Although it is a lesser-known story of horror and destruction, the Holocaust in Greece decimated one of the oldest Jewish communities in the world. At different points during WWII, Germany, Italy, and Bulgaria occupied parts of Greece, and the fate of the Jews often depended on the policies of the occupying force. Only after Italy surrendered to the Allies in 1943, did the Nazis take control of all of Greece and implement the Final Solution.
The Nazis murdered ninety percent of Greek Jews.
As an art correspondent for Life magazine, Bernard Perlin captured, on canvas, the atrocities he witnessed. A Greek Jew born in Athens in 1930, Edgar Inselberg, was among the few that survived. The life of his daughter, Milwaukee Jewish community member, Louise Jesse, was shaped by this daunting, lesser-known narrative. In a presentation contextualized by scholar Amy Shapiro, Louise will share her father’s harrowing and inspiring story.
Lunch & Learn Programs are scheduled during the noon hour. We encourage you to bring your lunch and learn with us!
In partnership with the Nathan and Esther Pelz Holocaust Education Resource Center (HERC)
DATE:Â Tuesday, December 3, 2024
TIME: 12:00 – 1:15 p.m.
LOCATION: Jewish Museum Milwaukee
COST: Members $5 | Nonmembers $8
Purchase a Nonmember + Add-on Ticket for an additional $5/nonmember to experience Jewish Museum Milwaukee galleries before or after the program. Members are welcome to visit during this time for free!
Louise Jesse is an organizational leader with expertise in human resources, strategy development, organizational effectiveness, and executive coaching. Her professional experiences have spanned various industries, public and private sectors, as well as different sized organizations.
After approximately 25 years in human resource capacities within business settings, she pivoted to consulting to allow for greater flexibility to care for her aging parents. They had expressed their desire to age in their home in Michigan.
A committed member of the Jewish community, Louise served on the MJDS Board of Directors and Executive Committee for 10 years. Both of her sons attended MJDS K4-8th grade. She has been active lay leader with the Milwaukee Jewish Federation where she has served as a Co-Chair for the Agency Review Council, served on the Community Planning & Allocations Committee and was a member of the COVID Crisis Response Team. She has also served on the UW Hillel – Madison Board of Directors. Currently, she is an active member of the Jewish Women’s Endowment Fund, which is housed within the Federation. She volunteers at the Jewish Community Pantry and is working on being a 2nd Generation Speaker for HERC. She and her husband Jon are members of Congregation Shalom, although she was raised in a conservative temple.
Her commitment to the Jewish Community provided her with the opportunity to work within the Milwaukee Jewish Federation as the first Director of Community Impact & Strategic Initiatives. This occurred during the COVID shutdown period. As we were emerging from COVID in 2021, her mom passed away. Her dad had died 3 years earlier in 2018. As an only child, she needed to attend to all of their affairs, including the sale of their home for over 50 years. Additionally, she determined she needed time to grieve both of her parents. She subsequently left the Federation and took about a year off. She later was recruited by the JCC to serve as their Director of Major Gifts. The JCC has been a consistent backbone to their family since joining in the early 1990’s. She also appreciated their approach to philanthropy. After spending over a year in this capacity, she pivoted back to consulting to provide more dedicated time to finishing her dad’s story, developing her HERC 2nd Generation presentation, and writing her mom’s story. She can still be found at the JCC four to five days per week between Pilates classes, the Fit Floor and Dance Cardio.
She is the only child of Dr. Edgar Inselberg of Athen Greece, and Dr. Rachel Inselberg of Manilla, Philippines. Today, she shares the story for the first time of the paternal side of her family, which includes surviving the Greek Holocaust. She plans on using this presentation as a platform for her 2nd generation speaker presentation.
After having failed to conquer his long-time rival Greece, Italian dictator Benito Mussolini asked Axis partner Adolf Hitler for help. Here, German soldiers raised the German war banner atop the Acropolis in Athens after forcing the Greeks to surrender on April 27, 1941. Terrible atrocities by the Germans against the Greek populace followed.