Remember Baghdad

Sura Academy, 5th Century Babylon, 20th Century relief, Beit Hatfutsot, the museum of the Jewish people, Tel Aviv

David Dangoor's great grandfather, Hakham Ezra Dangoor (b.1848), was the Chief Rabbi of Baghdad from 1923 to 1926

Hakham Ezra Dangoor also opened the first printing press in Baghdad in 1910, a time of learning

Hakham Ezra Dangoor with his family in Baghdad in 1910

Edwin Shuker wants to buy a house in Iraq to plant a seed of hope for the future

In 1921, Britain imposed the Hashemite King Faisal I

In 1932, the British mandate ended, making Iraq the only independent Middle Eastern country

David Dangoor’s mother Renée and her sister Joyce

During the 1930s, the German Nazi party courted opposition to the British in Iraq

Mein Kampf was translated into Arabic and radio propaganda from Berlin blared in market places

The slogan 'Allah in Heaven and Hitler on the ground' became familiar

In 1939 the Grand Mufti of Jerusalem came to Baghdad to inspire politicians and train young men

The Mufti's campaigns of violent popular resistance against the proposed Jewish State in Palestine were part funded by the Nazis

Zvooloon Hareli (lying down left) was head of the Zionist defence plan for a district of Baghdad during the 1940s

For 25 years the Dangoor family (pictured in 1939) were at the centre of an exciting nation-building period in Baghdad

As a child, Eileen Khalastchy's life in Baghdad was idyllic until a sudden acid attack in 1941

Winston Churchill was determined to hang onto Iraq to control the country's oil reserves and the route to India

Victorious British soldiers look across the Tigris at Baghdad, 1941

In June 1941, a Nazi-inspired pogrom erupted, known as the Farhud. 180 Jews were killed and 2,000 were injured.

In 1947 Renée Dangoor was crowned Miss Baghdad in the country's first beauty contest

David Dangoor’s mother, Renée

In 1951, 95% of the Jewish population signed up to be airlifted to Israel in Operation Ezra & Nehemiah, a project financed by American Zionists

120,000 Iraqi Jews abandoned their homes to fly six-hundred miles West to Tel Aviv

Esperance Ben-Moshe's family were not Zionists, but they joined the airlift in a panic. They fled penniless.

The 1950s were a seemingly golden period for Iraq's remaining Jews. Life in Baghdad was deceptively secure.

The Dangoors attended fancy parties and picnics on the Tigris with the elite

Renée Dangoor joins a picnic in the early 1950s

The early 1950s were carefree

Architects including Le Corbusier, Walter Gropius, Alvar Aalto and Gio Ponti were invited to build projects in Baghdad during the 1950s

Baghdad in the 1950s

Naim Dangoor worked as an engineer on the King Faisal II Bridge, completed by British contractors in 1937

David Shamash's parents were part of a prominent Baghdadi family (pictured in 1953)

David Shamash with his father, who was an Iraqi MP

In 1958 the monarchy was overthrown by Abd al-Karim Qasim in a military coup

Saddam Hussein was a young officer behind the Ba'athist coup that followed in 1963

Jewish passports were withdrawn in 1963. Edwin Shuker and his siblings' ID is pictured.

Edwin Shuker's parents' identity document

After the Six Day War of 1967 and the continuing conflict between Israel and its neighbours, Jews in Iraq were accused of spying

In 1974 Eileen Khalatschy was among the last few hundred Jews to flee Baghdad

In Baghdad's Sadr City lies a cemetery of 4,000 Jewish tombs and graves. Edwin Shuker's grandfather is buried here.

Meir Tweg is the last synagogue left standing in Baghdad. It closed in 2003.

Meir Tweg's Torah scrolls are preserved inside the synagogue