survived! The Milwaukee Repertory Theater's costume shop recreated these dresses. They were then shown as part of the exhibit.
Sara Spira's Postcards
This exhibit was shown with "Stitching Histories from the Holocaust." It featured a series of postcards written by Sara Spira. She was a Polish-German Jewish woman who also died in the Holocaust. Sara lived in Leipzig, Germany for some time. She had a daughter named Mary, born in 1918. After her husband died, Sara ran a dry goods store.
Before World War II began, Sara moved to Gorlice, Poland. From there, she kept writing postcards to her daughter Mary. Mary had moved to Wisconsin in 1938. Sara continued to write until she died in the Holocaust. These postcards offer a personal look at someone's experience during this difficult time.
Degenerate! Hitler's War on Modern Art
This exhibit ran from February to June 2023. It explored how Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party attacked what they called "degenerate art." This was art they didn't like. The exhibit showed many artworks that were taken away and criticized by Nazi Germany. It also explained how the Nazis tried to make people dislike modernist art. They even held a special "Degenerate Art Exhibition" to do this.
