Wiener Library News

IssueSummer 2010

60»www.wienerlibrary.co.uk

nuremberg and eichmann trialspage 6

The Library is holding two events in collaboration with The Freud Museum, to celebrate the culmination of two major Wiener Library fi lm projects – ‘The Girls’ and ‘When Speech Forms a Bridge’.

‘The Girls’ was a major video testimony project, carried out by The Wiener Library, consisting of a series of oral history interviews with female, orphaned, child

LAuNCH eVeNTs

2010

Wiener Library News is published for The Wiener Library by Curved Media, whose principle is that design attracts attention and words generate response

the Wiener library institute

of contemporary history

4 Devonshire Street

London W1W 5BH

t 020 7636 7247

F 020 7436 6428

e [email protected]

W www.wienerlibrary.co.uk

Registered with the Charity

Commissioners No 313015

issn 1465–5004

Thank you to all our colleagues

who helped to produce this issue

of Wiener Library News.

02 Wiener

he Library is very pleased to welcome Professor Marianne Hirsch and Professor Leo Spitzer from Columbia University to give a lecture based on their new book, Ghosts of Home: The Afterlife of Czernowitz in Jewish Memory, published by the

University of California Press.The book is an original blend of history and communal

memoir, and is the fi rst historical account of Jewish Czernowitz in the English language. Czernowitz, now in modern-day Ukraine, was known as the ‘Vienna of the East’ under the Habsburg Empire – a vibrant centre of Jewish-German Eastern European culture.

But after World War II, this unique cultural hub had vanished, left to live on in an idealised version, suspended in the memories of its dispersed people and passed down to their children like a precious and haunted heirloom.

Hirsch and Spitzer fi nd evidence of a cosmopolitan culture of nostalgic lore – but also of oppression, shattered promises, and shadows of the Holocaust in Romania. The book offers a profound analysis of memory’s echo across generations.

The lecture will take place on Wednesday 30th June 2010 at The Wiener Library, 4 Devonshire Street, London, W1W 5BH. Admission is free, but please email [email protected] or call 020 7636 7247 to reserve a place.

the Wiener liBrary

is the world’s oldest Holocaust memorial institution, tracing its history back to 1933

The Library is moving rapidly towards one of the most far-reaching and exciting periods of change in its long history. As this edition of Wiener Library News reaches

you, our building contractors are preparing to start the refurbishment project in 29 Russell Square, work that will go on for many months. At the same time the Library team is working tirelessly to prepare the collections for the move and we are also formulating plans to attract new and wider audiences to the Library to study our materials and take part in our activities. You can fi nd a full update on the move on page 05.

As part of this development work, we hosted a series of stakeholder workshops in April to help us think through the range of issues relating to exhibitions and activities in the new Library. These sessions proved tremendously helpful to us and to the consultants - Ian Blackwell, Ruth Gidley and Nicky Boyd – who are working with us, thanks to the generosity of the Heritage Lottery Fund.

DIReCTOR’s LeTTeR

t

CZeRNOWITZ IN JeWIsH MeMORY30 June 2010, 7pm

concentration camp survivors who came to the UK after the war. The testimonies, ranging from 2 to 4 hours and accompanied by documents and photographs, are available for reference at the Library.

‘When Speech Forms a Bridge’ is a fi lm produced to mark the inter-generational workshops held by the Library in 2008 for the children and grandchildren of Holocaust

survivors. These workshops provided a unique opportunity for the second and third generations to come together. In the fi lm, the participants speak openly about their stories, and the experience of the workshop.

The two resources will be launched at two events – one to be held at The Freud Museum and one at The Wiener Library in October 2010. Visit our website for further information.

Sylvia Cohen demonstrating her

juggling skills in The girls video testimony

04 CONsuLTATION IN PROGRessFollowing a Heritage Lottery Fund grant, the Library is conducting audience consultation

05 RusseLL sQuAReAn update on the progress of the refurbishment of the Library’s new home and current fundraising initiatives

06 WIeNeR LIBRARY AND POsT-WAR TRIALsDiscover the crucial role the Library played in the Nuremberg and Eichmann trials

08 WAR CRIMe DATABAseA volunteer has compiled a database of the names of individual Nazis suspected, accused and/or convicted of war crimes

09 DIsCussING ANTIseMITIsMA summary of the colloquium on 21st century antisemitism hosted by the Wiener Library

12 FORTHCOMING eVeNTs A list of scheduled events and lectures

03Wiener

the Wiener library has a unique place in the research of racism, antisemitism,

fascism and the nazi regime prof sir ian Kershaw Hist

oria

n

The Wiener Library is Britain’s largest archive on the holocaust and Nazi era, fi nd out more at: www.wienerlibrary.co.uk

