2012 03 AFJHM Newsletter (Pdf)
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I S S N : 1 5 5 9 - 4 8 6 6 The Newsletter of the American Friends Volume 13 of the Jewish Museum Hohenems, Inc. March 2012 I N T OUCH M ARCH 2 0 1 2 L ETTER FROM THE PRESIDENT F RANCESCA B RUNNER - K ENNEDY Dear Friends, The museum is also Hohenems. He lived in making changes to its Hohenems as a child, I hope you will eagerly website. They hope to and then was forced to Stephan Rollin read the news contained unveil a completely new flee with his family in Founder in this issue from the one in April. We’ll send 1939, finally settling in AFJMH, the museum, America. Instead of har- Francesca Brunner-Kennedy you news when it goes [email protected] and the town of live. boring ill will toward his President Hohenems. These posi- homeland or repressing tive changes represent Please read Director his heritage, he has Claude Rollin, Esq. hard work from a hand- celebrated it, visiting Vice-President Hanno Loewy’s news ful of people who are herein about what else Hohenems regularly, Uri Taenzer, Esq. trying to improve their is keeping them busy. and asking to be buried Secretary-Treasurer little corner of the world. I’ve previously men- in the cemetery there. T RUSTEES tioned the genealogy In October, the town em- Dr. Robert Amler I am proud to tell you database and the new braced him with a Nicole M. Angiel that the American exhibit called golden key award pre- Ronald Bernell Friends of the Jewish “Everything You Always sented by Vice Mayor Doris Billes Museum Hohenems Wanted to Know About Günter Linder. It’s a Nadia Follman (AFJMH) now has a web- Jews, but Were Afraid to wonderful example to all Timothy L. Hanford site: http://afjmh.org/. Ask.” There will also be of us on how to remem- James Hirschfeld It contains some infor- an exhibit this summer ber the past, but not live Hon. Susan Shimer mation about the organi- excerpting interviews on in it. To move forward, Harry Weil, Jr. zation itself, links to the Jewish identity, ethnicity, to forgive, and to find Monica Wollner museum’s website, con- genetics, culture from a common ground. tact information, copies book by Jewish artist of the latest newsletters, Francesca Brunner- Marina Belobrovaja of Kennedy In Touch Editors: and a button to pay do- Zurich. President, American Susan Shimer nations by PayPal (no Friends of the Jewish Nicole Angiel more having to e-mail You’ll also find a lovely Museum Hohenems me for a link). Dave piece on reconciliation: Please send your In Touch articles to Taenzer, grandson of the story of Harry Weil, our editors Rabbi Aron Tänzer, has Jr., a trustee of the Susan Shimer agreed to be our web- AFJMH, and the last sur- 16 Pond Lane master, and I thank him viving member of the Armonk, NY 10504 for his contributions. Jewish community in [email protected] or Nicole Angiel 1001 Clark Way Palo Alto, CA 94304 [email protected] Page 2 Volume 13 H ANNO L OEWY , P RESIDENT A SSOCIATION OF E UROPEAN J EWISH M USEUMS ( A E J M ) P RESS R ELEASE 28 November 2011 Ninety delegates from internships will enable 45 Jewish museums smaller museums and English Translation of ranging from Spain to newly established AEJM Press Release Ukraine and Norway to institutions, especially Turkey - as well as those in Eastern and At its annual conference numerous guests from Central Europe, to in London, the the USA and South benefit from the Association of European America - discussed at experience of large Jewish Museums (AEJM) the November 2011 institutions such as has chosen Hanno meeting current those located in Paris Loewy, director of the perspectives of Jewish and Berlin, Frankfurt or Jewish Museum museums, new Prague - but also for the Hohenems, as its new approaches to established museums to development of high president. He succeeds educational work in the benefit from the standards for original Rickie Burman, director multi-ethnic immigrant geographical and research and a of the Jewish Museum in community as well as cultural diversity of the conscious appreciation London. The Association joint projects to European-Jewish for the Jewish heritage Board is comprised of: commemorate the diaspora experience. makes the Jewish Hetty Berg (Jewish precarious situation of The AEJM has evolved Museums not only an Museum, Amsterdam), European Jews during from its beginnings more important resource for Magda Veselská (Jewish World War I. The AEJM than twenty years ago the development of Museum in Prague), organizes regular into a strong partner to Jewish life in Europe, but Erika Perahia Zemour workshops and training the museums, promoting also a model for the (Jewish Museum of of its member by their independence from recognition of the