New Scottish Jewish Heritage Centre opens in Glasgow

The Scottish Jewish Heritage Centre opened at Garnethill Synagogue, with visitors able to learn about the listed building, Jewish history and culture, the experiences of Jewish people in Scotland over the last 200 years and the impact they have had on the country.

Investment: Nearly £530,000 has been spent on the development, resulting in a modern and welcoming centre with new interpretative displays, a study room housing a specialist reference library, digital research resources and a school visit facility. Major building restoration and renovation work in the lower level of the synagogue has improved public access to underused spaces. New displays now reveal the history of Glasgow’s Jewish community, and explore the period from 1933 to the 1950s when Scotland responded to events in Nazi Germany and took in a number of refugees.

Learning: School students visiting the centre will be working with interactive learning kits, based on Holocaust-era refugee collections. These resources follow the experiences of refugees (Dorrith Sim (née Oppenheim), Ernst Marchand and Hilda Goldwag) who fled from Nazi Germany and occupied Europe, and found a safe haven in Scotland before the outbreak of World War II. Students will be able to reflect on wider issues of citizenship, democracy, persecution and belonging, through the refugees’ experiences.

Kerry Patterson, Scottish Jewish Heritage Centre manager, said: “The Scottish Jewish Heritage Centre is an important resource for Scotland. By enabling greater access to the collections and encouraging an understanding of the history of Jewish immigration and the contributions of the Jewish community to Scottish life, we hope to contribute to furthering equality and diversity and promoting inclusion.”

Funding: The National Lottery Heritage Fund, The Association of Jewish Refugees, The Wolfson Family Charitable Trust, The Consulate General of the Federal Republic of Germany, Edinburgh, The Community Security Trust and the Architectural Heritage Fund - William Grant Foundation all provided grant funding.

Learn more: The new Scottish Jewish Heritage Centre website has also launched, featuring a short film showcasing the centre and including details on how to book a guided tour of the building or organise a school visit. Click HERE to visit.