An old saying goes — if life gives you lemons, make lemonade….
That’s what the venues of the Jewish Cultural Quarter in Amsterdam and the Judengasse Museum in Frankfurt seem to be doing…. They are now selling their own special anti-COVID face masks in the museum shops.
What a souvenir of these unprecedented times!
The Jewish Cultural Quarter venues reopened June 1 after being shut down for nearly three months. And in Frankfurt, the Judengasse Museum reopened May 5 — the main venue of the Frankfurt Jewish Museum remains closed as its core exhibit is under redevelopment.
Like at all reopened museums and heritage sites, anti-COVID-19 hygiene measures are mandatory for visitors. These measures usually include mandatory face masks, social distancing, and reduced numbers of visitors allowed in at the same time.
As pictured on the JCK’s Facebook page, its blue cloth mask bears the JCK logo, three X’s, and the exhortation “Be Healthy” in Dutch and in Yiddish — זיי געזונט and “Zay Gesunt.”
The mask is available for €7,95 in the museum shops in the Jewish Historical Museum, the Portuguese Synagogue and the Hollandsche Schouwburg — or you can order online via email — [email protected] — for €7,95 plus shipping costs.
The Frankfurt Judengasse Museum masks cost more that those of the JCK — €14.90 — and are a different style — but it also is in dark blue and bears the Yiddish slogan.
Since the Museum requires visitors to wear masks, it says, it “has transformed the mask from an obligation into a fashion item by having its own mask created.”
The mouth and nose mask consists of two layers of 100% cotton fabric. It is washable up to 60°C. It is not intended as a medical face mask.
The mask was created by three design and textile studios in Frankfurt:
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- Pelze am Dornbusch
- Jakob & Tatze
- Seven cards
We wonder — are any other Jewish museums selling their own COVID masks?
See announcement on the JCK’s Facebook page
See announcement and ordering details on the Frankfurt Judengasse Museum web site