Thessaloniki) and curators and other staff. political and other diversity of European Daniela Eisenstein In the future, interests and their cultural heritage as (Jewish Museum of development training for professional influenced by Franconia). museum educators, development. The immigration and counseling services and ethnicity. NEWS FROM THE M USEUM Paris), Zoya Cherkassky D R . H ANNO L OEWY (Tel Aviv), Tamir Zadok (Tel Aviv), Sidney Lumet These are some of the for something “Jewish” country? Is it permissi- and Woody Allen, we recent activities of the behind it. ble to make jokes about want to confront these Museum. the Holocaust? Why is it questions in a witty Some of these questions so difficult to discuss the mood. Everything You Always are uncomfortable for politics of Israel? Wanted to Know About the one who asks, some And we invite visitors to Jews. But Were Afraid to are politically incorrect, Together with artists like ask their own questions. Ask and some are awkward. Yael Bartana Answers will be pub- But, mostly the answers (Amsterdam/Berlin/Tel There are many questions are not that complicated, Aviv), Adi Nes (Tel Aviv), lished on: around about Jews. Some as one can guess. What Tamar Latzman (New www.jm-hohenems.at or are taboo, some only do Jews look like? Are York), Zbigniew Libera www.wassieschonimmerue seem to be. But where Jews born talented (Warschau), Shmuel berjudenwissenwollten.at people sense a secret or money makers? Can Shapiro (Kißlegg), Harley mystery they often look Jews be at home in any Swedler (New York/ (Continued on page 3) In Touch Page 3 NEWS FROM THE M USEUM Some artwork from the exhibit Everything You Wanted to Know About Jews. "The whole world in a clover leaf", world map of Heinrich Bünting, about 1581 "Untitled", by Zoya Cherkassky, Tel Aviv Record "David Ben Gurion: What is a Jew", Collection Roger Bennett, New York Page 4 Volume 13 At the same time, our turn this project into a N EWS F ROM T HE M USEUM database is growing and book. DNA-DAN-NAD- including more and more NDA-AND-AND, including (Continued from page 3) It makes our exhibition biographies, photo- 60 interviews (all in Eng- space much more flexi- graphs and documents, lish and German), will be New Website and ble and usable. Come making it a rich resource published in May and will Renovations and see! for both the descen- be presented in the Jew- dants and scholars alike. ish Museum in June. An Not always as visible but Hohenems Genealogy See installation of some of sometimes crucial: the Database www.hohenemsgenealogy. the interviews will accom- quality of our work de- at pany our summer exhibi- pends on our infrastruc- Our database project is tion. ture. With funds from the moving ahead with New Publication in the federal government, we funds from the State of Spring News from the staff are working on the crea- Tyrol. In cooperation with tion of a completely new the University of Inns- In 2010, when the Jew- In February 2012, Junia website that we hope bruck and Professor Tho- ish Museum Hohenems Wiedenhofer joined our will be on the net in mas Albrich, the Jewish invited the crowd to sur- collections department. April. Our website is get- Museum has been work- prise us and our visitors She supports Christian ting older. Equipped with ing on the history of the with a “Jewish some- Herbst, working on the a state of the art techni- Jews of Tyrol (including thing” (a chosen object) genealogy project of the cal background (CMS), Southern Tyrol) for al- for an exhibition, Jewish Museum. Junia Wieden- the new website will be most 20 Years. Two artist Marina Belo- hofer was born in Tyrol, much more flexible, visu- books with biographies brovaja of Zurich felt pro- studied history in Inns- ally much more attrac- of Jews from Tyrol and voked to answer this bruck, and wrote her tive and easier to ma- Vorarlberg, edited by question more radically. master’s thesis on the neuver, both for the visi- Thomas Albrich, were Reacting both on our call situation of Russian Jew- tors and for us, present- published in 1999 and and the increasing im- ish immigrants in Israel. ing content for you that 2008. Students of his- pact of genetics on the outreaches into the tory and a working discourse about identity In August 2011, Julia global world. group, including Niko among Jews, she started Schertler-Dür joined our Hofinger, did research in her personal “DNA- staff part-time in the edu- By no means “virtual” the files of the City, the Project”. Working on a cation department. To- but deeply grounded is State and the Jewish seemingly endless chain gether with Tanja Fuchs, the second improvement community, on the fate of interviews with Jewish she is now organizing the of infrastructure.