Musealization of Jewish Culture and History in Hamburg Landmarks of Jewish History

As early as the late nineteenth century, Rabbi Max Grunwald and other members of the Jewish Congregation wanted to present Jewish history and culture in Hamburg in a museum. In 1898, they founded the Society for Jewish Folklore with the aim of establishing a museum. They began actively collecting objects from everyday religious life, coins, books, and from the arts and crafts. The collection was publicly exhibited at various locations, such as the Jewish community center, private homes, and rooms belonging to the Patriotic Society.

In 1913, it was given a permanent home in the new building of what was then the Museum of Ethnology. In 1934, the National Socialists ordered its removal from the exhibition. Religious objects had been collected as Judiaca in the Museum of Arts and Crafts, the Altona Museum, and the Museum of Hamburg History since around 1900.