Jewish Museum Berlin — Attraction in Berlin

It's a bit weird. Serious parts of history and artistic interpretation are not a great mix.

The museum is in an older building but there is a huge concrete building attached with some (to be honest) really poor artistic interpretations of 'loneliness, darkness and the unsettling of the Jewish community. They do this by showing a video on a massive screen of some drummers playing about on the cymbals.

It's odd

If you ignore all that and carry on there is some interesting examples of some Jewish artifacts, ID cards, letter etc.

The artistic stuff is an unnecessary and the worst part of what could be a good museum.

For example, the floors are all slanted and dark which is meant to symbolise how the Jewish people felt unsettled and struggled in 1930s Germany. All true of course, but all the flooring does is get on your nerves and and make you think ' who designed this?'

The last bit has a list of all the rules that were imposed on the Jews by the Nazis month by month and year by year which is horrifying and astonishing in equal measure.

All in all, the Jewish museum feels like a missed opportunity to better represent and explain what the Jews went through. There is a strange garden bit which is simply a series of concrete blocks on slightly different levels which you are supposed to interpret in your own way as lonely/scary/terrifying. It all seems a bit lazy.

If this is the best the artist could do to represent what happened to the Jews, then I can only imagine their artistic imagination at school consisted of stick men and rainbows.

For such a serious subject - it should be done with more effort and more respectfully. Art is not required to explain...

My wife and I stopped by here today while touring this part of the city. We weren't quite sure what to expect, but it was a recommendation by a tour guide. When you enter through the main entrance, you'll go through a security checkpoint before deciding what type of tour you want. The museum is actually free, but there is an audio guide option for an additional fee. If you have backpacks, drinks, umbrellas, etc, you will need to check them in in a locker or a controlled cloakroom. There is a large outdoor canteen and a nice park out back. There is also a shop with the revolving door exit next to it. The main exhibit starts by getting your ticket checked and then heading down the stairs. The museum is quite large, and this will take time to go through for sure. This lower level has a few areas that are meant to be thought-provoking and really just a start to this journey. As you go through the museum, there is always a feeling of not knowing what is next or where you are going. It is well-marked, but each area is unique, with a lot of odd shaped rooms and corridors. It is hard to explain, but as you go through it, you'll likely find yourself feeling uneasy or confused at times. The Garden of Exile and the Memory Void exhibits are definitely do not miss areas. The museum has so much information that it may be quite overwhelming. It is not just a museum about the Holocaust. It is so much more. I highly suggest adding this location to your time in...

This museum has two parts. One part is supposedly for the memorial of the Jewish that lived and died in the holocaust, and the second part is about Jerusalem. I have to say, that as a Jewish, and as someone who wants to learn about the holocaust, I felt ashamed walking in that museum. Yes, the architecture of the building is mesmerizing and I can understand what they were trying to convey. However, if you want to learn about the holocaust, this is not the place to do it. Moreover, the part that was supposed to show Jerusalem was very inappropriate. Filled with Christian and Muslims culture, barely explaining about the Jewish that live there. Don’t get me wrong, I love cultures and have no problem with any of them. However, this is a “Jewish Museum “ , and I expect to see more about the Jewish culture, and less about the other cultures. There is a difference between combining all the cultures in a historic kind of explanation, between what is shown in this museum. I truly felt like I was in a Muslim museum, which I am sure I were appreciating more if I were actually in a Muslim museum. This is the first time I wrote such a long review, but I just had to. Taking such a sensitive topic... this was the most disrespectful museum I have been to. Overall, very disappointing and upsetting.....