This week is the 80th anniversary of Kristallnacht, a two-day Nazi-sanctioned riot against Jews in Germany and Austria. On Nov. 7 at a Jewish ceremony was held at a Jewish school in Berlin marked the anniversary with lighting of Yahrzeit candles. At that event Rabbi Yehuda Teichtal said that the answer to “the evil of…
PHOTO: Elizabeth Rynecki holds her great-grandfather’s self-portrait at the Jewish Historical Institute in Warsaw. Photo by Sławomir Grünberg Holocaust scholar shares her quest to find her great-grandfather’s lost creations Polish artist Moshe Rynecki (1881-1943) completed more than 800 paintings and sculptures before being incarcerated in the Warsaw Ghetto and ultimately perishing in the Majdanek concentration…
The White Elephant Archive, Setting No. 3 explores the legacy of the Holocaust from the perspective of the third generation living in Austria today. Oregon Jewish Museum and Center for Holocaust Education presents two performances of this intensely personal, one-man production. Eduard Freudmann uses his family’s archive – which includes poems written by his grandfather…
PHOTO: Lodz Ghetto. Boy walking to deportation in a group, wearing cap, satchel and backpack, February 1944. Photo by Henryk Ross. ©Art Gallery of Ontario, gift from the Archive of Modern Conflict. “I buried my negatives in the ground in order that there should be some record of our tragedy.” ~ Henryk Ross This…
PHOTO: Nordia House Exhibit Director Chaney Harter explains a panel in the exhibit to a visitor. The exhibit runs through March 30. Photo by Deborah Moon In just six months Swedish diplomat Raoul Wallenberg saved thousands of Hungarian Jews from the Nazis before he himself disappeared. A new exhibit in Portland (see below) provides…
Oregonians have two opportunities (see below) to enter the world of Anne Frank as told by her stepsister and childhood friend Eva Schloss. “The vision is to create a moment for our community when nearly 1,000 participants gather in the Newmark Theatre to hear, see and come as close to this important story as we…
Beginning in mid-February, the Oregon Jewish Museum and Center for Holocaust Education will present two exhibits that explore the Holocaust through the written word and art. In the museum’s main exhibit hall, Vedem Underground will examine the literary magazine written by Jewish teens imprisoned at the Nazi camp Terezin in German-occupied Czechoslovakia. Using graphics, drawings,…
In a powerful statement issued by an array of Holocaust institutions, scholars and educators from around the world, an alarm is being sounded on the rise of groups that promote intolerance and promote hate speech. Oregon Jewish Museum and Center for Holocaust Education is among 90 institutions who are calling on lawmakers to condemn white…
Leslie and Eva Aigner understand the power of history. And they believe that sharing stories from the past, no matter how horrible, can help create a better future. “We tell our story so that people can change their thinking,” Eva says. “If you don’t know what caused the Holocaust, it could repeat itself.” The Aigners,…
The Oregon Holocaust Memorial in Washington Park provides the community a sacred space for reflection and contemplation of lives lost. Bronze castings of items left behind in haste, such as this Teddy bear, dot the path leading to the memorial. Free docent-led tours of the memorial are available April 22 beginning at 1 pm. To…
