The BroadsheetDAILY – 7/1/22 – Museum of Jewish Heritage Launches New Exhibit Tracing History of Holocaust

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‘Each of These Objects Tells a Story’

Museum of Jewish Heritage Launches New Exhibit Tracing History of Holocaust

Holocaust survivor Toby Levy: “I’m scared. For my children and their children. That’s why this exhibit is so important. Everybody needs to be a witness. When I’m gone, these stories will still need to be told.” Below: Among the poignant objects displayed at the Museum are a yellow star that once adored a baby carriage, identifying the infant within as Jewish, during the Holocaust.

Today (Friday, July 1) the Museum of Jewish Heritage (MJH) debuts a major new exhibit, “The Holocaust: What Hate Can Do,” which brings together more than 750 artifacts from more than 30 different nations (many on public view for the first time) in 12,000-square-foot gallery. The result is a narrative tapestry of devastating emotional impact.

“At the heart of this exhibition are stories,” says MJH president Jack Kliger. “We are storytellers. Each of these objects tells a story.” An especially poignant aspect of the exhibit is its local connection: Many of the artifacts have been contributed by the families of Holocaust survivors who emigrated to America after the end of World War Two, settled in New York, and eventually donated their personal relics to MJH.

“The title of our new exhibition speaks to this institution’s very reason for being,” Mr. Kliger continues. “Antisemitism and fascism are again on the rise throughout the world. Right here in New York, we have witnessed not only a surge in antisemitism, but an uptick in violence and harassment targeting many marginalized groups. The time to speak out and act is upon us, and it is urgent. We hope this exhibit will educate and inspire our visitors and honor those who perished in the Holocaust, whose memories are a blessing.”

Museum of Jewish Heritage president Jack Kliger: “At the heart of this exhibition are stories. We are storytellers.”

MJH board chairman Bruce Ratner recalls visiting Białystok, Poland, where his father was born. “If you go into the forest outside the city, there is a large pit that was the site of a massacre by the Nazis. There were 1,500 Jews who were killed in that pit. When we did the genealogy for my family, we learned that more than 100 of our relatives died in the Holocaust. And 36 of them are buried in that pit.”

Survivor Toby Levy says, “I was born in Poland in 1933, in the same year that Hitler came to power in Germany. I grew up in Chodorow, where Jews had lived for a thousand years.” In the fall of 1942, German troops taking part in the invasion of Russia overran her town, which is now part of Ukraine. When German occupation authorities announced that all local Jews would be “relocated” to Lvov, she says her father announced, “I don’t believe them. We are going to find someplace to hide.” Her family took refuge with friends who had been customers of her father’s fabric store. The ten-year-old girl asked her father, “what did we do wrong? Why are we hiding?” He answered, “God gives people choices. The people we are hiding from choose to hate us. The people we are hiding with have chosen to help us.”

Today, Ms. Levy says, “I’m scared. For my children and their children. That’s why this exhibit is so important. Everybody needs to be a witness. When I’m gone, these stories will still need to be told.”

Holocaust scholar and historian Michael Berenbaum says, “the exhibit speaks to the nature of human dignity and the urgency of human decency. Tragically, we live in world in which this has taken on greater and greater relevance in our day and in our time. We once wished this Museum could become a tribute to ancient history. Little did we imagine how vital and important it would be today.”

Artifacts concealed by Jews who were targeted for extermination by the Nazis form the heart of the new exhibit, “The Holocaust: What Hate Can Do.”

“The Holocaust: What Hate Can Do” is, in some ways, a reprise to the acclaimed exhibit, “Auschwitz. Not Long Ago. Not Far Away,” which concluded its multi-year run last spring. The new exhibit embraces an ambitious scope and epic scale. Each object and each room evoke generations of lived experience: the fabric of Jewish communities across Europe, as they were buffeted by modernization, World War One, and the political and social movements that brought about the rise of the Nazi Party. The artifacts trace the sequential phases of legalized racism, pogroms, and the construction of ghettos, followed by organized mass murder that becomes increasingly bureaucratized and systematic. (Professor Berenbaum points out that that the network of concentration camps established by the Nazis included more than 42,000 outposts.) At the same time, a parallel arc of escape, resistance, and resilience is detailed, leading ultimately to liberation and (for the survivors) new beginnings.

