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. It helps us learn about and celebrate the history and culture of Jewish people, especially in the Milwaukee area. The museum collects old photos, stories, and items. It also creates exciting exhibits and programs. These help everyone understand the rich and diverse Jewish experience, both locally and around the world.
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About the Museum
The Jewish Museum Milwaukee opened its doors in 2008. But its history of collecting important items goes back more than twenty years before that. In the 1980s, a group called the Milwaukee Jewish Federation Women's Division started gathering historical records. This work led to the creation of the Milwaukee Jewish Historical Society in 1997.
The museum's main exhibit explores Jewish history from both local and global viewpoints. Each year, the museum also puts on up to three special exhibits. These exhibits focus on important cultural, historical, or artistic topics. 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 in its exhibits and programs.
The museum's archives hold a large collection of photographs, old papers, and recorded stories. There are also many newspaper clippings. These items show the activities of the Jewish community in Milwaukee. They cover groups, schools, culture, social events, charity work, and businesses. Most of these materials were given by local people. They tell the story of Jewish immigrants. This includes the first German and Eastern European Jews who arrived in the 1800s. It also includes those who came from the former Soviet Union in the 1970s.
The Jewish Museum Milwaukee is located in the Helfaer Community Service Building. This building was designed by Edward Durell Stone. He was also the architect for the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington D.C.
The museum is closed on Saturdays. It also closes for Jewish holidays and holy days. These include Rosh Hashana, Yom Kippur, Sukkot, Shemini Atzeret, Simchat Torah, the first two and last two days of Passover, and Shavuot.
Where to Find the Museum
The Jewish Museum of Milwaukee is located at 1360 N Prospect Avenue in Milwaukee. The museum and its archives are in Milwaukee's museum district. This area is just north of downtown. It is about a ten-minute walk from other museums. These include the Milwaukee Art Museum, the Charles Allis Art Museum, Discovery World, and the Betty Brinn Children's Museum.
Special Exhibits
Stitching Histories from the Holocaust
This exhibit shares the story of Hedwig Strnad and her husband Paul. Their story is told through letters they sent to a cousin in Milwaukee. These letters came from Prague, which was under Nazi control at the time. Hedwig included dress designs in her letters. She hoped these designs would help them get visas to leave. Sadly, both Hedwig and Paul Strnad were killed during the Holocaust. However, Hedwig's dress designs survived. The Milwaukee Repertory Theater's costume shop has recreated these designs. They are now part of the exhibit.
Sara Spira Postcards
Along with the Stitching Histories from the Holocaust exhibit, there is a series of postcards by Sara Spira. Sara was a Polish-German Jewish woman who also died during the Holocaust. She lived in Leipzig, Germany for some time in the early 1900s. Sara lived in Leipzig with her husband Max until he passed away in 1920. Their only child, a daughter named Mary, was born there in 1918. After her husband's death, Sara ran a dry goods store to make a living.
Sara left Leipzig for Gorlice, Poland sometime before World War II began. She was later sent from Germany to the Gorlice Ghetto in Poland. From there, she continued to write postcards to her daughter, Mary. Mary had moved to Wisconsin in 1938. Sara kept writing until she died in the Holocaust.
The postcards written by Sara Spira have also been used in a course at the University of Wisconsin. They help students understand the experiences of individuals during the Holocaust.
Degenerate! Hitler's War on Modern Art
This exhibit ran from February 24 to June 4, 2023. It explored the campaign against "degenerate art" by Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party. The exhibit featured many artworks that were taken and criticized by Nazi Germany. It showed how they tried to discredit modernist art. This was done through a special event called the Degenerate Art Exhibition.
