Hungarian Jewish Museum and Archives

What Hungarian Jewish Museum and Archives does

The Hungarian Jewish Museum and Archives (Magyar Zsidó Múzeum és Levéltár) is a nonprofit cultural institution founded in 1910 in Budapest, Hungary, operating as a nyilvános magángyűjtemény (public private collection) under Hungarian heritage law. It is maintained by the Federation of Hungarian Jewish Communities (MAZSIHISZ) and directed by Dr. Zsuzsanna Toronyi. The institution combines traditional museum and archival functions—collecting, processing, preserving, and making accessible Hungarian Jewish cultural artifacts, documents, and photographs—with an expanding digital ecosystem. It operates three Budapest locations: the main museum building at Dohány utca 2, an exhibition space on Síp utca, and a research room on Wesselényi utca. The 9-person staff serves researchers, scholars, genealogists, school groups, Jewish community members, and the general public.

The institution's product portfolio spans a permanent exhibition ("Tamid"), museum pedagogy programs, archive research services, and a growing suite of digital products including the Omeka-powered MILEV Digital Collections Database, e-learning platforms for Hebrew/Yiddish paleography and archive pedagogy (hosted on Google Sites), thematic projects such as the Flódni digital magazine, Jewish Maps, and Synagogue Seating Records, and the Saul Gyermekei Memorial Program for child Holocaust victims. The technology stack relies on open-source and consumer SaaS tools (Omeka, Weebly, Google Sites, YouTube) rather than proprietary systems, with the collections portal offering multilingual (Hungarian/English) access. Digital infrastructure is built primarily through grant-funded projects, particularly from Hungary's National Cultural Fund (NKA).

The business model is hybrid nonprofit: earned revenue comes from low-unit transactional fees for digital image reproduction (500–3,600 Ft per image by resolution), commercial publication licensing (3,000–13,000 Ft per use across media types), and research service charges, while the majority of operating support is provided by MAZSIHISZ, NKA, and a diverse set of international funders including the Rothschild Foundation Hanadiv Europe, the German Federal Foreign Office, the Dutch Jewish Humanitarian Fund, and the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee. The institution's strategic positioning emphasizes accessibility, education, and Holocaust memory preservation rather than commercial monetization, with international donor diversification reflecting an expansion of its funding base beyond domestic sources.

Name

Hungarian Jewish Museum and Archives

Legal name

Magyar Zsidó Múzeum és Levéltár

Website

https://milev.hu

Company type

Private

Founded year

1910

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

The Hungarian Jewish Museum and Archives is a nonprofit cultural institution founded in 1910 in Budapest that preserves Hungarian Jewish heritage through archival collections, exhibitions, educational programs, and a growing digital ecosystem serving researchers, educators, and the Jewish community under the Federation of Hungarian Jewish Communities (MAZSIHISZ).

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Cultural Heritage Museum and Archive Services

NAICS

Museums (71211), Libraries and Archives (51921), Museums (712110), Museums, Historical Sites, and Similar Institutions (7121)

SIC

Miscellaneous Publishing (2741)

akta.pro primary industry

Museums & Heritage Sites (History, Science, Specialty) (BPAGAHAA)

Keywords

• Jewish heritage museum
• Historical archive services
• Cultural education programs
• Holocaust memorial research
• Archival image licensing

Headquarters

HQ city

Budapest

HQ country

Hungary

HQ region

Europe

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Image Reproduction and Publication Fees: Fees for digital image reproduction and publication permits. Fees vary by resolution (72 dpi 500 Ft, 300 dpi 1200 Ft, 600 dpi 3600 Ft per image), plus surcharges for urgent requests (100% for 1 week, 200% for 3 days). Revenue supports collection development and restoration.
2. Research and Access Services: Charges for research services including researcher registration, access to archival materials, and specialized research assistance. Digital copy fees for archival documents.
3. Commercial Licensing Fees: Publication fees for commercial use of collection materials: book covers (13,000 Ft), internal images (4,000 Ft per), newspapers/magazines (4,000 Ft per), film/TV (5,000 Ft single screening), internet (3,000 Ft per 72 dpi image).

Pricing tiers

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

The Hungarian Jewish Museum and Archives operates as a public private collection (nyilvános magángyűjtemény) maintaining Jewish religious artifacts, historical documents, and Holocaust-related materials. It runs the permanent Tamid exhibition, provides archive and research services, delivers educational programs and online e-learning content, and licenses images of its collections to publishers and researchers. The institution is maintained by MAZSIHISZ, the Federation of Hungarian Jewish Communities.

