Jewish Museum My Experience Concerning the Core

Jewish Museum

My experience concerning the Core Exhibition about Jewish life prior to, throughout, and after the Holocaust expressed through individual accounts and possessions was phenomenal. I found that the incredible displays explored characteristics of historical events and a deep, developing heritage. I discovered that through the Jewish Museum, I have learned to appreciate public programs that celebrate the fruitfulness of Jewish traditions and beliefs.

"The Rotunda"

I made my way through the uniquely winding security leading in to the museum where the multimedia presentation was at. Upon coming to the first hall, I heard a little music and from there followed it to the rotunda, where I saw images being projected on to walls all around the huge area. During the 9-minute multimedia presentation, there were three themes that were displayed. They were the following: "Remember, never to forget." The Ferdinand and Isabella letter of 1492 and "Jewish Renewal." The theme that stood out to me the most was the "Remember, never to forget" theme because mostly it is the reason why the museum exists which is to remind us not to repeat history.

The Floors of Culture

Through my journey, I discovered that the first floor of the Core Exhibition delve into exciting and multilayered Jewish lifespan in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Personal objects and family pictures supplemented by written films, I thought, delivered an intense emotional component to the display. With that said, there were three intriguing objects on the first floor that I chose.

The last Folio

This book of photos caught my attention because somewhere around 70 years ago, on March 25th of 1942, on a train filled with a 1000 young Jewish women, were marched off to their deaths from Slovakia to Auschwitz, and these portraits done by a man named Yuri Dojc. What actually got my attention about this exhibition is its presentation. There are six pictures in each row, proposing the ceremonial six of the Jewish star. There are little lights in the ceiling to make sure you won't make a misstep, but the photographs are weakly lit, all of them, by a light that is from below in the top section or row, and from the top in the lower one. I think that the theme is that this object reflects that of both mourning the loss and also celebrating unfinished life.

Also in the picture book series were school books of Jewish children. While looking at them, it was scary to me knowing that they have to be thrown backwards by school children that were being horded off for the death camps. It dawned on me that they had sat unchanged for over 60 years when everyday life was interrupted. To me this brought back memories of family members of mine that went through something similar in Sudan. It was shocking to understand how my cousins had to leave their school books behind in order to avoid what were called the "Devils on horseback."

Gift of Elizabeth Kroo Teitelbaum

The other object that captured my attention was a small silver looking ring. This metal ring was offered to a woman named Elizabeth Kroo by one of her inmates in a concentration camp in Lippstadt, on March 16, 1945, which was the time of her birthday. In Lippstadt, Elizabeth had to clean barracks, where she gained the love and care of her fellow inmates. On her birthday, Elizabeth received the ring which was stolen from the factory where her friends worked, given in an expression of mutual assistance among inmates.

I chose this object because it reminded me of my grandmother's silver looking ring. My grandfather who was extremely poor gave my grandmother a ring that was found in a factory many years ago. He was too poor to buy one so he use what he had. The theme of this ring symbolized survival. In spite of Kroo's harrowing flight in the concentration camp, the ring never was taken from her so it gave her confidence in thinking that her life would not be taken as well. In my own life, it was survival for my grandparents because during the great depression, the ring helped provide food on the table.

Gift of Jacob Hennenberg

The next object that caught my attention was an old poster. In fact, it was not just an regular poster but a racist one. This anti-Semitic party-political promotion called "Die Parteien!" Or "The Parties!" Came to publication in Weimar Germany in the 1920's and connects leftist groups to Jewish and Communist cartoons and nationalist parties to true pictures. As I read the advertisement, I see the slogan "Here are the parties in word and picture; Vote German." The poster ends with, "The hour of your fate rings on January 19." The leftist parties shown on the propaganda display incorporate the Spartacus Socialists linked with images of Martin Luther, Paul Von Hindenberg, and Otto Von Bismarck.