The Jewish Museum Berlin, the largest Jewish museum in Europe, officially opened in 2001, although its roots extend back to a smaller museum established in 1933, which was closed by the Nazi regime in 1938. Following World War II, there was a growing recognition of the need to confront Germany’s past, prompting discussions about reestablishing a Jewish museum. In the 1970s, the Berlin Museum began to include Jewish artifacts in its exhibitions, but it was not until after the fall of the Berlin Wall that the vision of a dedicated museum gained traction.

Architect Daniel Libeskind designed the museum with a striking zigzag structure that symbolizes the fragmented history of Jews in Germany. This architectural choice reflects the dislocation and disruption experienced by the Jewish community and it intertwines their narrative with the broader context of German history. The museum hosts exhibitions on Jewish culture, history, and the Holocaust, creating a space for contemplation and discourse on these interlaced narratives.

In response to the Hamas attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, the museum, under Hetty Berg’s direction, showcased “Rehearsing the Spectacle of Spectres”  video work by Israeli artists Nir Evron and Omer Krieger, who both recently moved to Berlin. Created in 2014, this piece focuses on kibbutz Be’eri, an Israeli community tragically affected by the attacks, where many residents lost their lives. Through serene imagery of the kibbutz juxtaposed with residents reciting poetry by the kibbutz poet Anadad Eldan, the film grapples with themes of collective memory and the interplay between individual experience and communal loss. The temporal proximity of the exhibition served as a poignant reflection on shared grief, allowing viewers to engage with the emotional weight of recent events. Although the physical exhibition closed on December 10, 2023, the video remains accessible online, allowing for ongoing reflection and discussion.

One year after the massacre, on October 7, 2024, the museum chose to commemorate the events with a special program that included guided tours of its permanent exhibition and a roundtable discussion with books on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict for the visitors to engage in the topic. The tours focused on the interconnected histories of Jews in Germany and Israel, reflecting on Jewish identity and community resilience during times of crisis. Conducted in multiple languages, including English, German, and Hebrew, the program aimed to create a platform for collective reflection on traumatic events while encouraging engagement with the broader narratives of Jewish history and identity.