Product overview

The Hungarian Jewish Museum and Archives operates as a unified cultural institution combining a traditional museum and archive with a comprehensive digital ecosystem. The core offerings include the permanent Tamid exhibition and archive research services, supported by an extensive digital portfolio consisting of an Omeka-powered collections database (collections.milev.hu), e-learning platforms for Jewish history and archive pedagogy, and thematic digital projects including Flódni (magazine-style historical content), Jewish Maps (interactive mapping), and Synagogue Seating Records. Educational programs span museum pedagogy workshops, paleography courses (Hebrew and Yiddish script), and the Politzer Saga lecture series. The institution also maintains the Saul Gyermekei Memorial Program for Holocaust child victims, and publishes the MUZEOMANIA blog showcasing contemporary interpretations of collection items.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Saul Gyermekei Emlékprogram (Children of Shaul Memory Project): A memory program dedicated to collecting and documenting the names and fates of Hungarian Jewish child victims of the Holocaust.
• Flódni
• Flódni+
• Jewish Maps
• Műemlékeink 1.
• Műemlékeink 2.
• #MUZEOMANIA
• Orczy House
• Levéltárpedagógiai tananyag (Archival Pedagogy Curriculum)

Products and services

• Tamid Permanent Exhibition A permanent on-site exhibition displaying the museum's Jewish religious artifacts, cultural objects, and historical materials for visitors, researchers, and community members at the Dohány Street location in Budapest.
• Archival Research Services Research and document access services provided from the museum's archival collections of Jewish community records, Holocaust documents, and Hungarian Jewish historical materials for academic researchers, historians, and family historians.
• Educational Programs Structured educational programs covering Jewish heritage, cultural history, and Holocaust education delivered to school groups, students, and institutional learners.
• Digital Collections Database An online digital database providing searchable access to digitized records and collection metadata for remote researchers, students, and the general public.
• E-Learning Platform Online e-learning modules and educational content delivered through digital platforms for students, educators, and lifelong learners seeking structured Jewish heritage and Holocaust education.
• Image Licensing of Collection Materials Licensed use of digitized images of the museum's historical artifacts, documents, and archival materials for book publishers, documentary producers, journalists, and media organizations.
• Holocaust Memorial Programs Memorial programs and commemorative events supporting Holocaust remembrance, education, and survivor testimony preservation for the Jewish community, schools, and the general public.

Quantifiable outcome

• Serves both Jewish and non-Jewish audiences, promoting Jewish heritage as part of Hungary's shared national heritage

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration4 records

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Federation of Hungarian Jewish Communities (MAZSIHISZ)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe institution is maintained by MAZSIHISZ, the umbrella organization for Hungarian Jewish communities. MAZSIHISZ provides institutional oversight and governance, including acceptance of the museum's child protection policy.
• United States Holocaust Memorial Museum (USHMM)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborative partnership for digitizing and processing the Jancsó film legacy materials related to Holocaust documentation in the Carpathian Basin.
• The British LibraryminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerListed as a supporter of the institution's archival and preservation work.
• MAZSÖK - National Jewish Heritage FoundationcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-develops heritage projects including the Flódni digital magazine on Hungarian Jewish history and culture.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Yad Vashem: Yad Vashem is the world's primary Holocaust documentation center, operating museum, archive, research, and educational functions analogous to HJMA's combined museum-archive model. Both institutions curate Jewish heritage materials, serve global researchers, and develop pedagogical content on Holocaust history.
• Leo Baeck Institute: Leo Baeck Institute archives, preserves, and provides access to materials on the history of German-speaking Jewry, including overlapping Central European Jewish heritage materials. It operates an archive and digital collections comparable to HJMA's research and digitization activities.
• Anne Frank House: Anne Frank House operates a museum, archive, and educational programs focused on Holocaust and Jewish history, with strong emphasis on school group programming and digital learning resources. It is directly comparable in combining museum exhibitions, archive access, and pedagogical content delivery.
• Museum of Jewish Heritage – A Living Memorial to the Holocaust (New York): The Museum of Jewish Heritage combines permanent exhibitions, educational programs, and survivor testimony archives focused on Jewish history and the Holocaust. It serves overlapping North American Jewish community and educational audiences with a comparable museum-archive operating model.
• POLIN Museum of the History of Polish Jews: POLIN is a directly comparable Central European Jewish heritage museum operating permanent exhibitions, educational programs, and digital collections for a national Jewish community. Its mission to present the history of Polish Jews parallels HJMA's focus on Hungarian Jewish heritage.
• United States Holocaust Memorial Museum: USHMM is a directly comparable peer as it operates both museum exhibitions and Holocaust archives, and is an explicit strategic partner of HJMA for digitizing the Jancsó film legacy materials. It serves overlapping researcher and educational audiences with comparable curatorial and digitization functions.
• Jewish Museum London: Jewish Museum London operates exhibitions, educational programs, and learning resources on British Jewish heritage with comparable pedagogical offerings. It serves overlapping educational and community audiences with a similar museum-and-learning operating model.
• Jewish Museum Berlin: Jewish Museum Berlin is a leading European Jewish heritage museum combining permanent and temporary exhibitions, educational programs, and digital outreach. It serves overlapping audiences (researchers, school groups, tourists) with a comparable museum-and-education operating model in a neighboring Central European context.
• YIVO Institute for Jewish Research: YIVO is a Jewish-focused archival and research institution preserving Eastern European Jewish heritage materials, including significant holdings relevant to Hungarian Jewish history. It is directly comparable to HJMA's archive function, paleography training, and digitization activities.

Emerging players

• National Library of Israel: The National Library of Israel maintains major Jewish archival and manuscript collections, including digital humanities projects such as the Ktiv project for handwriting recognition on historical Hebrew manuscripts—directly comparable to HJMA's paleography training initiatives and digitization work.

Market position

Strengths1 record

Weaknesses1 record

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/saulgyermekei
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/hungarian-jewish-museum-and-archives

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Hungarian Jewish Museum and Archives