Also currently on display at MJH is “Nothing to Do But Try,” an exhibit of artist Boris Lurie’s “War Series,” which recalls his experiences in a succession of Nazi ghettoes and concentration camps.

Tickets for both shows at the Museum (located at 36 Battery Place, near First Place) are priced at $18 for adults; $12 for seniors, students, veterans, and handicapped visitors. Admission is free to children under 12 years of age and New York City public school students. For more information, please call 646-437-4202, or browse: mjhnyc.org.

Matthew Fenton

Making This Fourth Second to None

Coalition of Downtown Institutions Partners on Patriotic Observances

The Veteran Corps of Artillery, the oldest military organization in New York State, marches in Battery Park to commemorate the Fourth of July.

An alliance of organizations with deep roots in Lower Manhattan have come together to make this year’s July 4 celebration particularly special for Downtown.

The Lower Manhattan Historical Association is partnering with cultureNOW, the Veteran Corps of Artillery State of New York, Sons of the Revolution, the First New York Continental Chapter of the Sons of the American Revolution, the National Society Daughters of the American Revolution, the Colonial Dames of America, the Alexander Hamilton Awareness Society, and the American Legion Lt. B. R. Kimlau Chinese Memorial Post to sponsor multiple observances of Independence Day.

These will include the Veteran Corps of Artillery Flag Raising at Castle Clinton, in Battery Park (at 10:30am), a Cannon Salute on the Boardwalk (behind the View Restaurant, at 10:45am), and an Independence Day March, from Castle Clinton to Pier 16 in the South Street Seaport (starting at 11:30am).

The Veteran Corps of Artillery is the oldest military organization in New York State. It was formed in Manhattan on November 25, 1783—the seventh anniversary of Evacuation Day, when defeated English forces had retreated from Manhattan. Officers of Washington’s triumphant Continental Army organized the Veteran Corp with the aim of preventing another British invasion of New York City. (To date, they have been 100 percent successful in this mission.)

Matthew Fenton

Editor’s note: please see the Calendar below for more weekend and holiday events.

Fall In

Gerrymandered District Lines Result in Staten Island Assembly Member Representing Lower Manhattan in Albany

Preliminary, unofficial results from Tuesday’s primary point toward a likely winner in the race to represent Lower Manhattan in the State Assembly. Charles Fall, an incumbent Assembly member from Staten Island, has outpolled Lower Manhattan activist Justine Cuccia.

Letters

To the editor,

I’m so sorry my good friend Justine Cuccia wasn’t better supported by the establishment. With a good endorsement or two from currently seated officials and/or more support from orgs & clubs, she could’ve won that thing! The 35% I read by her name Tuesday night with zero elected official endorsements, during a redistricting, against an incumbent, and in part in a community to which you are foreign is nothing to sneeze at.

I hope Mr. Fall recognizes this and that he’s got some real work to do in Lower Manhattan. There are serious reasons, aside from Justine being a likable long-time activist in the area, that BPC and West FiDi supported her that he’ll now need to give attention to.

Mariama James

______________________________

To the editor,

I want to extend my highest congratulations to Justine Cuccia for running a stellar campaign to represent Downtown Manhattan and northern Staten Island in the New York State Assembly. It was an obtuse, unfair and gerrymandered contest compressed within an administratively convenient timeframe.

How could a candidate reasonably run in, represent, or legislate for a sliver of Downtown over against a wide swath of Staten Island? Why would any person or governmental power disjoin the sensible and venerable Downtown community which has been unified since colonial times and link it, without explanation to an unrelated electorate in Staten Island? If this action were done by a worthy and well-run business, the People would demand a replay and a refund.

Justine achieved a 70 to 30% split in Manhattan and her opponent achieved a 70 to 30% split in Staten Island, but in Staten Island, he was an incumbent and the geographic proportion was more than two-thirds bigger. Had the geographies been reversed, Justine would have handily won.

My advice to Justine is to run again. You have proven yourself against radically unfair odds and would have comfortably prevailed in a more reasonable competition. My advice to the People of Downtown Manhattan and Staten Island is: Watch out for your Democracy; it is under attack.

