Tradition archived

Tradition archived

Founded in 1909, the Hungarian Jewish Museum’s mission was to collect artifacts that preserve our Jewish heritage. Ernő Munkácsi, named co-president of the Museum Association in 1937 and, later, director of the museum itself, was deeply committed to this mission. In the 1930s, he travelled to Padua, Livorno, Rome, Amsterdam, and Hamburg to research Jewish ghettos, manuscripts, and archaeological remains; wrote books about Judaica; documented Jewish life in Italy with a series of historically significant photographs; and, in 1937, organized an exhibition at the museum titled “Ecclesiastical memories of Italian Jewry.” In this photo of 1934, Munkácsi is gathered with other leading museum officials as a portrait of Rabbi Miksa Weisz is unveiled.