This curious building is home to the Jewish Museum. It is a creation by the American architect Daniel Libeskind who designed it as a metaphor of the harsh history of the Jewish people.  

Its almost window-less facade, whose few openings make the building look scratched and completely covered in zinc, represents a broken Star of David.

Its angular, slightly twisted lower floor is intended to represent the difficult path of Jewish life in Germany over the years.

There is no direct access to the structure. The modern building is joined to another of baroque style which is where you enter. Both are connected by an underground passageway. 

The intentionally disorientating passageway is intended to reflect the loneliness and disorientation of those forced to flee their own lands. You enter the passageway from the core of exile with the names of the cities in which Jews sought refuge and the core of the holocaust, with the names too of the concentration camps leading to a completely empty, window-less tower. Ramps, austere walls, twisted columns...  the building speaks for itself. 

The permanent exhibition starts on the lower floor and reviews the history of the Jewish people from Medieval Germany to today, covering the Nazi extermination of which they were victims. It is all displayed through texts, photos, recordings and domestic objects found in thirteen sections covering two floors. 

A visit to this museum is interesting not only because of its content, but also for the way it is presented. For example, you will find documents “hidden” in drawers, audio installations and multi-media devices. In addition, some rooms contain fascinating works of art connected to the holocaust and persecution of Jews over many years. 

This is the biggest Jewish museum in Europe and it organises many acts and activities. Also, if you fancy it, you can try the international Jewish food served in the Liebermann Cafe-restaurant.