The Sydney Jewish Museum is a history

museum A museum is an institution dedicated to displaying or Preservation (library and archive), preserving culturally or scientifically significant objects. Many museums have exhibitions of these objects on public display, and some have private colle ...

located in the

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

suburb of

Darlinghurst Darlinghurst is an inner-city suburb in the eastern suburbs of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Darlinghurst is located immediately east of the Sydney central business district (CBD) and Hyde Park, within the local government area of the Ci ...

. It showcases exhibits relating to the

Holocaust The Holocaust (), known in Hebrew language, Hebrew as the (), was the genocide of History of the Jews in Europe, European Jews during World War II. From 1941 to 1945, Nazi Germany and Collaboration with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy ...

and the history and achievements of Jewish people in Australia. The Museum displays personal objects of

Holocaust survivors Holocaust survivors are people who survived the Holocaust, defined as the persecution and attempted annihilation of the Jews by Nazi Germany and its collaborators before and during World War II in Europe and North Africa. There is no universall ...

and other Jewish Australians and hosts presentations of their personal testimonies. The museum is currently undergoing a major redevelopment, and will be closed to the general public from January 2025 to the end of 2026. It will reopen with a new set of exhibitions and programs that will aim to showcase Jewish life and culture in Sydney. Sydney Jewish Museum interior photograph

Sydney Jewish Museum interior photograph

History

Prior usage of the site

The museum is housed in the historic Maccabean Hall, and was originally built to commemorate the contributions of the Jewish community from

New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...

who served in

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

. The building was formally opened on

Armistice Day Armistice Day, later known as Remembrance Day in the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth and Veterans Day in the United States, is commemorated every year on 11 November to mark Armistice of 11 November 1918, the armistice signed between th ...

1923 by Jewish-Australian

civil engineer A civil engineer is a person who practices civil engineering – the application of planning, designing, constructing, maintaining, and operating infrastructure while protecting the public and environmental health, as well as improving existing i ...

and

Australian Army The Australian Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of Australia. It is a part of the Australian Defence Force (ADF), along with the Royal Australian Navy and the Royal Australian Air Force. The Army is commanded by the Chief of Army ...

commander

General A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air force, air and space forces, marines or naval infantry. In some usages, the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colone ...

Sir

John Monash General (Australia), General Sir John Monash (; 27 June 1865 – 8 October 1931) was an Australian civil engineer and military commander of the World War I, First World War. He commanded the 13th Brigade (Australia), 13th Infantry Brigade befor ...

. Before Maccabean Hall was chosen to become the Sydney Jewish Museum, it served as a hub for Jewish life in Sydney. After

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

Maccabean Hall was employed for various uses, including migrants' English lessons, weddings, rallies, and commemorative events for

Anzac The Australian and New Zealand Army Corps (ANZAC) was originally a First World War army corps of the British Empire under the command of the Mediterranean Expeditionary Force. It was formed in Egypt in December 1914, and operated during the ...

soldiers and Holocaust victims.

Establishment

The Sydney Jewish Museum was established in 1992 by

who came to Australia. It was officially opened by

Rear Admiral Rear admiral is a flag officer rank used by English-speaking navies. In most European navies, the equivalent rank is called counter admiral. Rear admiral is usually immediately senior to commodore and immediately below vice admiral. It is ...

Peter Sinclair, the

Governor of New South Wales The governor of New South Wales is the representative of the monarch, King Charles III, in the state of New South Wales. In an analogous way to the governor-general of Australia, Governor-General of Australia at the national level, the governor ...

, on 18 November 1992. The museum was founded by the late John Saunders and members of the Australian Association of Jewish Holocaust Survivors. Australia has a higher proportion of Holocaust survivors (per capita) than any country except

Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

Resource Center and Library

The museum library was originally created from the collection of books donated by the Australian Association of Jewish Holocaust Survivors. The Resource Centre and Library comprises over 6,000 volumes, journals, and tapes, including over 2,500 personal testimonies of Holocaust survivors in Australia. The centre is open to the public during museum hours and staffed by a librarian. The collection provides materials for exhibitions and covers themes such as

antisemitism Antisemitism or Jew-hatred is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who harbours it is called an antisemite. Whether antisemitism is considered a form of racism depends on the school of thought. Antisemi ...

, war crimes, the Holocaust in art and literature, and Australian Jewish history.

References

External links

* {{Authority control Holocaust museums Jewish museums in Australia Jews and Judaism in Sydney Museums in Sydney 1992 establishments in Australia Museums established in 1992 Darlinghurst, New South Wales