Category: Holocaust

“Unicorn Portrait” – a short story by William Torphy

“Unicorn Portrait,” a short story by William Torphy, was a short-listed entry in the Jerry Jazz Musician’s recently concluded 61st Short Fiction Contest and is published with the consent of the author. Unicorn Portrait by William Torphy …..David Wyler slammed the… Read More

Illuminating the 10 Stages of Genocide through Rywka’s Diary

Rywka's Diary "Oh, to write!... To be able to write, to make pen move on paper! I need to write." - Rywka Lipszyc (December 24th, 1943) April is Genocide Awareness Month. It marks a number of anniversaries related to genocides... Read More

Otto Frank Tells Wisconsin Students About His Daughter Anne Frank

As Jewish Museum Milwaukee gets ready to open The Girl in the Diary: Searching for Rywka from the Lodz Ghetto, JMM’s archive recently received a unique donation connected to a more well-known Holocaust Diary. In the 1970s, Otto Frank sent... Read More

Women and Resistance

As Jewish Museum Milwaukee prepares to exhibit Pictures of Resistance: The Wartime Photographs of Jewish Partisan Faye Schulman, we wanted to highlight women who have taken a stand. While some like Faye Schulman, were part of an organized movement or… Read More

What’s Black and White and Red/Read All Over?

As Jewish Museum Milwaukee prepares to launch Blacklist: The Hollywood Red Scare, one might ask: What’s Jewish or Milwaukee about the Hollywood Red Scare? The answer could be: What isn’t? Learn more about local and Jewish connections to the Hollywood Red Scare here.

Re-Education: A Collective Responsibility

In planning for the anticipated return of Stitching History From The Holocaust and the added stories of the Oelsner and Spira/Stern families, Jewish Museum Milwaukee was excited to present a timeline that would integrate their narratives with the Strnad’s and provide context for events surrounding World War II. Little did we know that in contextualizing the individual experiences that happened seventy-five years ago, we would encounter disturbing parallels to what we are witnessing in our world today.

Stitching History From the Holocaust: New Remnants

Check out how Jewish Museum Milwaukee found additional photos and documents relating to Hedy Strnad and her family. These additions show the evolution of Stitching History From the Holocaust, but also demonstrate that historical research is never done. There will always be more archives to explore and people to connect with, but each small salient connection like these helps expand our understanding of the lived experience.

Engaged and Relevant: The Role of Jewish Museum Milwaukee

JMM occupies a unique niche in the museum world in Milwaukee. We use the Jewish experience to build bridges between groups of people and between eras. We live our tagline “Where Conversations Happen” by looking at multiple perspectives of a topic or issue, by partnering with diverse organizations, by asking visitors to use critical thinking skills to contemplate commonalities and differences of a particular subject over time.

What the “Fabric of Survival” Teaches

These scenes and accompanying text nag at us. Why the Jews? What power do we have over evil? How do we defend ourselves against irrational governments? How do we protect our most vulnerable citizens? What does it mean to be a refugee? And what responsibilities do we have for those being persecuted?

Stitching History’s New Beginning

All of this energy followed me on my trip to open Stitching History in New York. The audience in New York expands the reach of this story considerably. The curation and design in New York is just lovely, adding elements to the exhibit that enliven the story–I love the addition of Hedy’s Signature to the wall and the ingenious way in which they MJH team made the fabrics accessible to touch.

Arthur Szyk’s Work Swayed World War II Opinion

By: Patti Sherman-Cisler, Executive Director, Jewish Museum Milwaukee This editorial appeared in the February 2016 edition of the Wisconsin Jewish Chronicle.   The Jewish Museum Milwaukee will present the work of mid-20th century artist and activist Arthur Szyk, (pronounced “Shik”),… Read More

Exploring Eichmann

By: Ellie Gettinger, Education Director In researching and developing Southern Exposure: The Jews of Argentina, one of the stories that really stuck with me was that of Adolph Eichmann and his presence in Argentina. Following World War II, Juan Peron,… Read More

Stitching History News

Stitching History From the Holocaust, the Jewish Museum Milwaukee’s originally curated exhibition, about Hedy and Paul Strnad and the loss of their talent due to the Holocaust continues to make news and receive accolades. The Museum received the prestigious History… Read More

Reactions from a Viewer – Stitching History From the Holocaust

This is feedback from a person who saw the piece about the exhibit on PBS NewsHour Weekend: I just watched a PBS video on Facebook about the Stitching History exhibit. My great grandfather was fortunate to leave Germany in search of… Read More

Leora Saposnik Addition to Stitching History From the Holocaust

By Molly Dubin, Curator An engaging ceramic and mixed-media piece by Madison-based artist, Leora Saposnik, has recently been put on display in the Museum’s atrium space. The sculptural work is a milk can inspired by an improbable story. While interred... Read More

New York Times Covers Stitching History From the Holocaust

By Ellie Gettinger, Education Director On September 27, the life of this small museum was turned upside down.  Samuel Freedman published a loving and fantastic article about Stitching History From the Holocaust.  He wrote, “The fashions are both text and textile, a… Read More

Helen Epstein Luncheon During Stitching History From the Holocaust

By Kathie Bernstein, Executive Director Several years ago I read Helen Epstein’s book, Where She Came From. It resonated with me because we were in the early planning stages for our current exhibit, Stitching History From the Holocaust, and Epstein’s story… Read More

The Only American Killed on Direct Orders of Hitler

By Ellie Gettinger, Education Director Today is Mildred Fish Harnack Day in Wisconsin.  You might say, “Who?” But the Wisconsin Legislature recognized her as a hero and designated her birthday as an official commemoration.  She was born in Milwaukee, went… Read More

Opening Celebration of Stitching History From the Holocaust

By Jane Avner, Jewish Museum Milwaukee Board of Trustees We love this exhibit – the staff worked their hearts out. Molly Dubin with her artistic skills to mount the panels and dresses; Ellie Gettinger reaching out to educators, creating the… Read More

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