The Library has been involved since its inception with Birkbeck, University of London’s plan to create The Pears Institute for the Study of Antisemitism, which will be the Library’s neighbour in Russell Square. The appointment of Birkbeck’s Professor David Feldman to the post of Director of the newly-established institute promises a close and positive working partnership between our two institutions. David has long been a friend of the Library and has played an instrumental role in our successful joint events in recent years. I am greatly looking forward to working with him to make the Pears Institute a success, both as a colleague and as a member of the Institute’s Management Board.

The menace of modern antisemitism is the topic of an ongoing series of colloquia being held at the Library by the International Study Group Education and Research on Antisemitism. Its founder, Gunther Jikeli writes about the Group on Page 09.

Ben Barkow, Director, � e Wiener Library

contents

the holocaust and modern genocide

A conference at the British Academy, June 2010[p.10]

»www.wienerlibrary.co.uk

04 Wiener

consultation in progressThe Library has received Lottery funding to develop its outreach work and is carrying out audience consultations

n November 2009, the Library received the excellent news that we had been granted a First Round Pass from the Heritage Lottery Fund towards key development and outreach work in connection with our move to 29 Russell Square. This

£600,000 project is designed to remove current barriers to access and develop the Library’s potential for education work.

The Library is now in the development phase of this project, and is undertaking extensive audience consultation work. This is being carried out by a team of three consultants, Ian Blackwell, Nicky Boyd and Ruth Gidley, along with the Library team.

In April 2010, the Library hosted a series of consultation workshops for readers, volunteers and partner organisations. We were delighted by the response, and will be carrying out further consultation over the coming months. If you would like to hear more about the project, or would like to be involved in any additional consultation work, please contact [email protected]. l

i

the Wiener library is a secret jewel. it must be congratulated on its 70th year of

life and supported miriam margolyes oBe

05Wiener

Acto

r

ince becoming Chairman of the Wiener Library’s Board in 2003 the majority of my time has been spent working with colleagues and advisors to identify and then procure a suitable new home for the Library. This has been no simple

task, as our many supporters know, but now we have completed negotiations with Birkbeck and the 99 year lease on 29 Russell Square is ready to be signed. In parallel with the legal process we have been working with our technical team to make all the necessary preparations so that the contractors can commence work in June. The number of obstacles to overcome has been immense, the words “minefield” and “maze” spring to mind – whenever we thought the winning post was in sight, the compliance requirements surrounding another piece of legislation were introduced.

If the refurbishment goes according to plan then the project should be complete by June 2011. Over the next year our website will include regular progress updates so that everyone can follow the works.

The Library has built a close relationship with the Pears Foundation, which has been most interested in and supportive of the Library. The new Pears Institute for the Study of Antisemitism will be located next door to the Library in Russell Square and will work in partnership with the Library. This important new venture is, we believe, the first of its kind and is founded on the principle that the study of antisemitism is vital to the understanding of all forms of racism, prejudice and xenophobia.

The fundraising work for our move is well established with over £2 million, close to half our goal, already pledged or donated. Now that our new home has been secured we can commence a much higher profile Appeal as we seek to raise the balance. Our team has been boosted by the arrival of Dr Colin Boswell, who has many years of experience in fundraising, particularly in higher education. If any readers wish to help with the Appeal, in any way, then please contact Bridget McGing by emailing [email protected] or calling 020 7636 7247. l

s

29 russell square

The latest news on the move to 29 Russell Square from our Chairman, Anthony Spiro

06 Wiener

t the end of the Second World War, the Allied powers established the International Military Tribunal to bring Nazi war criminals to justice. The IMT in Nuremberg opened its Trial of the

