13 Objects – 13 Stories
A Torah shield, a sculpture, a cushion: 13 unusual objects tell 13 stories of Jewish life. What would a museum be without its many objects, each rich in meaning? You can get a sneak peek of the objects here on our website.
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L’amitié au coeur (Friendship of the Heart) by Étienne-Maurice Falconet (1716–1791), Paris, 1765, marble
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Finds from the Memmelsdorf Genizah, Memmelsdorf (find site), ca. 1725–1830, paper, ink, fabric, leather, porcelain
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Torah shield donated by Isaak Jakob Gans (1723–1798), Hamburg, 1760–1765, silver
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Shevirat ha-Kelim (Breaking of the Vessels) by Anselm Kiefer (born 1945), 1990–2019, lead, iron, glass, copper wire, charcoal, Aquatec
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Manheimer family portrait, by Julius Moser (1805–1879), Berlin, 1850, oil on canvas
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Puppet Show King Solomon and the Queen of Sheba, Käte Baer-Freyer (1885–1988), Berlin, ca. 1924, plywood, metals
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“ISRAELI, JEW, and now SEVERELY DISABLED—there’s got to be a way to capitalize on that in GERMANY,” Daniel Josefsohn (1961–2016), Berlin, 2014/15, textile
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Silver formerly owned by Jews, provenance: up to 1939 unknown Jewish owners, 1939 Hamburg Tax Authority, 1960 allotted to the Hamburg Museum of Arts and Crafts (MKG) by the City of Hamburg
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Going-away present by Bruno Heidenheim, Album to bid farewell to Margot (1913–2010) and Ernst (1898–1971) Rosenthal, Chemnitz
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Hand washbasin, manufacturer: S. & D. Loewenthal, Frankfurt am Main, 1895/96, silver
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No longer in the country: unclaimed membership cards for the Jewish community Frankfurt am Main, 1949
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Composition, Otto Freundlich (1878–1943), 1938, tempera on cardboard
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Yellow star of the Lehmann family, Berlin, 1941–1945
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![Female statue with traces of rust, missing the head](/sites/default/files/styles/media_lightbox/public/media/images/13-dinge-statue-amitie-au-coeur-teaser.jpg?itok=qRVkC9t4)
L’amitié au coeur (Friendship of the Heart) by Étienne-Maurice Falconet (1716–1791), Paris, 1765, marble
Read the object’s story
![Various crumpled documents with Hebrew letters, a shoe and a bag](/sites/default/files/styles/media_lightbox/public/media/images/memmelsdorfer_genisa_teaser.jpg?itok=36Q-438f)
Finds from the Memmelsdorf Genizah, Memmelsdorf (find site), ca. 1725–1830, paper, ink, fabric, leather, porcelain
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![Silver Torah shield with gilded columns and lions holding law tablets](/sites/default/files/styles/media_lightbox/public/media/images/13-dinge-tora-schild-teaser.jpg?itok=0J5-Tl3s)
Torah shield donated by Isaak Jakob Gans (1723–1798), Hamburg, 1760–1765, silver
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![Sculpture of a library made of lead with inserted glass fragments](/sites/default/files/styles/media_lightbox/public/media/images/13-dinge-kiefer-skulptur-teaser.jpg?itok=PjUN-VE_)
Shevirat ha-Kelim (Breaking of the Vessels) by Anselm Kiefer (born 1945), 1990–2019, lead, iron, glass, copper wire, charcoal, Aquatec
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![Oil painting with a family scene](/sites/default/files/styles/media_lightbox/public/media/images/13-dinge-familienbild-manheimer-teaser.jpg?itok=ed8bcGTB)
Manheimer family portrait, by Julius Moser (1805–1879), Berlin, 1850, oil on canvas
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![Puppet with a crown and moving parts, which are connected with rivets](/sites/default/files/styles/media_lightbox/public/media/images/13-dinge-spielfigur-koenig-salomo-teaser.jpg?itok=RXfvrSfK)
