The Jewish Museum of Greece (JMG) was founded in 1977 with a mission to collect, study, preserve and exhibit the artifacts that reflect the life, customs, history and traditions of the Greek Jews. The Museum’s unique collection includes more than 10,000 rare artifacts of great historical significance, and is continuously enriched and updated. The Museum building houses its rich collection and visitor services organized in permanent exhibition areas with thematic modular exhibits, an art gallery, a periodic exhibition space, a research library, a space for educational programmes, a photo archive and laboratory and a preventive conservation laboratory.

The Museum works closely with Greek and foreign institutions and organizations and it records and photographs Jewish monuments, synagogues, cemeteries etc., which are slowly disappearing as a result of the passing of time and the population decrease of the Jewish Communities. It also contributes towards specialized studies on the life and traditions of the Romaniote and Sephardic Jews of Greece. Gradually, the Museum acquired a number of archives from individuals and organizations; these were organized and are now part of the Historical Collection. During the years 2010-2012, the process of digitization of a large part of the Museum’s collections was achieved thanks to the JMG participation in the European Programme Judaica Europeana as a consortium partner.

The WWII and Holocaust Collection contains rare historical documents, photographs, diaries, manuscripts, archival material, newspaper, journals, personal items all related to the Second World War and the Holocaust in Greece. The collection is continuously enriched thanks to the donations of Holocaust survivors and their family members. More than 70% of the WWII and Holocaust collection is digitized and fully accessible via the Museum’s website. The JMG’s Oral History Archive, which is part of the above-mentioned collection, consists of more than 115 testimonies of Greek Holocaust Survivors. The testimonies are

divided in three major categories i.e. death camps survivors, hidden children and resistance fighters, not excluding other Holocaust related testimonies of individuals who were rescuers, or who witnessed the tragic events during the Occupation in Greece.

The Jewish Museum of Greece and the EHRI project

The Jewish Museum of Greece became partner in the second phase of the project in 2015 and it contributes mainly through its experience in digitization and research in Work Packages 6 (WP6) and 9

(WP9). For WP6, which involves Coordination with Humanities RIs and New Methodologies, the JMG contributes in exchanging and sharing knowledge of information and technologies with humanities researchers, academics, educators etc. working in the relevant fields of studies, while in WP9, which is about Data Identification and Integration, the Museum will conduct a survey in Greece, aiming to identify Holocaust related archival materials and integrate their descriptions into the EHRI infrastructure.

Anastasia Loudarou

Athens – Greece, 2017

Images: ©The Jewish Museum of Greece. First image: External view of the Jewish Museum of Greece.