In 1997 , Blumenthal became the founding director of the Jewish Museum Berlin in Germany 's then-new capital of the Federal Republic . His work began in December of that year , when he accepted an invitation from the city of Berlin to become president and chief executive of the Berlin Jewish Museum . The first Jewish Museum in Berlin was founded in 1933 , but was closed in 1938 by the Nazi regime . The re-imagined museum includes displays documenting 2,000 years of the often-tragic chapters in German-Jewish history , including The Holocaust , and is the largest Jewish museum in Europe . Blumenthal remained the museum 's director from 1997 until 2014 , with the completion and opening of the Museum in 2001 being credited to his direction . The project has attracted considerable attention within and outside of Germany . In 1999 and 2006 , Blumenthal was awarded Germany 's Senior Medals of Merit for his services to the Federal Republic of Germany , in recognition of his work in Berlin
The Holocaust
The Holocaust
W. Michael Blumenthal