Puppet Show King Solomon and the Queen of Sheba, Käte Baer-Freyer (1885–1988), Berlin, ca. 1924, plywood, metals
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![White pillow with blue script](/sites/default/files/styles/media_lightbox/public/media/images/13-dinge-kissen-josefsohn-teaser.jpg?itok=mpYiX4Rf)
“ISRAELI, JEW, and now SEVERELY DISABLED—there’s got to be a way to capitalize on that in GERMANY,” Daniel Josefsohn (1961–2016), Berlin, 2014/15, textile
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![Glass showcase full of tableware, cutlery and other silver objects](/sites/default/files/styles/media_lightbox/public/media/images/13-dinge-judensilber-teaser.jpg?itok=qQEYB2VK)
Silver formerly owned by Jews, provenance: up to 1939 unknown Jewish owners, 1939 Hamburg Tax Authority, 1960 allotted to the Hamburg Museum of Arts and Crafts (MKG) by the City of Hamburg
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![Opened album with pictures of the Chicago skyline, a skyscraper, a painting, and handwritten text](/sites/default/files/styles/media_lightbox/public/media/images/13-dinge-abschiedsalbum-rosenthal-teaser.jpg?itok=poCDVRsD)
Going-away present by Bruno Heidenheim, Album to bid farewell to Margot (1913–2010) and Ernst (1898–1971) Rosenthal, Chemnitz
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![Silver washbasin with flowers and ornaments, in the middle a Hebrew inscription](/sites/default/files/styles/media_lightbox/public/media/images/13-dinge-handwaschbecken-teaser.jpg?itok=FVKtFvRL)
Hand washbasin, manufacturer: S. & D. Loewenthal, Frankfurt am Main, 1895/96, silver
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![Membership card with a heart-formed photo](/sites/default/files/styles/media_lightbox/public/media/images/13-dinge-mitgliedsausweis-teaser.jpg?itok=Rl66fCUe)
No longer in the country: unclaimed membership cards for the Jewish community Frankfurt am Main, 1949
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![Abstract painting in blue, black and yellow tones](/sites/default/files/styles/media_lightbox/public/media/images/otto-freundlich-komposition-teaser-rb.jpg?itok=YPOImgLN)
Composition, Otto Freundlich (1878–1943), 1938, tempera on cardboard
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![Yellow star with the word Jude (Jew) on it](/sites/default/files/styles/media_lightbox/public/media/images/13-dinge-gelber-stern-teaser.jpg?itok=HLCdlHwU)
Yellow star of the Lehmann family, Berlin, 1941–1945
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![Colorful glittering curtain in motion](/sites/default/files/media/images/querschnitt-jmb-dauerausstellung-teaser.jpg)
Exhibition Jewish Life in Germany: Past & Present: Features & Programs
- Exhibition Webpage
- Jewish Life in Germany: Past & Present: Core exhibition of the Jewish Museum Berlin, since Aug 2020
- Guided Tours
- JMB App: Audio guide, available in English, German, German plain language, German Sign Language, French, Italian, Spanish, Hebrew and Russian, available for download
- Guided Tours for Adults as Individual Visitors or in Groups: Fixed dates or by appointment, on site or digitally, in several languages
- Guided Tours and Workshops for School Groups: Appointment, on site or digitally, in several languages
- Publications
- The JMB Book: History, architecture and core exhibition of the museum, available in English, German, French, Spanish and Italian
- Open: JMB Journal #21, with interviews and background information on the exhibition
- Digital Content
- Thematic Space Torah: Audios and objects on words, writing and language
- Musicroom: Playlists with religious and secular music from the core exhibition
- Topography of Violence. Antisemitic violence in Germany 1930–1938: Media application from the exhibition’s historical chapter Catastrophe
- Current page: 13 Objects – 13 Stories: Unusual objects from our core exhibition
- New Accents: Interview with Cilly Kugelmann, chief curator of the core exhibition
- See also
- The Libeskind building
- History of the museum