The Jewish Museum in Prague is celebrating its 120th anniversary this year. The fact that today it is able to administer one of the world’s most extensive collections of Judaica, an important library, and the heritage of Jewish communities throughout Bohemia and Moravia is due to the efforts of people who until recently remained largely unknown — the staff of the wartime Central Jewish Museum. A recently unveiled memorial at the Old Jewish Cemetery is dedicated precisely to them. Nearby, a new relaxation area has also been created, providing a welcome extension to the visitor route through the Old Jewish Cemetery.

Looking back eighty years, it seems almost unbelievable that during the Holocaust a museum operated in Prague whose staff succeeded in preserving the majority of the confiscated Jewish objects of historical and cultural significance. In doing so, they laid the foundations for the extensive collections that we continue to care for today.

On 28 April, marking the centenary of the birth of one of the museum's founders, Salomon Hugo Lieben, a memorial was unveiled at the Old Jewish Cemetery to commemorate the 161 courageous individuals who worked at the Jewish Museum during the war. Some served there for several years, others for only a few days. Whether they were directors, curators, archivists, porters or cleaners, they will not be forgotten. Three bronze plaques bearing their names honour those whose dedication and tireless efforts made it possible for us to safeguard and continue caring for one of the world's largest collections of its kind.

The memorial to the 161 so far identified employees and collaborators of the museum, who between 1942 and 1945 processed and catalogued more than 100,000 collection items, was ceremonially unveiled on 28 April 2026 in the presence of some of their descendants. 

More information can be found in the press release.