Major War Criminals in November 1945, and in October 1946 convicted twenty-one of the most senior German political, economic and military officials. In the months preceding the trial, the Wiener Library provided assistance to the United Nations War Crimes Commission, the British War Crimes Executive and the Office of the US Chief of Counsel. Sourcing documents and photographs from its collections, the Library supplied material to the Tribunal which was particularly instrumental to securing the conviction of Julius Streicher, a vicious antisemite and publisher of the tabloid-style Nazi paper, Der Stürmer. The documents compiled by the Library included items on medical experiments as well as a so-called ‘extermination death list’ detailing names of victims with a numerical sequence and a concentration camp commandant’s report stating that each had died of ‘heart failure’ (The Testimony, May 1960). In the very first issue of the Wiener Library Bulletin, General de Baer (Belgian Commissioner on the United Nations War Crimes Commission) acknowledged the Library’s contribution to the trial and comments: ‘Documents which could be found nowhere else were available here. The help it has given has been invaluable in the preparation of charges against the leaders of Nazi Germany[.]’ (Wiener Library Bulletin, I/1 November 1946, p. 3) Robert H. Jackson, the American Chief of Counsel, sent an invitation to send an observer to the trial as a thank-you for the Library’s contribution, which was accepted in the form of Louis W. Bondy travelling to Germany. The IMT also presented the Library with a substantial collection of official papers and transcripts from the IMT and the twelve Subsequent Nuremberg Trials as well as an extensive collection of documents which were collected but not used by the prosecution in the trials and therefore remain unpublished.

Fifteen years later, the Wiener Library’s unique collection was called upon again in the aftermath of the arrest of Adolf Eichmann in May 1960. In Israel a special police unit called Bureau 06 was set up to investigate and prepare the case against Eichmann and the unit’s head, Commander Abraham Selinger, visited the Wiener Library to gather evidence. The Library had compiled a dossier on Eichmann which consisted of some 140 original documents relating to the captured Nazi. The dossier included correspondence on the ‘coordination of anti-Jewish action’ between Eichmann and European occupation authorities (Toronto Daily Star, 24 November 1960) as well as letters to concentration camp officials concerning the installation of gassing machines (The Star Weekly Magazine, 11 March 1961). The papers prepared by the Library also contained sixteen eye witness accounts, such as the

one from two Jewish community leaders in Prague, who had a meeting with Eichmann regarding the deportation of Jews from Vienna and Prague to the East (Toronto Daily Star, 24 November 1960). In addition, Commander Selinger received a large number of names and addresses of potential key witnesses from the Library, which he used during his travels around Europe in the summer of 1960 in building the

case against Eichmann. The Wiener Library not only provided official investigators with information but also served as a source for journalists reporting on the Eichmann story. In May 1960 alone, several articles were published on the Wiener Library’s work relating to the Eichmann Trial, ranging from newspapers in Britain to Australia and Canada. In the process of unearthing the gruesome crimes of the Holocaust, an English newspaper fittingly described the Library as a ‘bibliographic chamber of horrors’ after its reporter was shown copies

AWiener liBrary and post-War trials

(Clockwise from top left)Judges Moshe Landau, Benjamin

Halevi and Yitzhak Ravehn preside over eichmann case. adolf eichmann inside bullet

proof glass booth. Two pictures of the gallery at the Beit Ha’am in

Jerusalem

Ina Sondermann, Wiener Library Graduate Fellow, explores the Library’s involvement in the Nuremberg and Eichmann Trials

07Wiener

of the documents sent to Israel for Eichmann’s prosecution (Birmingham Post, 9 March 1961).

General Telford Taylor’s thoughts on the evidence presented to the IMT by various institutions highlight the importance of collecting and preserving documentary material: ‘In the records of the war crimes trials lies buried a wealth of information and ideas […] An incredibly large mass of documents, many of which are of the greatest historical importance, was introduced in evidence in the course of these proceedings. This is the raw material of history in wonderful profusion.’ (Quoted in Wiener Library Bulletin, V/3-4 May-July 1951, p. 20). The Wiener Library not only provided invaluable assistance in the form of original documents and eyewitness accounts to the prosecution teams at the Nuremberg and Eichmann Trials but now also holds a unique collection of published and unpublished ‘raw material of history’. l

Ina Sondermann received her BSc in International Relations and History from the London School of Economics, and pursued her interest in Contemporary History & Politics through an MA at Birkbeck. She will be starting her PhD at Birkbeck in the autumn.

in may 1960 alone, several articles were published on

the Wiener library’s work

ne of our volunteers, Myra Ecker, has compiled a database, newly accessible via our website, of the names of individual Nazis suspected, accused and/or convicted of war crimes.

Over the past few years, The Wiener Library, with the support of The Andor Trust, has undertaken a signifi cant conservation project to microfi lm its extensive Press Archive. Not only has this project ensured the security of a unique collection of material, it has also enabled the information contained within the material to be studied in more detail.

The Press Archive Collection includes fascinating material on the war crime trials which took place in West Germany after the war, as well as war crime trials which took place elsewhere. These press cuttings are held alongside published and unpublished articles, mainly in German, on the specifi c trials.

