We can see lots of people sat at two long tables. We can also see that everyone has a book in front of them.

Look closely, what do you see?

This photograph was taken in 1956 of Hungarian and Egyptian refugees celebrating the Jewish festival of Passover at the Jews’ Temporary Shelter in London. The title of the photograph is, ‘Seder without Fear.’ It is important because these refugees are able to celebrate their faith without fear of persecution. The objects on the table demonstrate that this is the Jewish festival of Passover. There are Hebrew Haggadahs, the prayer books which contain the story of Passover; Matzah, the special flat bread eaten during the meal; candle sticks; and wine.

During this time in Hungary and Egypt there was a lot of political unrest which made people anxious and want to leave the country. There was also a lot of antisemitism in Europe and the Middle East after the state of Israel was founded in 1948. This made many Jews want to immigrate to new countries for a better life.

We might wonder how the people in the photo felt about celebrating Passover in a new country. We might also wonder how many people were at this celebration as well as the people in the photograph.

What do you wonder?

Object name: ‘Seder without Fear’

Date: 1956

Catalogue number: 80.34

Material(s): Black & White Photograph

Artist: Jews’ Temporary Shelter

On display in the Jewish Museum? No

The story of Passover is the story of how 4,000 years ago the Jews were slaves in Egypt and how Moses led them to freedom in the land of Israel. It is a story that begins with a community experiencing hardship and oppression, and how they journeyed towards a better future in a new land.

The story of Passover reflects the stories of the Hungarian and Egyptian refugees in the photograph. Each person, each family, has a story to tell of why they left their country to move to Britain. This photograph is about how all these different people came together to celebrate their shared identity as immigrants in a new land.

The 19^th century was the beginning of the Mass Migration of Jews immigrating to Britain from Eastern Europe. Upon arrival, the immigrants had to find a place to live and a job. There were many con-men waiting to sell the immigrants fake tickets to other cities, charge high prices for accommodation, and exchange money at outrageous rates.

In order to fight this, Hermann Landau, a wealthy Jewish immigrant from Poland, opened the Poor Jews’ Temporary Shelter in Aldgate in 1885. The Shelter offered Jews advice and assistance during their first few weeks in London and temporary lodgings at affordable prices. The immigrants were allowed to stay at the shelter for a maximum of two weeks while they set up their new lives.

After World War II, the Shelter accepted refugees, both Jews and non-Jews, from Europe, India, Egypt, Aden, Iran, and Iraq. The Shelter closed down as an accommodation centre in the late 20^th century.