Anzac Day – A day of remembrance
April 24, 2018
Anzac Day – A day of remembrance Anzac Day is a day of remembrance in Australia and New Zealand, that honours those who served and died in wars and conflicts. …
Yom HaShoah – We Remember
April 13, 2018
Yom HaShoah – We Remember This week, we commemorated Yom HaShoah and remember the victims of the Holocaust. Every day the education team at the Sydney Jewish Museum facilitates conversations …
Toilet humour
April 12, 2018
Toilet humour Hitler’s black ‘toothbrush’ moustache is an easily identifiable feature of this dictator’s face. Numerous cartoonists satirise his distinctive features. David Low, a prominent New Zealand political cartoonist and …
Survivor Portraits – Egon Sonnenschein
March 29, 2018
Survivor Portraits – Egon Sonnenschein This month we introduce Egon Sonnenschein. Egon was born in 1930 in Ptuj, Yugoslavia. Egon came of age as a fugitive. The softly spoken individual …
Judaica with an Australian twist is rare to come by
March 20, 2018
Judaica with an Australian twist is rare to come by With Pesach around the corner, the Sydney Jewish Museum is excited to have acquired a rare and possibly unique item …
Ruby Rich, a pioneering Jewish feminist
March 8, 2018
Ruby Rich, a pioneering Jewish feminist To celebrate International Women’s Day, we are celebrating a Jewish feminist who was active decades before Australia’s Women’s Liberation Movement of the 1960s and …
Survivor Portraits – Helena (Lena) Goldstein
March 1, 2018
Survivor Portraits – Helena (Lena) Goldstein This month we introduce Helena (Lena) Goldstein. Lena was born in 1919 in Lublin, Poland. She was moved to the Warsaw ghetto, from which …
The modern day Haman and an ironic remnant
February 26, 2018
The modern day Haman and an ironic remnant Visitors to the Museum may notice a damaged scroll in a cabinet next to our Kristallnacht display. What might the relationship be …
“Man’s desire for peace lies behind this Declaration.”
February 21, 2018
“Man’s desire for peace lies behind this Declaration.” “Man’s desire for peace lies behind this Declaration. The realisation that the flagrant violation of human rights by Nazi and Fascist countries …
Survivor Portraits – George Grojnowski
January 29, 2018
Survivor Portraits – George Grojnowski This month, we introduce Holocaust survivor George Grojnowski. George was born in Radziejow, Poland, in 1927, and was incarcerated in Radziejow Ghetto, Czestochowa Ghetto, Rakow …
A Tribute to Mala Sonnabend
January 25, 2018
A Tribute to Mala Sonnabend This weekend we commemorate the UN International Holocaust Remembrance Day and the Liberation of Auschwitz. To remember Holocaust survivor Mala Sonnabend, who was liberated from …
Material evidence
January 16, 2018
Material evidence Last month, Dr Sofia Pantouvaki, Professor of Costume Design, Aalto University, Helsinki visited the Sydney Jewish Museum. She met with survivors and viewed our collection of concentration camp …
Survivor Portraits – Paul (Pavel) Drexler
December 7, 2017
Survivor Portraits – Paul (Pavel) Drexler At the beginning of every month we introduce to you one of the Museum’s treasured Holocaust survivors’ stories. This month, we are featuring Paul …
The sinister banknote
December 7, 2017
The sinister banknote Education Officer and Currency Aficionado, Simon Holloway, lets you in on some facts about one of the world’s lesser known, and incredibly short-lived, currencies. Focusing on the …
Tracing the roots of Greek Jewry
November 28, 2017
Tracing the roots of Greek Jewry Our current Temporary Exhibition, The Jews of Greece, tells the rich and little-known story of Greek Jewry through photography and documentary film. Here is …
“…no trace of Rudi”
November 27, 2017
“…no trace of Rudi” Every object tells a different story. Recently the Museum accessioned a diary which was penned by Holocaust survivor Elisabeth Epstein (nee Steiner). Those who knew her …
Survivor Portraits – Jacqueline Dale (nee Feldman)
November 23, 2017
Survivor Portraits – Jacqueline Dale (nee Feldman) At the beginning of every month we will be featuring a treasured Holocaust survivors’ story. This month, we introduce Jacqueline Dale (nee Feldman). …
Celebrating 25 years
November 21, 2017
Celebrating 25 years Saturday 18 November marked the Sydney Jewish Museum’s momentous 25th birthday. Moving into our 26th year, we are taking some time to reflect upon the formative years …
Greetings for a sweet New Year
September 11, 2017
Greetings for a sweet New Year The exchanging of Jewish New Year greetings goes back centuries. With the industrial revolution printing became inexpensive and entrepreneurs began selling cards printed specifically …
Can you spot a fake?
