ABOUT
mrj, The Virtual Museum of Romanian Jews, is a non-profit, cultural and educational initiative whose main purpose is to document and expose the story of the Romanian Jews. We believe it is important to establish such a museum and present this significant chapter in the history of the Jewish People.
Our ambitions for this project are to produce a virtual, cultural and educational center, featuring a comprehensive exhibition on the history and culture of Romanian Jews, side exhibitions dedicated to particular topics, and an archive containing photographs, films and music, all in digital format. Therefore, we intend to gather materials found in public and private collections (photographs, documents and artifacts), as well as stories of Romanian Jews in Romania, Israel and worldwide, document them and use this broad base of information to present and preserve the community’s history and culture.
Memory is a fundamental element of identity. As far as society is concerned, memory is essential and no historical awareness can exist without it. Memory plays a vital role in the formulation of culture and art, and is prevented from being lost when it is preserved in sites such as libraries, archives and museums.
The role of the museum is to preserve the past for the future, to elaborate individual memories into collective memory, and to pass on to the young generation knowledge of their historical and cultural roots. The virtual museum, a rapidly evolving format that has grown in recent years, fulfills perfectly the role of the museum as a cultural, social and educational tool, available to anyone, anywhere and anytime, which is why we have chosen this format to present the story of Romanian Jews.
Keeping the memory alive, and the fact that representation of Romanian Jews in Israeli and Romanian museums has been, up till now, quite meager, are the main reasons for the establishment of this virtual museum. Taking this into account, mrj ‘s objective is to document and exhibit the only partially known story of the Romanian Jews, despite the fact it was a large and important community between the two world wars; the third largest Jewish community in Europe, and the fourth worldwide, following Poland, the Soviet Union and the United States.
We envision mrj‘s virtual archive to contain a comprehensive documentation of materials found in private and public collections. In this respect, we believe that mrj has an extremely important role, since we are at the 11th hour as far as collection possibilities go. Individuals who may possess materials of their own and would be able to share them, describe and tell their stories – are aging, and the younger generation is often less interested in these collections and stories; thus many historically priceless documents, photographs, and artifacts could possibly be lost forever. Our intention at the virtual museum is to identify those people and document their materials and stories which will offer a base for research and study. Through mrj we will preserve, present, and keep the memory of these Jewish communities alive, adding new dimensions of history and culture to the ever-changing concept we call “Jewish identity”.
The Virtual Museum of Romanian Jews operates from Israel and is a registered association.
Founders: Richard Armonn, Dr. Natalia Berger, Avraham Poraz
Curator: Dr. Natalia Berger
Translation: Carol Elias, Gina Pană
Website Design: Meirav Heiman
