Hungarian Jewish Museum

• 1077 Budapest, Dohány utca 2.

The task of the Hungarian Jewish Museum is to preserve the past of Hungarian Jewry, settlers of old of the region, and the collection, systemization and introduction of its historical, religious and cultural memorials.

Jewish devotional objects were already on display in the Hungarian Blacksmith Exhibition in 1884, and art treasures of Hungarian Jewry were shown with great sensation in the 1896 Millennium Exhibition’s ecclesiastical section. After this, the idea of a permanent Jewish exhibition arose that would collect valuable devotional, religious and everyday objects, thematically link art creations from around Hungary, and save them from a possible dilapidation. After celebrating the millennium, Sándor and Miksa Büchler from Szabolcs County initiated a nation-wide collection, but it was only in 1909 when the commission preparing the museum’s creation would form.

The collection, pertaining to the supervision of the Israelite Hungarian Literature Association (IMIT), could already be seen in 1915, one year prior to the official opening of 1916, in an apartment rented in Hold utca in 1913. Thanks to the enthusiastic grants, the association grew richer and richer.

The collection had to move in 1929 from Hold street to civil flat in Wesselényi street, and later in 1931 to the Jewish Museum’s today building. The museum was designed by László Varga and Ferenc Faragó, and built in a similar style to the Dohány Street Synagogue – designed by Ludwig Förster – on the building site of the Pest Israelite Community, the birthplace of Theodor Herzl, founder of political Zionism. 

The new museum opened in 1932. Due to the political situation, and in addition to the collecting and preserving objectives, there was great motivation to exhibit the past of Hungarian Jewry. For this reason, the first hall exhibits Hungarian Jewry, the second displays private antiques and the third shows ceremonial objects. Instead of the planned library, a historic portrait-hall was set up. Unfortunately, the institution suffered financial problems and had no money whatsoever for purchases; the museum could be kept alive only with the help of donations. The colorful glass windows on the first floor keep the memories of the generous donators.

Patron organizations were founded at the end of the 1930’s in order to ease the misery of the artists, offering an opportunity to introduce the works of those unable to exhibit or perform elsewhere due to the restricting provisions.

Goal of the 1938 emancipation exhibition was to show the political and intellectual environment of the emancipation law passed in 1867, and the continuous Hungarian and Jewish connection. However, the anti-Semites could not be convinced, whether it was the documents, or the material evidence – not even Béla IV’s letter of privilege and Jospeh II’s decrees.

In 1939 the museum offered the possibility for some of the greatest Jewish artists to exhibit their works. Artworks of the painters Imre Ámos, Vilmos Perlrott-Csaba and the legacy of Izsák Perlmutter could be seen next to the creations of the sculptor Dezső Bokros-Birmann.

The museum played an important part in ancient research, since the “proof of 100-years” could be determined on the basis of the collected data. This became necessary due to the disposition of the electoral law that could, still at that time, be even life saving.

In 1942, right before the catastrophe, with the help of the conscientious employees of the Hungarian National Museum dr. Magda Bárányné Oberschall and Gabriella Tápai Szabó, the most valuable pieces of art and devotional objects could be saved in boxes in the cellar of the National Museum, which would later be returned undamaged to the Jewish Museum. The old certificates among the historic documents were placed in the safe of a bank but these unfortunately disappeared or disintegrated. During the war the building was the contact between the ghetto and the outside world – a number of people could escape through it in 1944.

In 1947, after the war, the museum reopened and from 1949 onwards was called the National Jewish and Historic Collection. Numerous exhibitions were organized during those times, like The Art of the Synagogue or the Art of the Seder, for example. During these years the museum suffered a constant lack of funds and the building got into such a bad shape that it had to be closed down for a certain period.

The work continued between 1963 and 1994 under the management of dr. Ilona Benoschofsky. From the 1970’s on the only permanent exhibition was on Judaism on the first floor, showing the Sabbath, the Jewish holidays, Jewish everyday life and the Hungarian Holocaust.

In 1993 the Museum was robber and most of the exhibited art treasures were stolen. Then, thanks to the Almighty, however, almost like a miracle, these objects were found abroad and brought back to the meanwhile completely renovated museum. The refurbished building reopened in 1995.

The spacious exhibition halls on the second floor were finished, where temporary exhibitions can be visited ever since. An exhibition showed contemporary Jewish fine arts and historic hologram-, ethnographic and social photos. The anniversary of Zionism and the re-inauguration of the Dohány Street Synagogue were also events that were celebrated with very successful exhibitions commemorating the Warsaw ghettoes, accompanied by architectural, film-historical and international paint exhibitions.

Programs at Hungarian Jewish Museum