Scotland’s First Jewish Heritage Centre

The AJR have awarded a grant to part-fund Scotland’s first Jewish Heritage Centre, to be housed in Scotland’s oldest synagogue, Garnethill in Glasgow, first opened in 1879.

Garnethill district was a focus of refugee activity, especially following the outbreak of the Second World War, when refugees in the protected area of Edinburgh were transferred to Glasgow. Garnethill Hebrew Congregation actively assisted young refugees, providing a hostel in the synagogue grounds for refugee boys. Nearby was a hostel for refugee girls and women and a centre for refugees to meet. A number of refugees studied or taught at Glasgow School of Art.

AJR Chief Executive Michael Newman said: “As the nation’s largest dedicated funder of programmes and projects which promote teaching and learning about the Holocaust (TLH) in the UK, the AJR is delighted to support this important initiative to bring a first-of-its-kind Holocaust learning centre to Scotland, and we wish it much success. On behalf of our members we are committed to preserving the memory of those who perished.”

The Scottish Jewish Heritage Centre is a joint-project run by The Scottish Jewish Archives Centre (SJAC) and Garnethill Synagogue Preservation Trust (GSPT).  It will include a Holocaust-era study centre, a public display on the history and experience of refugees and survivors who rebuilt their lives in Scotland, and guided tours and school visits of the historic Grade A synagogue.

The Archive Centre’s collections span over 200 years of Jewish life in Scotland. The new national Holocaust-era Study Centre will give public access to the SJAC’s unique oral, documentary, photographic and artefact collections.

Photos copyright and reproduced with permission from SJAC