The Jews of Brest Museum

The founders of the museum were Arkady Moiseevich Blyakher (former chairman of the Brest Holocaust Center), his daughter Regina Abramovna Simonenko and Boris Mendelevich Brook, Chairman of the Board of the Brest City Jewish Public Organization Brisk.

The museum creation project was initiated in 2009. The collection and systematization of materials was carried out by the council, which included historians and activists of the Jewish community of Brest. The museum opened its doors on March 25, 2011, thanks to the support of sponsors.

Some of the materials for the museum were provided by Arkady Blyakher from his personal archive. Many exhibits, including objects, documents and photographs, were donated to the museum by residents of Brest, their relatives and people from Brest living abroad — in Israel, Poland, Argentina and the USA.

The museum tells about the history of the Jewish community of the city, starting from the 1920s. The collection contains more than 120 exhibits, including Jewish household items, rare prayer books, textbooks and fragments of an ancient Torah scroll. You can also see archival documents, photographs and books. A separate section is dedicated to famous natives of Brest, such as Nobel Peace Prize winner Menachem Begin, who played an important role in the creation of the State of Israel.

The halls of the museum are decorated in three colors, each of which corresponds to a certain period of the Jewish history of Brest. The pink wall symbolizes the pre—war life of Jews, the gray wall with the image of barbed wire is the memory of the Holocaust, and the light green wall is the revival of the Jewish community and its modern life. The exhibits at the stand "People, events, life" tell about the current life of the Jewish community of Brest.

Among the rare exhibits of the museum are a part of a Torah scroll from the beginning of the XIX century, found in the attic of one of the houses in Brest, a textbook for boys on the basics of Judaism from 1858 and "The Laws of Prayer and the behavior of Jewish life in the synagogue", printed in Warsaw in 1858.

The museum's exhibition halls offer a complete immersion in the historical atmosphere. Visiting the museum allows you to feel the spirit of antiquity and touch the history of the Jewish population of Brest. Here you can learn about the dramatic fate of the Jews, their contribution to the development of the city and the period of the Holocaust, when the Jewish community of Brest was destroyed. The Jews of Brest Museum also serves as a venue for excursions and cultural events dedicated to Jewish themes. Here you can hear interesting stories and memories, as well as ask questions to guides who are well acquainted with the history of Jews in Brest.

A visit to the Jews of Brest Museum allows you to learn about the centuries-old history of the Jewish community in this region and expand your knowledge. It is an important place that preserves the memory of the past and contributes to the cultural diversity of Brest.