Collection of Artifacts for the Historical Museum, Yad Vashem

Yad Vashem is currently engaged in the collection of artifacts from the Holocaust period for display in the renovated Historical Museum, which will be based largely on the display of original artifacts.

We would greatly appreciate any assistance you could give us in this important mission. To give you some direction, we have listed below the type of materials we are interested in:

Relevant items for display in the renovated Historical Museum:
Any original artifact, be it personal, familial or communal, which was used by Jews in areas affected by World War II:
1. Personal effects: clothing, jewellery, photograph albums, photographs, documents, etc.
2. Family possessions: household items, cutlery and crockery, religious articles, children's toys, etc.
3. Communal possessions: religious articles, artwork, weapons etc.
4. Any artifact used or made in the camps and ghettos.
5. Items confiscated from the Nazis after the war, such as photographs, documents, insignias and military decorations etc.

Relevant time span
1. The period spanning the rise of the Nazis to power until the end of the war (1933-1945).
2. The period from the end of the war until the dismantling of the DP camps (1945-1953).
3. Artifacts used by Jews in Europe in the period spanning the beginning of the 20th century until World War II.

In the event that you know of anyone possessing such artifacts who would be willing to give them to Yad Vashem, we require details about the owners, the artifacts, and the stories behind the artifacts, since the stories are as important as the items themselves.

For information as to how to give the artifacts to Yad Vashem (whether in the form of a gift, long-term loan, etc.) and in the event of any queries, please contact the artifacts retrieval staff at Yad Vashem, tel. +972-2-6443602 and ask for Haviva, or write to Yad Vashem, Artifacts Retrieval Department, POB 3477, Jerusalem 91034.