As noted in Encyclopaedia Judaica on Magnus Museum {1997} [CD–ROM] –
“Magnes Memorial Museum, Judah L., The Jewish Museum of the West. The Judah K. Magnes Museum in Berkeley, California, was founded in Oakland in 1962, moving to its current location in 1966. The museum is named in honor of Judah L. Magnes who was born in the Bay Area. In 1974 the museum was accredited by the American Association of Museums, the first U.S. Jewish museum to receive such recognition.
The general purpose of the museum is to “collect, preserve, and make available artistic, historical, and literary material reflecting Jewish life and cultural contribution throughout history.” The museum is also a repository for historical documents and landmarks of Western U.S. Jewry. To that end, the Western Jewish History Center was initiated in 1967…
The Institute for the Righteous Acts, a Documentation and Resource Center on the Altruistic Behavior of Rescuers of Jews in the Nazi Era is another department of the museum. The aim of this institute is to study the rescue of Jews by non–Jews during the Nazi era; to search into the motivations of the rescuers’ acts through empirical studies of the rescuers; and to apply the results of the studies to moral education and the training of positive character traits.”