When I spoke in Munich in March at the Institute for Contemporary History, I interviewed Dr. Carolin Lange about her upcoming project to discover how ordinary Germans feel about possessing once Jewish-owned goods bought, during the Third Reich, cheaply at auction or stolen.
I was the guest speaker at Congregation Beth Shalom in Naperville, Il which was hosting the 2018 Jewish United Fund Annual Campaign. The JUF of Metropolitan Chicago impacts every aspect of local and global Jewish life, providing human services for Jews and others in need, creating Jewish experiences and strengthening Jewish community connections.
Brunch was held in the Social Hall, followed by a Holocaust Remembrance service in the Sanctuary. My presentation was next.
The audience was boosted by the attendance of the cheder pupils. They were remarkably attentive and then proceeded to ask me questions – gratifyingly intelligent ones at that!
In Munich today speaking about provenance research and restitution at the Institute of Contemporary History (Institute für Zeitgeschichte). This event was part of an annual series of four seminars for museum staff under the auspices of the Freie University of Berlin. My session was about the importance to families of receiving restitution. Non-state museums across Bavaria, of which there are over 1,200, are examining what they hold in their archives and whether or not items were illegally acquired during the Third Reich from former Jewish owners. Attempts are now being made to trace heirs and return objects to them wherever possible.
My talk was followed by a panel discussion. Here I am being asked a question by Dr. Uwe Hartmann, Head of the Department of provenance research, German Lost Art Foundation. Joining me on the panel are Dr. Carolin Lange, senior provenance researcher at the office for non-state museums in Bavaria and historian Magnus Brechtken, deputy director of the Institute and professor at the Ludwig-Maximilians-University, Munich.
I spoke at Temple Sinai’s annual Authors’ Roundtable alongside Morra Aarons-Mele, Hiding in the Bathroom: An Introvert’s Roadmap to Getting Out There (When You’d Rather Stay Home); Anna Solomon: Leaving Lucy Pear; and Alexandra Zapruder: Twenty-Six Seconds: A Personal History of the Zapruder Film.
We spent an hour together on stage being interviewed by Lynn Sweet, Washington Bureau Chief for the Chicago Sun-Times, and then broke off into individual rooms where we were joined by members of the audience wanting to hear more about our books. I had prepared a powerpoint presentation to show the crowd in my room while they ate their lunch and then took questions and was whisked away to sign books.
When I spoke in Munich in March at the Institute for Contemporary History, I interviewed Dr. Carolin Lange about her upcoming project to discover how ordinary Germans feel about possessing once Jewish-owned goods bought, during the Third Reich, cheaply at auction or stolen.