Most signifi cantly, the articles held in the

Born in Germany, Eva enjoyed an idyllic early childhood in Mallorca, where her parents had emigrated following the Nazi party’s rise to power. During the Spanish Civil War, the family was repatriated to Germany, her father arrested, and given the choice of concentration camp or departure for Italy. Th ey managed to leave Mussolini’s Italy for South Africa just in time, before the race laws were implemented.

In South Africa, Eva’s parents were classed as “enemy aliens” during the War, which led to considerable hardship. Eva went through school and university in Johannesburg, and after further violin study in England became a member of the SABC Symphony Orchestra. Defying apartheid, she left Johannesburg for Durban in 1959. Appalled at the increasing harshness of the nationalist government and by the

Sharpeville massacre in 1960, she and her mother fi nally emigrated to England in 1961.

In London Eva fi rst worked as freelance violinist, was married in 1967, and subsequently joined the orchestra of Sadler’s Wells Opera at the Coliseum, later renamed English National Opera, where she remained for almost thirty years.

Eva’s autobiography will be released by Purdue University Press in June 2010. Readers of the Wiener Library News are able to receive a 20% discount on the published price of £18.95. To order a copy for the off er price of £15.16, visit www.eurospanbookstore.com/off er and enter the code EVA0610. Th is code can also be quoted in email ([email protected]) and phone (+44 (0)1767 604 972) orders. Off er ends 31 December 2010. l

oF eXile and music: a tWentieth century liFe

listed in the material as accused of war crimes have been gathered together for the fi rst time. The resulting database will now provide researchers with a more complete list of names, accessible worldwide through its inclusion on the Library’s website.

The database, entitled ‘INDEX of Names’ is available on the document description database on the Library’s website: www.wienerlibrary.co.uk/collections/documents/collection.aspx. l

oArchived newspaper

cutting from 10 October 1969

A new book by Eva Mayer Schay telling her incredible story

collection, dating from 1955 to 2004, contain the names of men and women who were accused but never sentenced or even tried for their crimes. Some who evaded justice in this way were killed in the war, others fl ed to countries which sheltered them (mostly under assumed names). In other cases, the individuals committed suicide or were deemed too ill to stand trial.

In this new resource, the names of individuals

War crime databaseNew database lists Nazi war criminals

Focus


the Wiener library is vital if future generations are to have the opportunity

to confront the past andrew motion cBe

08 Wiener

Chai

r of M

LA

n February 2010, The Wiener Library hosted the third colloquium of the International Study Group for Education and Research on Antisemitism.

The rise of antisemitism in the 21st century has proceeded despite the regular

commemoration of the murder of six million Jews by the Nazis and their collaborators. This is outrageous as well as intellectually challenging. Antisemitism has changed its forms and appearances over time. While research on contemporary antisemitism has been neglected by academics in the UK there is now a growing awareness among scholars that (post-)modern antisemitism needs to be understood and resisted.

In recent months, a group of scholars of the International Study Group for Education and Research on Antisemitism organised a colloquium on contemporary antisemitism in cooperation with The Wiener Library. In three meetings in December 2009 and January and February 2010 we reflected on observations of a number of aspects of antisemitism today.

We started with aspects of antisemitism in the UK. Lesley Klaff discussed her study of the rise of antisemitism on university campuses. Philip Spencer shared his experiences and observations of antisemitic reactions to Holocaust Memorial Day. I reported on a study of antisemitism among Muslims in the UK – who are responsible for about 30% of reported antisemitic incidents in the UK.

In the second meeting we discussed competing memories and different perceptions of Jews and Muslims. Monique Eckmann gave a talk on competing memories of victimhood and Hagai van der Horst spoke about the bi-polarity of anti-Arab and Anti-Jewish racisms in The Guardian and The Independent. Doerte Letzmann analysed similarities and differences between antisemitism and Islamophobia in Britain.

In the last meeting at the Wiener Library at the end of February, we explored patterns of excuses for antisemitism and forms of denial. Robert Fine shared his notes on the logic of antisemitism denial, showing that there is often a pattern of slippage and translation in the description of facts by those who deny antisemitism. Eventually, those who raise the question of antisemitism are accused of bad faith. David Hirsch followed, and showed how the accusation of bad faith makes it almost impossible to discuss the question of whether an incident is antisemitic or not since it becomes a struggle over the boundaries of legitimate discourse. David Seymour’s reflections on the Holocaust and the concealment of antisemitism led us

i

discussing contemporary antisemitism at the Wiener libraryGunther Jikeli summarises the work of the International Study Group for Education and Research on Antisemitism

‘Mirjam Finkelstein (right) and her sisters on their way to school in Amsterdam, March 5th 1940’

to an important question which creates a dilemma in raising the issue of antisemitism today. It is difficult to admit that elements of the ideology that led to the murder of six million Jews are still alive today and that certain remarks, incidents and activities – such as boycotts of Israeli academics or economic goods – are indeed antisemitic.