Bob Schneck

Reasoning in the Public Square

Residents Invited to Weigh In On Competing Visions for Esplanade Resiliency Plan

The Battery Park City Authority hosted an open house meeting about its North/West Battery Park City Resiliency Project on Wednesday, June 29, at Six River Terrace. The open house gave participants an overview of evolving plans for the North/West Resiliency Project, which envisions the creation of a flood risk management system stretching from a point near First Place and the Esplanade, along the Hudson River waterfront to behind Stuyvesant High School and into Tribeca.

Calendar

Friday, July 1

10am-5pm

Museum of Jewish Heritage—A Living Memorial to the Holocaust, 36 Battery Place

Opening day of a new exhibition that relates the history of the Holocaust through personal stories, objects, photos, and film. See story above. Generally, the Museum is open Sunday, Wednesday and Friday from 10am to 5pm. Admission is $18 for adults; $12 for seniors, veterans and students; free for children 12 and under.

11am-5pm

Take a self guided tour of the tall ship Wavertree, and visit the 12 Fulton Street galleries to view the exhibitions “South Street and the Rise of New York” and “Millions: Migrants and Millionares aboard the Great Liners.” Free.

4pm-10pm

Seaport Square

Sand. Sun. Sounds. What more could you need? This Fourth of July, the beach comes to you during the Seaport Beach Fest. Hit the beach to dig your toes in the sand, grab a drink from the pop-up bar, pick up a snack from an assortment of food trucks, and enjoy performances all weekend long on the main stage. Check the website for NYC’s best buskers, performances from up-and-coming artists, tribute bands playing the classics, and sets from notable NYC DJs.

7pm-11pm

Governors Island Parade Ground

Free outdoor film screening. Catch John Cameron Mitchel­l’s 2001 cult clas­sic Hed­wig and the Angry Inch. Pre-show enter­tain­ment kick­s off at 7pm; film begin­s at dusk. Food and drinks will be avail­able for pur­chase, includ­ing a beer gar­den by Threes Brew­ing along with food from Piz­za Yard, Malai, Ter­ry & Yaki, Kim­chi Taco Truck, and Caripito’s.

Saturday, July 2

12pm-10pm

Seaport Square

Dig your toes in the sand, grab a drink from the pop-up bar, pick up a snack from an assortment of food trucks, and enjoy performances all weekend long on the main stage. Check the website for NYC’s best buskers, performances from up-and-coming artists, tribute bands playing the classics, and sets from notable NYC DJs.

2pm-6pm

Pier 25

Visit Lilac, America’s only surviving steam-powered lighthouse tender. A retired Coast Guard cutter that carried supplies to lighthouses and maintained buoys from 1933 to 1972, Lilac is now a museum ship open for tours, exhibits and events while undergoing restoration. Free.

4pm

Governors Island, Nolan Park, Building 15

Join Amer­i­can Indi­an Com­mu­ni­ty House for gui­tar con­certs from Sage Laca­pa, fea­tur­ing spe­cial guest performances!

Sunday, July 3

12pm-10pm

Seaport Square

Dig your toes in the sand, grab a drink from the pop-up bar, pick up a snack from an assortment of food trucks, and enjoy performances all weekend long on the main stage. Check the website for NYC’s best buskers, performances from up-and-coming artists, tribute bands playing the classics, and sets from notable NYC DJs.

2pm-4pm

Aboard the tall ship Wavertree

Join a round-robin of shared maritime songs on the deck of tall ship Wavertree. Lead or request a song, belt out the choruses, or just listen in.

4pm

Governors Island, Nolan Park, Building 15

Join Amer­i­can Indi­an Com­mu­ni­ty House for gui­tar con­certs from Sage Laca­pa, fea­tur­ing spe­cial guest performances!

Monday, July 4

8:30am

Gov­er­nors Island

Run­ners will get to take a whirl­wind tour of Gov­er­nors Island, com­plete with amaz­ing views. Feel like doing this one inde­pen­dent­ly? You may also choose the vir­tu­al option.

9am-5pm

Federal Hall

Federal Hall National Memorial will commemorate the 230th anniversary of the Bill of Rights in an unexpected way: with an exhibition of games. “Shall Make, Shall Be: The Bill of Rights at Play” will open in Federal Hall’s Grand Rotunda July 4, 2022 and remain through August 31. Ten artists and game designers were invited to create playable artworks themed around the individual amendments in the Bill of Rights, drawing on their effects, interpretations, and legal meanings in U.S. culture. On September 25, 1789, 12 Amendments to the still fledgling U.S. Constitution were enacted at Federal Hall by the first Congress. Sent to the States for ratification, ten would be approved and become known as the Bill of Rights. Stewarded by Representative James Madison, this codification of individual rights, was an integral compromise for the unification of the United States. Alongside this history, is the recognition and duty to communicate that this exhibit sits on Lenapehoking: a land stolen from the Indigenous Lenape peoples who continue to live in New York City and beyond. These works are intended to be understood as critical games, using the mechanisms of play to interrogate, critique, and inform common understanding of civil liberties in the 21st century.

