This gallery examines Nazi Germany and its anti-Jewish policies from its rise to power until the outbreak of WWII. The exhibit follows the dramatic and swift changes imposed by the Nazis that saw the Jews of Germany transformed from equal citizens to outcast subjects. As they pass through the gallery, visitors are confronted with a number of the antisemitic signs that became commonplace in Nazi Germany.

A typical room in a German-Jewish home has been reconstructed for this gallery and is utilized to portray Jewish life and culture in German-speaking Central Europe. A small theater has been constructed in which the visitor can view a film dealing with the evolution of antisemitism in the Western World, from early Christianity to the modern era. An additional visual presentation focuses on the dramatic historical events and developments of 1938, a year that included Kristallnacht.

Throughout the museum the Holocaust is portrayed from the vantage of the Jews who lived through the period. In this gallery, Jewish individual and communal responses to these discriminatory and terrorizing policies are shown – from strengthened Jewish identity to a realization that life for Jews in Germany was no longer feasible.

For related online resources about Kristallnacht, click here