Abstracts of the presentations are available online at www.iibsa.org. l

there is often a translation

in the description of facts by those who deny antisemitism

Illustration from The Poisonous Mushroom, 1938

09

Wiener liBrary events:

See page 12 for details

Wiener

10 Wiener

the holocaust and modern genocide

s far back as the 1950s Dr Alfred Wiener and his colleagues, particularly C.C. Aronsfeld, realised that among the challenges to humanity thrown up by the murder of the European Jews was the issue

of other instances of mass killing and the other kinds of race hatred leading to such horrors. While recognising clearly that the Holocaust was the most complete attempt to expunge an entire race of people from the earth, Wiener and Aronsfeld never sought to belittle or underestimate the suffering of other victim groups.

The Wiener Library has for some time been quietly building up an impressive collection of recent scholarship on issues relating to genocides other than the Holocaust, how they may (and may not) be compared and, critically

afrom our viewpoint, how they relate to the question of the Holocaust.

In 2000 we held a three day international conference entitled Generations of Genocide, which was an attempt to explore areas in which the experiences of Holocaust survivors could be of help to the victims of the Rwandan genocide, those of the Balkan massacres and the descendents of the Armenian genocide of the First World War.

In June the Library and Kingston University will stage a further international conference which will open up the debate about how scholars of genocide think about the Holocaust. It will raise the question of how the explanatory models being developed by some genocide scholars impact on thinking about the Holocaust. For example, some academics argue that genocide occurs as empires undergo traumatic upheavals or collapse. This view may hold good in

A Conference at The British Academy, June 2010. By Ben Barkow

Page 10 Rwandan refugees in Burundi/Ngenda camp, 1993. Photo courtesy of UNHCR, B.PressPage 11 (from top) Bosnia and Herzegovina, Novosella geriatric ward, 1996. Photo courtesy of UNHCR, A. HollmannTwo pictures of Slovakian Jews, November 1938

11Wiener

the case of some genocides, including that of the Armenians. But it is hardly a one size-fits-all argument. Can the Darfur genocide be explained this way? And the Holocaust?

Some genocide scholars also suggest that the Holocaust must now be set in the context of an immense historical arc of genocidal murders, stretching back over centuries, and should no longer be viewed as historically unique. The argument has even been advanced that a disproportionate amount of academic attention has been given to the Holocaust compared to other mass murders and that an unbalanced historiography has been the result.

Our intention in our conference is to bring together leading scholars – both those who defend the centrality of the Holocaust to the genocide debate and those who are critical of it.

The participants include the renowned Holocaust scholar Prof Omer Bartov (John P. Birkelund Distinguished Professor of European History and Professor of History and Professor of German Studies: History, Brown University), Prof Philip Spencer (Associate Dean, Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, Kingston University), Prof Jacques Semelin (Senior Researcher in Political Science CERI-CNRS Editor in Chief of Massviolence.org Center for International Studies and Research), Prof Martin Shaw (Research Professor of International Relations at the University of Sussex) and Prof Marcello Flores (Professor of Contemporary and Comparative History, University of Sienna).

The importance of the conference has been recognised by the British Academy, which is generously giving financial support and hosting it in its Carlton House Terrace headquarters in central London. Contact [email protected] for more information. l

lectures & events


We must remember the holocaust because it must never happen again. the Wiener

library exists to remind us matt lucas

12 Wiener

Acto

r and

writ

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european days of Jewish culture & heritage12 – 14 september 2010Now in its 11th year, the European Days of Jewish Culture and Heritage 2010 will see synagogues and Jewish heritage sites across Europe open their doors to the general public.

Each year, a special subject matter is chosen, the subject matter of this year is “Art and Judaism”, offering a wide field of topics to explore.

At the Wiener Library, we will be marking the occasion with a talk and tour at the Library, to be given by our Archivist, Mr Howard Falksohn. The event will take place on Tuesday 14 September at 10.30am, with a talk on the history of the Library and its work. This will be followed by a tour of the Library’s collections.

