With nearly 400 years of history on display, the Jewish Cultural Historical Museum strives to preserve and display the heritage of Jewish Curaçao for generations to come.
Explore the history of Jewish Curaçao!
At the museum, visitors can view our permanent exhibits, which include a timeline of Jewish life on the island and a ritual bath, and our rotating temporary exhibit, which explores stories about Jewish Curaçao. In the future, museum visitors will also be able to view our forthcoming War Annex that will focus on the Second World War and Curaçao. If you are unable to visit us in person, virtual visitors can view our digitized temporary exhibits on our Digital page.
Explore Our Exhibits
visit us
Interested in exploring our physical exhibits? Plan your visit to the Jewish museum today!
Learn about nearly 400 years of Jewish life in Curaçao!
- A timeline of Jewish life in Curaçao
- Information about the arrival and establishment of Sephardic and Ashkenazi Jews in Curaçao
- A mikvah, or ritual bath, located outside the museum
- An overview of the social, cultural, and economic history of Jewish Curaçao
- Jewish holidays and rituals
- Replicas of 17th century tombstones from the Beth Haim Bleinheim cemetery and information about death rituals
- The Second World War in Curaçao
Immersive Experience
permanent exhibit
With exhibits that explore the arrival of the first Jew to Curaçao in 1634 to the social, cultural, and economic impact of Jews on the Caribbean island, the Jewish Cultural Historical Museum provides visitors with an in-depth look into the past and present Jewish communities of Curaçao.
LEARN ABOUT THE SECOND WORLD WAR IN JEWISH CURAÇAO!
CURAÇAO WWII STORIES
The Jewish Cultural Historical Museum is preparing to house a new collection of exhibits in a building across the courtyard from the museum and the synagogue. The new space will allow visitors to explore stories about the Second World War and Jewish Curaçao. The wing will include exhibits about the history of the Second World War, the story of Anne Frank, and various local war stories.
Interested in learning more about the new “Curaçao WWII Stories” exhibits? We have just given the go ahead to prepare the building and are currently raising funds for the implantation of this project which will include educational materials for schoolchildren and audio tours in several languages. Check back in the coming months for more information on our timeline.
WHO WAS GEORGE MADURO?
An example of a local war story you would learn about in the future war wing is that of George Maduro. George Maduro was a reserve-officer in the Dutch army who joined the Dutch resistance after Germany invaded the Netherlands in 1940. While in the resistance, George helped downed Allied pilots escape mainland Europe via Spain. He was later arrested by the Germans and died of Typhus in Dachau in February 1945. George was a descendant of one of the first Jewish families to settle in Curaçao in the 1650’s and 60’s
Want to learn more about George Maduro? Here are some articles we recommend:
WHO WAS GEORGE MADURO?
An example of a local war story you would learn about in the future war wing is that of George Maduro. George Maduro was a reserve-officer in the Dutch army who joined the Dutch resistance after Germany invaded the Netherlands in 1940. While in the resistance, George helped downed Allied pilots escape mainland Europe via Spain. He was later arrested by the Germans and died of Typhus in Dachau in February 1945. George was a descendant of one of the first Jewish families to settle in Curaçao in the 1650’s and 60’s
Want to learn more about George Maduro? Here are some articles we recommend:
HELP PRESERVE THE STORIES OF JEWISH CURAÇAO!
CURAÇAO JEWS: ONE STORY AT A TIME
Are you a current or previous member of the Jewish community of Curaçao or have ancestor(s) that lived in Curaçao? The Jewish Cultural Historical Museum of Curaçao wants to hear your stories about Jewish Curaçao!
In 2022 the museum started showing poster exhibits “Curaçao Jews: One Story at a Time” with the intention of rotating stories every few months as each story develops at its own pace. Each poster focuses on a different story or person connected to Jewish Curaçao.
We produced the first posters ourselves, interviewing people and gathering information for family trees, photos, and documents to scan and objects which could perhaps be displayed with the poster. It has been a rewarding experience and we will continue to do so.
A story can however be written by the subject him or herself, someone who admires them, or anyone that knows the person and/or the classic Jewish Curacao story that deserves to be written about in the Museum. Where possible we try to display any relevant objects or heirlooms near the poster.
We are currently especially interested in stories with a WWII connection, about Jewish businesses and stories that became classics in our congregations.
