The Jewish Museum in Berlin | Places to Remember

One of the most outstanding buildings in Berlin is the Jewish Museum. The architect is Daniel Libeskind.
I remember when it was built there were many reviews because of its very unusual architecture. A lot of people wanted to have a look, and it was seen by more than 350.000 people before the permanent exhibition opened in 2001.
It has a sharp and angular design. From above the zigzag form looks like a lightning or a broken Star of David.

According to the architect, the museum has to fulfill different functions: to show the history of Jewish life and culture in Germany; to bring consciousness to and to memorize the Holocaust; and to acknowledge the erasure and void of Jewish life in Berlin.

The structure of the windows is developed from imaginary lines of a map, showing addresses of prominent Jewish and non-Jewish citizens of Berlin, as artists or philosophers.

There are 'voids' integrated in the building, empty spaces without heating or air conditioning, representing that which cannot be exhibited due to the Holocaust. There are also axes with different meanings to pass through. All in all it is a very complicated building, and I remember to have the feeling of being lost while visiting the permanent exhibition. It is fascinating, scary, disturbing and awesome at the same time. The architecture is an successful translation of the difficult history of Jewish life in Germany, the Holocaust, and the contribution of Jewish citizens to art, science, and economy.

Outside there is the Garden of Exile. You can see there 49 pillars, with bushes growing at the top of them as a symbol of hope.

Actually the museum consists of two buildings. Apart from the Libeskind building there is also a baroque building, which had been the Berlin Museum in former times. Today there is the entrance to the Jewish museum. You can only reach the other building from an underground passage, there is no connection above the ground.

Apart from the permanent exhibition there are also a lot of temporary exhibitions, especially art exhibitions. Sometimes I only go there for the art exhibitions, so the Jewish Museum is also a place in the art exhibition landscape of Berlin.