August 21, 2017
Can you spot a fake? Star of David armband worn by ghetto police (fake) and Jewish ghetto police desk seal (fake) If you were shopping in a market in Thailand …
Holocaust survivor, society darling and acclaimed portrait artist
August 8, 2017
Holocaust survivor, society darling and acclaimed portrait artist ‘’I always say God paints the last brushstroke on my portraits, because I leave them to mature for a few weeks after …
Save our history
July 13, 2017
Save our history When the Museum opened nearly 25 years ago, the Holocaust Survivors initiated a collection of Holocaust related material by donating precious objects and images. These personal belongings …
‘You have nothing to lose but your cultural cringe’
February 20, 2017
‘You have nothing to lose but your cultural cringe’ The Museum has recently acquired the first ever issue of POL, a cutting edge magazine which expressed the preoccupations of a …
In love and Auschwitz
February 10, 2017
In love and Auschwitz This is an intriguing story of resistance and survival. Born in 1914 in a small Polish village, Salem Schott moved with his family to Berlin after …
A pair of pants from Auschwitz
February 9, 2017
A pair of pants from Auschwitz “It is amazing what treasures can be found sitting in the back shed or the garage*. Today we received an extraordinary donation of an …
I need a hero…
January 10, 2017
“If a person destroys one life, it is as if they have destroyed the entire world. And if a person saves one life, it is as if they have saved …
What a lot of nonsense
December 21, 2016
What a lot of nonsense Speakers of Yiddish will be well familiar with the term bobba mayseh. Often mistranslated as “an old wife’s tale” (from bobba = “grandmother” and mayseh …
Graphic Art and the Struggle to Represent the Holocaust
December 6, 2016
Graphic Art and the Struggle to Represent the Holocaust One of the most rewarding experiences for members of the education department is the opportunity to work closely with teachers in …
The art of interpretation
December 2, 2016
The art of interpretation For this year’s Design Thinking day, the Museum commissioned Year 10 students from the Wenona School to create a graphic novel strip based on the testimony …
‘Jewish Wizards’ and where to find them
November 29, 2016
‘Jewish Wizards’ and where to find them Throughout pre-modern history, death was a familiar visitor in the home. Even as late as the 18th century, poorer families in Europe could …
The League of Nations
November 21, 2016
The League of Nations The saying goes that it takes a village to raise a child, and at the SJM it has taken a league of nations to build our …
Still too busy to blog…
November 10, 2016
Still too busy to blog… It’s not unusual these days to see our curators caked in dust, ferrying wads of paper around and consulting with construction workers. In lieu of a …
Vale Edith Szanto
November 1, 2016
Vale Edith Szanto I met Edith more than ten years ago one Sunday morning in shopping centre of all places. There she was, sitting next to me as I had …
Inside the autograph book
October 13, 2016
Inside the autograph book The autograph book above was donated to the museum by Yola Schneider (nee Rawdin). It was presented to her new, at the school she attended …
A timeless tale of Viennese Cuisine
October 5, 2016
A timeless tale of Viennese Cuisine As a rule, the Sydney Jewish Museum Curators are discerning about books accessioned into the collection. Most donated texts are redirected to the library, …
Professor Michael Berenbaum
September 1, 2016
Professor Michael Berenbaum It’s been wonderful having Professor Michael Berenbaum at the Museum this week. For those of you who don’t know him, he is a preeminent Holocaust historian maybe …
Behind the scenes
August 25, 2016
Behind the scenes The Museum is still an active building site filled with scaffolding; carpenters and builders, painters and electricians are everywhere. The exhibition designer, Jisuk Han, is checking specifications, …
Too busy to blog…
August 4, 2016
Too busy to blog… “Too busy to blog” – so say our indomitable re-development team who are currently in the bowels of the building making final changes to the exhibition text. In …
Decoding ‘Digital’
July 28, 2016
Decoding ‘Digital’ Digital. A word that is likely to strike fear into the hearts of purists and luddites the world over. An appreciation of digital media does not have to …
74,746 words and counting…
July 20, 2016
74,746 words and counting… 74, 746. The number of words in this exhibition. Over the past three weeks our extraordinary and indefatigable copy editor, Marie-Louise Bethune and I have poured …
What’s On Newsletter
Keep up to date on all Museum events and exhibitions.