1pm-8pm

Seaport Square

Dig your toes in the sand, grab a drink from the pop-up bar, pick up a snack from an assortment of food trucks, and enjoy performances all weekend long on the main stage. Check the website for NYC’s best buskers, performances from up-and-coming artists, tribute bands playing the classics, and sets from notable NYC DJs.

Lower Manhattan Greenmarkets

Tribeca Greenmarket

Greenwich Street & Chambers Street

Wednesdays and Saturdays, 8am-3pm (compost program: Saturdays, 8am-1pm)

Bowling Green Greenmarket

Broadway & Whitehall St

Tuesdays and Thursdays, 8am-5pm (compost program: 8am-11am)

World Trade Center Oculus Greenmarket

Tuesdays, 8am-5pm

The Outdoor Fulton Stall Market

91 South Street, between Fulton & John Streets

Indoor market: Monday through Saturday,11:30am-5pm

CSA pick-up: Thursday, 4pm-6pm; Friday, 11:30-5pm

Outdoor market: Saturdays, 11:30am-5pm

CLASSIFIEDS & PERSONALS

Swaps & Trades, Respectable Employment, Lost and Found

To place a listing, contact editor@ebroadsheet.com

Today in History: July 1

This is R. Buckminster Fuller’s biosphere, in Montreal, Canada. Fuller was an architect, inventor, philosopher, author, designer, and futurist. Among his many accomplishments, he popularized the geodesic dome (example above), and believed in renewable energy. On this day in 1987, Buckminster Fuller died.

69 – Bataafs nobleman Gaius Julius Civilis proclaimed emperor of Syria

70 – Roman General Titus and his forces set up battering rams to assault the walls of Jerusalem.

251 – The Battle of Abrittus is won by the Goths against the Romans.

1517 – First burning of Protestants at stake in Netherlands

1535 – Sir Thomas More goes on trial in England charged with treason

1798 – Napoleon’s fleet reaches Alexandria Egypt

1836 – US President Andrew Jackson announces to Congress bequest by James Smithson of 100,000 gold sovereigns to found institution in Washington.

1863 – Battle of Gettysburg, Pa; Lee’s northward advance halted

1917 – 257cm-mirror for Mount Wilson Observatory mounted

1929 – US cartoonist Elzie Segar creates Popeye

1946 – US drops atom bomb on Bikini atoll (4th atomic explosion)

1960 – Fidel Castro nationalizes Esso, Shell & Texaco in Cuba

1960 – USSR shoots down US RB-47 reconnaissance plane

1963 – Zip codes are introduced for United States mail.

1979 – Sony introduces the Walkman.

1982 – Over 2,000 Unification Church couples marry at Madison Square Garden

2013 – Demonstrations occur across Egypt with 15 million people calling for the resignation of President Mohammed Morsi

2019 – Japan resumes commercial whaling after a break of more than 30 years

Births

1788 – Jean-Victor Poncelet, mathematician, founded projective geometry

1807 – Thomas Green Clemson, mining engineer, endowed Clemson University

1869 – William Strunk Jr., American grammarian (d. 1946)

1906 – Estée Lauder, CEO (Estée Lauder cosmetics) (d. 2004)

1961 Diana Spencer, Princess of Wales (d. 1997)

1963 – Linda Fagan, Coast Guard Admiral, first female commander of US military branch, named in 2022

1971 – (Melissa) “Missy” Elliott, rapper

Deaths

1784 – Wilhelm Friedemann Bach, composer, son of J.S. Bach, dies at 73

1860 – Charles Goodyear, inventor, dies at 59

1896 – Harriet Beecher Stowe, author, dies at 85

1995 – Wolfman Jack, disc jockey, dies at 57

1983 – R Buckminster Fuller, inventor/philosopher, dies at 87

2004 – Marlon Brando, actor, dies at 80

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