Bidspirit auction | Israel - Munich Jewish Community

Israel - Munich Jewish Community - Official Presentation Medal 1983 - Silver 935, 22g (approx. 20.57g pure silver, 0.66 oz), 34 mm - An official medal dedicated to the Jewish Community of Munich and the history of the city’s Jewish population, which experienced centuries of prosperity, persecution, and destruction. The Jewish presence in Munich dates back to 1210, yet throughout the centuries the community endured blood libels, expulsions, confiscations of property, and repeated persecution. In 1442 the Jews were expelled and the synagogue was converted into a church. Despite this, Jewish life in Munich was rebuilt again and again. During the 19th and early 20th centuries, Munich’s Jews played a major role in the economic, cultural, and intellectual life of Bavaria. At the same time, Munich became one of the centers of antisemitism in Germany and later the cradle of the Nazi movement. In 1933 the Dachau concentration camp was established near the city, and Munich became one of the focal points of the Kristallnacht pogroms in 1938. The community was ultimately destroyed during the Holocaust, and only after the war, in 1945, was a new Munich Jewish community established by Holocaust survivors. The obverse depicts two important institutions of Munich Jewry - a retirement home and a youth center - together with German inscriptions reading “Youth Center of the Munich Community” and “Eisenberg - Retirement Home of the Munich Community”. The Hebrew year תשמ”ג - 1983 also appears. The reverse bears the biblical verse: “With our young and with our old we will go” (Exodus 10:9), in both Hebrew and English, symbolizing continuity and the endurance of Jewish communal life across generations. Mintage: Only 714 pieces issued.