The Jewish Museum in Hohenems, a museum with an international reputation, memorializes the earlier rural Jewish community in Hohenems, emphasizing its many-faceted contributions to the development of Vorarlberg and surrounding regions. By way of exemplary stories and documents, the museum tells about the diaspora, examines modern Jewish life in Europe, highlights current issues in Israel, deals with questions of coexistence and migration. Between its earlier history and modern times came the end of the Hohenems Jewish community, scarred by regional national socialist history, antisemitism, displacement and deportation.
The permanent exhibits in the Heimann-Rosenthal Villa, built in 1864, document the history of the Jewish community in Hohenems, placing individual experiences in the context of a European history of migration, cross-border relationships and networks. In addition, special exhibits, a separate children’s exhibit, a library, and a comprehensive program of events are offered. On-site research on the history and present state of the Hohenems diaspora can be carried out using a genealogical databank.
