Maltz Museum of Jewish Heritage

The Maltz Museum of Jewish Heritage, The Museum of Diversity and Tolerance, is located in Beachwood, Ohio, and opened on October 11, 2005. The Museum's mission is to reach out to people of all cultures, faiths, races and religions to build bridges of understanding between all people. In two permanent collections, An American Story and The Temple - Tifereth Israel Gallery, compelling personal stories and oral histories are brought to life by film, computer interactives, special effects and dramatic exhibitions that feature unique artifacts, art, documents and images. More than 165,000 people visited the Museum in its first three years of operation, including more than 50,000 school children. The Museum raises philanthropic funding for many of these school visits.

Co-founder Milton Maltz’s company, The Malrite Company, was the lead developer. Malrite focuses on the development of innovative museum projects around the country, including the International Spy Museum in Washington, D.C.

An American Story

This is an exhibit which includes:

Take the Test: Hands-on, interactive experiences including the same citizenship test given to U.S. immigrants.

• Playland to the Palace: From the Marx Brothers to “Seinfeld” the history of Jewish entertainers in a 1920s style Nickelodeon Theater. A film focusing on theater, music and performers is narrated by Oscar-winning actor Joel Grey, star of Cabaret and son of Yiddish comedian and musician Mickey Katz.

• The World Remade: The modern state of Israel, why its founding was so important as the first democracy in the Middle East, and the close ties between Israel and Cleveland.

• The World Destroyed: The horrors of the Holocaust and the ability of the human spirit to triumph. Fascinating oral histories provided by survivors and their children that tell of the Holocaust from the perspective of Northeast Ohioans.

• To Serve: Jews and other immigrant groups have been the backbone of U.S. patriotism, starting with the American Revolution. Captivating wartime stories shared first-hand by those who fought and served our country.

The Temple – Tifereth Israel Gallery

This features highlights from the important, comprehensive collection of art and artifacts from The Temple’s Museum of Religious Art. Much of The Temple’s collection was recovered and brought to Cleveland in the aftermath of the Holocaust.

Special exhibitions

A 4,000-square-foot (370 m²) special exhibition gallery regularly features changing exhibitions of national and international prominence, including:

• The Jewish Journey: Frederic Brenner's Photographic Odyssey, October 2005 - January 8, 2006, 115 photographs highlighting the diversity of the Jewish people worldwide.

• Deadly Medicine: Creating The Master Race from the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, and Where Would You Draw The Line?, created by the Maltz Museum, September 25, 2007 - January 20, 2008. Deadly Medicine is a chilling exhibition on Nazi eugenics featuring hundreds of photographs, graphic reproductions, actual artifacts, film footage, stunning eyewitness accounts and survivor testimonies. Where Would You' Draw The Line was a series of seven current-day medical ethics questions, voted on by more than 5,000 visitors to the Museum and online.

• Zap! Pow! Bam! The Superhero, The Golden Age of Comics, from the Breman Museum in Atlanta, September 2008 - January 25, 2009, an entertaining and nostalgic look at the still-vibrant superhero genre through vintage artwork, rare early comics, scripts, multi-media presentations, original toys and games, with a focus on Superman, the original superhero, created by Clevelanders.

• The Nazi Olympics Berlin 1936, October 19, 2010 - January 23, 2011, produced by the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, a stunning look at how world politics, sports, and racism converged in Germany. Explores the issues surrounding the 1936 Games--the Nazis' use of propaganda, the intense boycott debate, the history of the torch run, the historic performance of Jesse Owens, and more.

Notable events

"Stop The Hate: Youth Speak Out" - an essay contest created by the Maltz Museum, introduced in 2008. Students in grades 6-12 are asked to describe an act of discrimination, reflect upon their response and put forth a plan of action to affect change. High school juniors and seniors are eligible for three college scholarships of up to $50,000 to attend an Ohio college or university, as well as other prizes and educational resource materials for their schools. Students in grades 6-10 are eligible for cash prizes and educational resource materials. Official Stop The Hate website Jewish American Heritage Month Ceremony at Cleveland City Hall - a now annual event that commenced in May 2010 and featured remarks from Mayor Frank Jackson and recognition of early Jewish councilmen. Ten finalists in the 2010 “Stop the Hate: Youth Speak Out!” essay contest received special recognition from City Council. Open to the public. Jesse Owens Way Street Dedication - on November 15, 2010, in connection with the exhibition The Nazi Olympics Berlin 1936, East Roadway in Downtown Cleveland (near Public Square) was dedicated to Jesse Owens. Mayor Frank Jackson, Maltz Museum Founder Milton Maltz, track and field teams from Cleveland Metropolitan School Districts, and Jesse Owens’ daughter Gloria Owens Hemphill participated in the ceremony.

Testimony

Milton Maltz stated, “The Permanent Collection is the American story. It explores the lives of individuals and their families in terms of their social, cultural, economic and scientific contributions to the region, the nation and the world. The first Jewish immigrants arrived in Cleveland in 1839,” Maltz continued. “The Museum tells their story of achievement through stunning, state of the art exhibits.” He and his wife Tamar made their vision for the Museum a reality through their generosity and hands-on involvement in all aspects of the institution’s development. Adds Tamar Maltz, “Visitors from all backgrounds and faiths learn here about the similarities between the experiences of their ancestors and Jewish immigrants, enabling them to better understand and appreciate their own personal history.” 

External links

• Maltz Museum of Jewish Heritage