As both a temporary and digital rotating exhibit, the “Curaçao Jews: One Story at a Time” exhibit will regularly spotlight a new story about Jewish Curaçao in the museum, but a digital archive of all the past stories will be accessible on the museum’s website.
Help preserve the stories of Jewish Curaçao by submitting a story for the “Curaçao Jews: One Story at a Time” exhibit!
Steps to complete the “Curaçao Jews: One Story at a Time” exhibit submission:
This section is intended to be interactive, below are the steps you need to take to participate.
1. Select a story/person to highlight in the exhibit
The “Curaçao Jews: One Story at a Time” exhibit can be done for yourself, anyone you know related to Jewish Curaçao, or about a Jewish Curaçao story you know. Think about if there is a certain story, family member, or loved one you have photos and memories of that you would like to share.
2. Write the exhibit text and title
Based on the story or person you selected for the exhibit, use the following questions as inspiration for the exhibit’s text. The end product should be a story about your chosen individual or story connected to Jewish Curaçao. The story must be a minimum of 400 words and a maximum of 1,200 words.
Biographical Information
- What is their name? Do they have any nicknames?
- When were they born? Where were they born?
- What are the names of their parents? What about their grandparents?
- Are they married? If so, what is their spouse’s name and when did they get married?
- Do they have any children or grandchildren? If so, what are their names?
- What profession(s) are/were they involved in? What about their parents and grandparents?
- If deceased, please provide details of their death (i.e. when and where they passed and/or where they are buried).
Life in Curaçao
- What is their connection to Curaçao? What brought them to the island?
- Did they immigrate to Curaçao? If so, when did they immigrate to Curaçao and from where?
- Did their family immigrate to Curaçao? If so, when did their family immigrate to Curaçao and from where?
- How long have they lived in Curaçao?
- Do they still live in Curaçao?
- If not, why did they and/or their family leave Curaçao? Where are they now living?
- Do they have any favorite stories from living or spending time in Curaçao?
- What do/did they do in Curaçao?
Jewish Life in Curaçao
- Do/did they belong to a congregation in Curaçao?
- If so, what congregation do/did they belong to? What is/was their involvement like in their respective congregation?
- If not, do they belong to a congregation elsewhere?
- Are they involved in the Jewish community of Curaçao outside of their congregation? If so, in what ways are they involved in the community?
- Were they Bar or Bat Mitzvahed here? If so, please provide any details you know about it.
- Did they get married in Curaçao?
- If so, did they have a religious ceremony? Where was the wedding held? Who officiated the wedding? Any other details you wish to share?
- Were they observant in their home (i.e did they keep kosher, come together for Shabbat and holidays, etc?)
- How has Judaism impacted their life or influenced them?
Once you have written the exhibit text, please create an exhibit title that summarizes the story you wrote.
3. Select photos for the exhibit and caption them
Based on the text you wrote, select relevant photos of the person or story being highlighted. This could include photos of a wedding, Bar/Bat Mitzvah, synagogue services, etc. It could also include photos of a person’s parents, children or grandchildren, or other relevant family members. Make sure to include a short caption with each photo (such as, “Esther Levy with her husband, Abe Levy, at their wedding in 1978”). Please submit at least three photos with your text. You may submit up to 10 photos.
4. Create a family tree (optional)
Based on the person(s) highlighted in the text and/or the main people in the story you wrote, create their family tree using the following document. The family tree should include at least two or three generations above and below the person spotlighted (if available).
Including the family tree in the exhibit is optional, however we do ask that each submission include a completed family tree form so it can be entered into a comprehensive Jewish Curaçao family tree database. While we are aware that Sandra de Marchena has already created the Sephardic Jewish community of Curaçao database, the Museum aims to also start mapping a database of genealogical information of the Ashkenazi community of Curaçao through this project. We will work with Sandra de Marchena to integrate the information from both communities.
Make sure to mention in the submission email whether you want the family tree included in the exhibit or not.
5. Selecting objects for display (optional)
Objects or heirlooms that encapsulate the life of the person showcased or the relevant story can be displayed at the museum with the exhibit (i.e. if someone dedicated their life to saving trees, they may have been awarded something the family is very proud of and would like to display in their exhibit). If you do not feel comfortable loaning objects to the museum, photos of the objects can be displayed at the museum instead. Displaying objects or photographs of them are not required for the exhibit, but we would love it if you did choose to do so. If you are planning to display objects or photographs of them, please include a description of them in your submission email. The museum staff will contact you in due time to arrange pick up, display, and return the items.
