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Museo Histórico Judío y del Holocausto

Mexico City, Mexico

Nestled in the heart of Mexico City’s La Condesa neighborhood, the hub for Ashkenazi Jewish life, is the Museo Histórico Judío y del Holocausto, also known as the Tuvie Maizel Museum. Founded by renowned community activist Dr. Tuvie Maizel, the museum opened its doors to visitors on June 24, 1970. [1] The museum exhibits over 1,100 photos in its permanent collection, which primarily showcase the impact of the Holocaust on Jewish life and culture in Russia and Poland before, during, and after the Holocaust. The photos also show the liberation of some concentration camps, the re-establishment of the State of Israel and the story of the survivors who came to Mexico afterwards. [2] Visitors can witness not only the historic atrocities of the Holocaust but also a celebration of the Jewish diaspora’s rich and triumphant culture through the museum’s five main exhibits: A Vanished World, Emergence of Nazism, The Holocaust, The Ghetto, and Squadron 201. [3]


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Description

Setting: The Museo Histórico Judío y del Holocausto is purposefully situated in the historically Ashkenazi Jewish neighborhood of La Condesa.  Following the first waves of Jewish immigration to Mexico in the 1920s, La Condesa became a refuge for Ashkenazi Jewish immigrants. [4] La Condesa flourished as the focal point for Ashkenazi Jewish life as Mexico’s Jewish population exponentially increased throughout the first half of the 20th century. [5] Although La Condesa’s Jewish population has dwindled with the rise of suburbanization, the museum acts as a reminder of the Ashkenazi community’s rich history in the neighborhood. [6] 

Founder's History:  Born in Yekaterinoslav, Russia in 1897, Dr. Tuvie Maizel fled to Mexico in 1926 to escape the rising anti-Semitism plaguing Eastern Europe. [7] Maizel was specifically persecuted and targeted in Russia due to his involvement and leadership position within Bund—a Jewish socialist political party originally founded in Russia in 1897. [8] Bundists were devoted towards restoring the Jewish community’s usage of Yiddish, autonomism, the development of Eastern European secular Jewish nationalism, and the opposition of Zionism. [9] Following the Russian Revolution of 1917, the strength of the Bundist party waned, which endangered its supporters. [10]

Soon after immigrating to Mexico, Maizel found refuge in La Condesa’s blossoming Ashkenazi community. Maizel, sustaining his loyalty to Bundist ideology, was  eager to establish a Jewish identity with cultural commonalities as the focal point. [11] Trained as a sociologist and demographer, Maizel viewed education as the primary mechanism to enrich and unify La Condesa’s Jewish culture. [12] Maizel painstakingly worked to establish formal ties between local Jewish schools and the official Mexican education bodies, open Mexico’s first Jewish High School, and open a theological school for Jewish teachers. [13] Maizel’s devotion to Jewish community education culminated in the creation of the Museo Histórico Judío y del Holocausto in 1970.

Current Status: Since its inauguration, the museum has welcomed more than 1,200,000 visitors through its doors. [14] The museum is open to the public every Monday through Thursday from 10 a.m. to 5:15 p.m. and from 10 a.m. to 3:15 on Fridays and Sundays. [15] The museum currently showcases objects which have been donated by survivors from Thessaloniki, Greece, Hungary and Lida, Russia. [16]

Mexico City, Mexico

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Sources

Footnotes:
[1] Jewish Daily News Center. “Dr. Tuvie Maizel, Community activist and founder of the “‘Jewish and Holocaust Historical Museum.’” Diario Judío. October 14, 2014. https://diariojudio.com/comunidad-judia-mexico/dr-tuvie-maizel-activista-comunitario-y-fundador-del-museo-historico-judio-y-del-holocausto/7952/
[2] Ibid.
[3] “About the Museum.” Museo Tuvie Maizel. 2019. http://www.museojudiomexico.com.mx/english/historia.aspx
[4] “Mexico Virtual Jewish History Tour.” Jewish Virtual Library. https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/mexico-virtual-jewish-history-tour
[5] Vivienne Stanton. “The Many Faces of Jewish Mexico.” Diario Judío: Diario De La Vida Judía En México Y El Mundo. September 14, 2017. https://diariojudio.com/opinion/the-many-faces-of-jewish-mexico/6217/
[6] “Mexico Virtual”
[7] Jewish Daily News Center. “Dr. Tuvie Maizel.”
[8] “Bund.” Jewish Virtual Library. https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/bund
[9] Ibid.
[10] Daniel Blatman. “Bund.” The Yivo Encyclopedia of Jews in Eastern Europe. http://www.yivoencyclopedia.org/article.aspx/Bund
[11] Ibid.
[12] Adina Cimet. Ashkenazi Jews in Mexico: Ideologies in the Structuring of a Community. Albany, N.Y: State University of New York Press, 1997.
[13] Ibid.
[14] “Home.” Museo Tuvie Maizel. 2019. http://www.museojudiomexico.com.mx/
[15] “Visitor Information.” Museo Tuvie Maizel. 2019. http://www.museojudiomexico.com.mx/
[16] “Museum History”


Bibliography:
“About the Museum.” Museo Tuvie Maizel. 2019. http://www.museojudiomexico.com.mx/english/historia.aspx
Blatman, Daniel. “Bund.” The Yivo Encyclopedia of Jews in Eastern Europe. http://www.yivoencyclopedia.org/article.aspx/Bund
“Bund.” Jewish Virtual Library. https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/bund
Cimet, Adina. Ashkenazi Jews in Mexico: Ideologies in the Structuring of a Community. Albany, N.Y: State University of New York Press, 1997.
“Home.” Museo Tuvie Maizel. 2019. http://www.museojudiomexico.com.mx/
Jewish Daily News Center. “Dr. Tuvie Maizel, Community activist and founder of the “‘Jewish and Holocaust Historical Museum.’” Diario Judío. October 14, 2014. https://diariojudio.com/comunidad-judia-mexico/dr-tuvie-maizel-activista-comunitario-y-fundador-del-museo-historico-judio-y-del-holocausto/7952/
“Mexico Virtual Jewish History Tour.” Jewish Virtual Library. https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/mexico-virtual-jewish-history-tour
Stanton, Vivienne. “The Many Faces of Jewish Mexico.” Diario Judío: Diario De La Vida Judía En México Y El Mundo. September 14, 2017. https://diariojudio.com/opinion/the-many-faces-of-jewish-mexico/6217/
“Visitor Information.” Museo Tuvie Maizel. 2019. http://www.museojudiomexico.com.mx/



Researched and composed by Madeline Hudalla—August 1, 2019