Jewish museums in Greece have a primary role in preserving the historical memory and cultural heritage of Greek Jews. Two important museums that honor this heritage are the Jewish Museum of Thessaloniki (NTUA) and the Jewish Museum of Greece (JMG).
The Jewish Museum of Thessaloniki (NTUA), founded in 2001, depicts the history and cultural presence of Sephardic Jews in Thessaloniki, while highlighting the destruction of the community during the Holocaust. His exhibition begins with a presentation of the destruction of the Jewish necropolis and continues with documents on the deportation of 50,000 Thessaloniki Jews to Nazi death camps during World War II. On the ground floor of the museum is the Hall Remembrance, where the names of the victims are engraved on marble slabs and on the other floors is presented the permanent exhibition, which includes information on the history of Jewry in Thessaloniki from the 1st century CP to the present day, social life, religious and family life, as well as the process of deportation during the Holocaust.
In the new wing, the extension of the permanent exhibition has been developed and the “Jewish Childhood Hall” and the “Unknown Musical Treasures of Greek Jews” Hall have been created
The museum adopts an evidence-based approach to the presentation of history, while at the same time it operates a library and research center, offering visitors access to valuable historical material.
For the Jewish Museum of Greece (JMG) the idea was born in the late 1970s by the Jewish Community of Athens. In 1977, a small museum was founded next to the Synagogue on Melidoni Street, collecting objects that survived the war. The Jewish Museum of Greece now operates in a privately owned building in the center of Athens and its collection includes religious utensils, documents and jewellery, with particular importance being the return of confiscated items from Bulgaria. The museum focuses on highlighting Jewish life before the Holocaust, offering a folklore approach. The presentation avoids the sense of victimhood, while highlighting the cultural continuity of the Jews of Greece. The museum is an important institution of educational activities, promoting historical research and memory preservation.
The Holocaust Museum of Greece, currently under construction, aims to become the leading Holocaust memorial center in Southeast Europe. The museum will honor the memory not only of the Jewish Community of Thessaloniki, but also of the 39 Jewish communities that existed in Greece before the war. It will highlight the contribution of Jews to the development of Thessaloniki and the multicultural character of the city. Its location, near the Old Railway Station, is particularly symbolic, as from there departed the trains that transported the Jews of Thessaloniki to Auschwitz-Birkenau.
The project is an example of a public-private partnership, funded by: the Stavros Niarchos Foundation, the Greek and German governments as well as private grants. In December 2023, the building permit was issued, paving the way for the construction of the museum, which is expected to become one of the most important centers of Holocaust remembrance and education in Europe.