For many, this will be the last opportunity to see the Library in its current home, before our move to new premises in Spring 2011. Spaces are limited, and booking is essential by emailing the Library on [email protected] or calling 020 7636 7247.

If you are interested in attending the event, or would like to find out about other venues taking part in the EDJCH, please visit the BBUK website at www.bbuk.org or call 07599 077869

Filmtalk lecture series in partnership with the leo Baeck instituteThe final lecture in this series will be held at The Wiener Library, 4 Devonshire Street, London, W1W 5BH. Admission is free, but please email [email protected] or call 020 7580 3493 to reserve a place.17 June 2010, 7pmMarlene Dietrich: the Prodigal Daughter Returns. A Foreign Affair (Billy Wilder 1948)by Professor Erica Carter, University of Warwick

Writing Wrongs: the nazi era in FictionA special finale to the highly successful series examining the historical perspective of Nazi era fiction. Admission is free, but space is limited and early booking is advised by emailing [email protected] or calling 020 7636 7247.22 June 2010, 7pmMartin Amis on Time’s ArrowChaired by Professor Richard Evans

czernowitz in Jewish memory30 June 2010, 7pmA lecture by Professor Marianne Hirsch and Professor Leo Spitzer, Columbia University. For more information, and how to book, see page 2.

law and the holocaustlse summer school course July/august 2010The Wiener Library will be a hosting a new course as part of the renowned LSE Summer School. The course, entitled ‘Law and the Holocaust’, will be run by Dr Kristen Rundle, and will explore key legal ideas by reference to the concrete events that marked the Nazi persecution of the Jews.

The Summer School at the LSE is open to students and professionals. For more information visit www.lse.co.uk.

in the eye of the storm: Jews underground in hitler’s Berlin2 september 2010, 7pmA lecture by Roger Moorhouse to mark the publication of his new book, Berlin at War: Life and Death in Hitler’s capital.

Book launchchronicle of a downfall: germany 1929-193910 november 2010, 7pmAndreas Wesemann brings the launch of his new English language edition of Leopold Schwarzschild’s writings to the Library. Leopold Schwarzschild was the unconventional editor of the liberal magazine ‘Das Tage-Buch’. He became famous in the years of the Weimar Republic for his farsighted political analyses and critique of the rising Nazi Party – a critique he was forced to pursue in exile when his prophecies of totalitarian takeover proved all too real. This is the first time Schwarzschild’s campaigning journalism has appeared in English.

Wiener library e-newsletterThe Wiener Library issues a free, bi-monthly e-newsletter listing all our up-coming events and lectures as well as acquisitions and developments at the Library. To subscribe, please visit our website or email [email protected].

culture & heritageeuropean days of Jewish

‘schultüte’ by David Aronsohn, as featured in ‘scenes from a Family History’

scenes from a Family history by david aronsohn16 June 2010 to 30 July 2010

private viewtuesday 15 June 2010, 6.30pm – 8.30pmTo mark Refugee Week 2010, the Library is delighted to announce the opening of an exhibition by the artist David Aronsohn. The exhibition, entitled ‘Scenes from a Family History’, is part of an ongoing project exploring Aronsohn’s family history over 150 years. In the work, the family represents ordinary individuals, often placed in extraordinary circumstances – secondary characters whose existence provides a focus for the viewer for events in the world which surrounds them.

The exhibition, which will be on display at the Library from 16 June to 30 July, will feature three of Aronsohn’s approaches including lino prints, sculpture and etchings. The lino prints feature synagogues central to members of Aronsohn’s family, while the sculpture continues this theme with a model of an 18th century Polish wooden synagogue from the time of the Baal Shem Tov.

David Aronsohn works in sculpture, drawing and print. He has studied fine art at Chelsea and the Slade School of art. His awards have included the Royal Academy British Institution Fund and the Duveen Travel Scholarship. He divides his time between making work for exhibition and teaching.

The exhibition will open at the Library with a Private View on Tuesday 15 June from 6.30pm to 8.30pm. All welcome.

by david aronsohnscenes from a Family history

czernowitz in Jewish memory

Book launch

in hitler’s Berlinin the eye of the storm: Jews underground

law and the holocaust at www.bbuk.org or call 07599 077869the Slade School of art. His awards have included the Royal Academy British Institution Fund and the

between making work for exhibition and teaching.

Wiener library e-newsletter

opening hoursThe Wiener Library is open to the public Mon - Fri 10am to 5.15pm

The Library will be closed on 9 September 2010 for Rosh Hashanah.

opening hours