Jüdisches Museum Worms

About

The Jewish Museum Worms is dedicated to the history of the Jews in Worms, Germany and the other SchUM cities. It is operated by the city of Worms.

Interest in the history and material heritage of the Jewish community of Worms began to grow in the mid-19th century. Judaica objects were displayed in the so-called Rashi Chapel next to the synagogue shortly after 1900, and scholarly research on community history was published. In 1912, the board of the Jewish community of Worms established a commission to plan a small Jewish museum in the upper floor of the synagogue's entrance building. However, the First World War prevented its realization. Only in 1924 was Isidor Kiefer able to implement the plan. The exhibition initially focused on Judaica and later expanded to include the Rashi Yeshiva, an annex to the synagogue. The Worms Mahzor was also displayed. Kiefer documented the museum's collection before it was mostly destroyed during the November Pogrom in 1938. Kiefer took the documentation with him when he emigrated in 1933, thereby preserving it.

During the 1982 reconstruction of the Rashi House – which primarily housed the Worms City Archive – exhibition spaces were created in the basement and ground floor to present the history of the Jews in Worms. The permanent exhibition displayed models, documents, maps, photographs, and religious artifacts chronicling Jewish life in the city from the High Middle Ages to the community's destruction under National Socialism. Occasional special exhibitions were also hosted.

In 2020, the permanent exhibition was closed and redesigned in preparation for the application of the SchUM Sites of Speyer, Worms, and Mainz for UNESCO World Heritage status, which they received a year later. Accordingly, the thematic focus of the museum also shifted to reflect this context. The exhibition presents nearly 1000 years of history across 158 m² and four rooms.

The permanent collection features recovered items from the pre-war collection, photographs and documents from the city archive, and donated objects from Jews originally from Worms. The exhibition is organized thematically:

The entrance gate framed by an enlarged decorative page from the Worms Mahzor. Displays include audio and video stations:

- Models: Worms Synagogue c. 1620, Jewish family at Passover Seder, Jewish wedding in 18th-century Worms, Sukkot

The partially medieval vaults contain structural remains of the original community building of the Jewish congregation:

- Golem figure, with earliest surviving references originating in Worms (entrance area)

- The silver cup of the Chevra Kadisha from 1609, made in Frankenthal. It is 29 cm tall and the oldest known surviving ritual object from the Worms community.

- Influence of the SchUM cities and the Taqqanot Qehillot SchUM ("Ordinances of the SchUM Communities")

- Jewish spaces – the topography of the Judengasse in Worms

- News from the SchUM cities since 1104–presented by Petra Gerster

The entrance gate framed by an enlarged decorative page from the Worms Mahzor. Displays include audio and video stations:

- Models: Worms Synagogue c. 1620, Jewish family at Passover Seder, Jewish wedding in 18th-century Worms, Sukkot

The partially medieval vaults contain structural remains of the original community building of the Jewish congregation:

- Golem figure, with earliest surviving references originating in Worms (entrance area)

- The silver cup of the Chevra Kadisha from 1609, made in Frankenthal. It is 29 cm tall and the oldest known surviving ritual object from the Worms community.

- Influence of the SchUM cities and the Taqqanot Qehillot SchUM ("Ordinances of the SchUM Communities")

- Jewish spaces – the topography of the Judengasse in Worms