Jewish Washington: Scrapbook of an American Community
June 24, 2005 - July 4, 2006
An exhibition curated by the Jewish Historical Society of Greater Washington and presented in partnership with the National Building Museum
In 1795, shortly after the site of the nation’s capital was selected, the first Jew arrived in the new federal district of Washington. Over the next two centuries, he was followed by tens of thousands of Jews, all of whom have become a part of the history that this exhibition chronicles. Their lives and deeds tell a unique story of both a hometown and a capital city.
1795–1880
First Entries
Only a few Jews had found their way to the nation’s capital prior to the 1850s. Fleeing harsh restrictions, German-speaking Jewish immigrants began arriving in the decade before the Civil War. By 1880, Washington’s Jewish community of 1,375 people sustained two synagogues and a variety of social organizations.
1880s–1920s
The Scrapbook Thickens
In the late 19th century, a new wave of immigrants from Eastern Europe joined Washington’s second-generation Jewish Americans, many of whom had become established merchants. A triad of synagogues dominated the 7th Street NW, neighborhood where many Jews lived and worked. Immigrants also settled in neighborhoods throughout the city and formed small synagogues within walking distance of their homes. Many opened “mom-and-pop” grocery stores. By 1920, Washington’s Jewish population numbered 10,000.
1930s–1940s
Memories of Horror and Triumph
The ravages of the Great Depression, World War II and the near-destruction of European Jewry, and the struggle to secure and rebuild a Jewish homeland, brought drastic changes by mid-century. The New Deal’s influx of government workers introduced new voices, skills, and geographical diversity to Washington’s Jewish community. The horrifying extent of the Holocaust and the campaign to create a Jewish state forged a more cohesive community.
Spreading Out
The postwar era transformed Washington. No longer simply a capital city, Washington was becoming a major metropolitan region including the close-in areas of Maryland and Northern Virginia. The federal bureaucracy expanded, creating thousands of new jobs, and the center of Jewish life shifted from city to suburb. Synagogues followed their congregants, and many businesses followed their customers. By 1956, half of the area’s 81,000 Jews lived outside the city limits.
Recent Entries
Washington’s confluence of religious, civic, and political life makes it a fitting backdrop for the national Jewish dialogue. Many of the idealistic young Jews who came here in the 1960s stayed on. The local population has grown to more than 200,000, and the community has become yet more diverse. While Jews in Virginia and Maryland spread to new counties, a growing number of Jewish Washingtonians are coming full circle, returning to revitalize the city’s traditional Jewish neighborhoods.
Educational Programming
For group tours and educational programming related to Jewish Washington, visit the calendar of events on the National Building Museum’s website or contact the Jewish Historical Society at 202.789.0900 or info@jhsgw.org.
Sponsors
Jewish Washington: Scrapbook of an American Community is made possible, in part, by major support from The Albert and Lillian Small Foundation, Small-Alper Family Foundation, The Jewish Federation of Greater Washington, Barbara & Bert Rein, Jack Kay, Dr. Jonathan Grossman, The Marjorie Kovler Fund, Brenda & Paul Pascal, Rory & Shelton Zuckerman, The Family of Ethyl & Shirley Povich, Paula Pascal Levine & Family, Joanne & Matthew Tobriner, the United Jewish Endowment Fund, and many other supporters (as of June 19, 2005).
The Jewish Historical Society of Greater Washington and its Lillian and Albert Small Jewish Museum preserve, chronicle, and present the story of the local Jewish community through archival collections, exhibits, educational programs, publications, and the restoration and preservation of the oldest synagogue building in the nation’s capital. Visit online at www.jhsgw.org.
Credits
Exhibition created by the Jewish Historical Society of Greater Washington / Lillian and Albert Small Jewish Museum
Frank B. Gilbert, President
Laura Cohen Apelbaum, Executive Director
Wendy Turman, Archivist
Laura Burd Schiavo, Director of Museum Programs
M. Ann Belkov, Exhibition Advisor, Board of Directors
Script Writer
Sharon L. Barry
Graphic Design
Jeanne Krohn, Krohn Design
Annemarie Feld, Creative Design Solutions
Exhibition Design
MaryJane Valade, Exhibtions Designer and Preparator, National Building Museum
Shelagh Cole, Traveling Exhibitions Manager, National Building Museum
Hank Griffith, Exhibitions Coordinator, National Building Museum
Christopher Maclay, Exhibitions Preparator, National Building Museum
Infinite Photo and Imaging
Consulting Exhibition Designers
Gallagher and Associates
Audio and Video Production
Spark Media
Curatorial Advisory Committee
Dr. Pamela S. Nadell, Director,Jewish Studies Program, American University
Dr. Hasia Diner, Paul and Sylvia Steinberg, Professor of American Jewish History, New York University
Exhibition Created in Partnership with the National Building Museum
Chase Rynd, Executive Director
Martin Mueller, Senior Vice President for Special Projects
Cathy Crane Frankel, Director of Exhibitions
Special Thanks
Gallagher and Associates, consulting exhibition designers; Chase Rynd, Executive Director, National Building Museum; Cathy Crane Frankel, Director of Exhibitions, National Building Museum; Andrea Kalin, President, Spark Media; Kathryn Schneider Smith; Davi Walders for script development; and our many volunteers and researchers.
