Jewish Museum of Florida - Miami, FL
N 25° 46.361 W 080° 08.066
17R E 586792 N 2850795
The Jewish Museum of Florida, located in Miami Beach, Florida, USA, houses many Holocaust artifacts and objects, photographs, documents, and religious objects.
Waymark Code: WM4HCY
Location: Florida, United States
Date Posted: 08/25/2008
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The Jewish Museum of Florida is located in the former Beth Jacob Social Hall and Congregation (also known as the Beth Jacob Synagogue). Although this museum is not a holocaust museum per se, and it specializes in Florida Jewish history occurring since 1763, it also features Jewish history, culture, and religious exhibits from the 18th through the 20th centuries, including the Holocaust.
From The Teachers Guide to the Holocaust:
The Sanford L. Ziff Jewish Museum of Florida
301 Washington Avenue
South Miami Beach, FL 33139
Phone: (305) 672-5044
Contact person: Laura Hockman
Web: http://www.jewishmuseum.com/
Though not a Holocaust memorial museum, the Sanford J. Ziff Jewish Museum of Florida is a valuable resource for the study of Jewish identity and culture. The focus of the collection is Jewish Life in Florida since 1763. Of special interest are materials related to the episode of the S.S. St. Louis. This ship, full of Jewish refugees from Germany, set out for Cuba, but was turned away and remained off the coast of Florida until returning to Europe.
Additional information about the S.S. St. Louis referenced in the paragraph above is posted on the Jewish Museum of Florida website:
S.S. St. Louis, 1939
The heartbreak of the Holocaust was previewed for Miami Beach's Jews, who experienced a feeling of helplessness when the S.S. St. Louis, filled with Jews fleeing Hitler and Nazism, was denied permission, in June 1939, to land its human cargo on the shores of south Florida. The steamer anchored for two hours off of Miami Beach. Many Jews viewed the vessel from the shoreline and experienced a feeling of hopelessness when the S.S. St.Louis was turned away. Herbert Karliner, who survived the debacle, recalled, fifty years later, seeing "the coast of Miami Beach very vividly. I was so impressed with the palm trees." But "the Coast Guard came by and chased us off...Such a big country wouldn't let 900 people in." The passengers returned to Europe where most perished in the Holocaust.
While the decades previous to 1945 were filled with steady, often explosive, progress on the part of Miami Beach's Jewish community, it was merely a prelude to the more recent past where the accomplishments and success of that community have captivated the imagination of its brethren throughout the world.
From Wikipedia:
The Jewish Museum of Florida is located in two restored historic buildings that were formerly synagogues, at 301 & 311 Washington Ave., in Miami Beach, Florida. The main Museum building, at 301 Washington Ave., was built in 1936, is on the National Register of Historic Places, has Art Deco features, a copper dome, a marble bimah and 80 stained glass windows. The adjacent building located at 311 Washington, which served as Miami Beach's first synagogue, was purchased by the Museum in 2005 and restored in 2007 as a Museum expansion.