Sydney Jewish Museum

Holocaust museum in New South Wales, Australia

33°52′45″S 151°13′12″E / 33.879075°S 151.220017°E / -33.879075; 151.220017TypeHolocaust museumPublic transit access

Kings Cross rail
Big Bus Sydney
Sydney Buses

Websitesydneyjewishmuseum.com.au

The Sydney Jewish Museum is a history museum located in the Sydney suburb of Darlinghurst. It showcases exhibits relating to the Holocaust and the history and achievements of Jewish people in Australia.^[1] The Museum displays personal objects of Holocaust survivors and other Jewish Australians and hosts presentations of their personal testimonies.^[2]

History

Prior usage of the site

The museum is housed in the historic Maccabean Hall, and was originally built to commemorate the contributions of the Jewish community from New South Wales who served in World War I.^[3] The building was formally opened on Armistice Day 1923 by Jewish-Australian civil engineer and Australian Army commander General Sir John Monash. Before Maccabean Hall was chosen to become the Sydney Jewish Museum, it served as a hub for Jewish life in Sydney. After World War 2 Maccabean Hall was used for English lessons for Migrants, weddings, rallies and commemorative events for Anzac soldiers and Holocaust victims, among others.^[1]^[3]^[4]

Establishment

The Sydney Jewish Museum was established in 1992 by Holocaust survivors who came to Australia. It was officially opened by Rear Admiral Peter Sinclair AC, the Governor of New South Wales, on 18 November 1992.^[1] The museum was founded by the late John Saunders AO and members of the Australian Association of Jewish Holocaust Survivors. Australia has a higher proportion of Holocaust survivors (per capita) than any country except Israel.^[5]^[6]^[7]

Resource Centre and Library

The museum library was originally created from the collection of books donated by the Australian Association of Jewish Holocaust Survivors.^[8] The Resource Centre and Library has grown to comprise over 6000 volumes, journals, and audio and videotapes including over 2500 personal testimonies of Holocaust survivors in Australia.^[3] The centre is open to the public during museum hours and staffed by a librarian. The collection provides materials for exhibitions and covers a range of themes including antisemitism, war crimes, the holocaust in art and literature, and Australian Jewish history.^[3]

References

^ ^a ^b ^c "Sydney Jewish Museum : a museum of Australian Jewish history and the Holocaust ; a publication to mark the opening of the Museum on 18 November, 1992 by His Excellency Rear Admiral Peter Sinclair AC, Governor of New South Wales". Catalogue. State Library of NSW. Archived from the original on 23 December 2015. Retrieved 22 December 2015.
^ sjmadmin. "Our Story". Sydney Jewish Museum. Retrieved 13 October 2022.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d "Sydney Jewish Museum". Retrieved 22 December 2015.
^ "Australian Jewish community and culture". Discover collections. State Library of NSW. Retrieved 22 December 2015.
^ "Obituaries: John Saunders, AO". The Sydney Morning Herald. 8 December 1997.
^ Joffe, Charmaine; Brodaty, Henry; Luscombe, Georgina; Ehrlich, Frederick (February 2003). "The Sydney holocaust study: posttraumatic stress disorder and other psychosocial morbidity in an aged community sample". Journal of Traumatic Stress. 16 (1): 39–47. CiteSeerX 10.1.1.486.4640. doi:10.1023/a:1022059311147. PMID 12602651. S2CID 26736396.
^ Paratz, Elizabeth D; Katz, Benny (21 February 2011). "Ageing holocaust survivors in Australia". The Medical Journal of Australia. 194 (4): 194–197. doi:10.5694/j.1326-5377.2011.tb03771.x. PMID 21401461. S2CID 12959503. Retrieved 19 January 2016.
^ Jacobs, Alan (August 1993). "From the Director's desk". The Sydney Jewish Museum Newsletter (2): 2.

External links

Official website

Jews and Judaism in Australia

Topics

History	History Kimberley Plan Sydney Israeli Consulate and Hakoah Club bombings
Society	Judaism in Australia Antisemitism in Australia Australian Jews Notable figures Australian Jewish media Australia–Israel relations

Organisations

Synagogues

NSW	Broken Hill (closed) Central Emanuel Great Maitland (closed) North Shore Yeshivah Sydney
QLD	Brisbane Synagogue
TAS	Hobart Launceston (closed)
VIC	Ark East Melbourne Elwood Geelong (closed) Melbourne Temple Beth Israel Yeshivah Melbourne
WA	Fremantle (closed) Perth

Schools

NSW	Emanuel School Kesser Torah College Masada College Moriah College Yeshiva College (closed)
VIC	Adass Israel School Beth Rivkah Ladies College Bialik College Leibler Yavneh College Mount Scopus Memorial College Ohel Chana Sholem Aleichem College The King David School Yeshivah College
WA	Carmel School

Communal

Roof bodies	Executive Council of Australian Jewry Jewish Community Council of Victoria Zionist Federation of Australia
Political groups	Australia/Israel & Jewish Affairs Council Australian Jewish Democratic Society Independent Australian Jewish Voices Jewish Council of Australia
Religious	Kosher Australia Melbourne Beth Din Rabbinical Council of Victoria Union for Progressive Judaism
Student groups	Australasian Union of Jewish Students Hineni
Historical	Australian Jewish Genealogical Society Australian Jewish Historical Society Jewish Holocaust Centre Jewish Museum of Australia Sydney Jewish Museum
Other	Australian Association for Jewish Studies Courage to Care Jewish Care Jewish House Maccabi Australia Moving Forward Together