Hidden Stories: Stéphane Mandelbaum

For the third episode of our Hidden Stories series, discover Composition à la figure rouge, a recent acquisition by the Jewish Museum of Belgium.

Created by Stéphane Mandelbaum (1961–1986), this double-sided work combines gouache, ballpoint pen, and felt-tip marker. It explores powerful themes such as identity, sexuality, violence, and memory.

Watch our video to learn more about this striking piece.

We are delighted to present the second episode of our Hidden Stories series, a unique format in our digital museum.

In this new episode, we shed light on a rare photographic archive: Jewish holiday camps after the Second World War. These holiday camps, organised under the impetus of the AIVG (Assistance to Jewish Victims of War), by associations such as Solidarité Juive and the CCSJ (Centre Culturel et Sportif Juif), offered surviving children a space for reconstruction, transmission and resilience. Far from being mere leisure camps, they were places of cultural rebirth, where young people could rediscover an identity that the war had tried to erase.

Hidden Stories invites you to explore objects and archives that go beyond mere testimonies of the past, revealing powerful narratives that shape identity and collective memory.

🎥 Watch our video to discover these exceptional archive images.

We are excited to present the first episode of our new series, “Hidden Stories“, a unique format of our digital museum. Through this series, we offer you a glimpse into the objects in our collections, each carrying untold and precious stories of Jewish cultures.

In this first episode, we focus on a recently acquired piece that carries a little-known story. Introducing the “Garden of Eden” Prayer Set, which joined our collection in 2023. This set, including a tallit, matching bag, and kippah, was created in Jerusalem by Yair Emanuel in 2023.

Watch the video to discover the story behind this remarkable set. Curious about other objects or stories? Feel free to ask questions in the comments!