dNE tertainment

HERITAGE

from page 91

Above: Louis Bannet's
trumpet saved his le. Ban-
net, known in Holland as
the "Dutch Louis Arm-
strong, "played for three
years in the Auschwitz
inmate orchestra.

Right: Museum of Jewish
Heritage: A living memori-
al to the Holocaust.

A video describes how Jews
earned a living at the turn of the
century, working in such occupa-
tions as goldsmith, rabbi, seamstress
and butcher.
On the second floor, the focus is
Nazi racism and the story of how mil-
lions of European Jews lived with per-
secution, violence and hatred at the
hands of the Nazi ideology. A timeline
of the Nazis' rise to power, Nazi youth
propaganda, signs reading "Jews Not
Wanted Here" and a passport stamped
with a red J are displayed in glass cases.
° A shocking board game designed
for German youths, where the object
is to get rid of the Jews, and the trum-
pet of Louis Barnet, who played the
musical instrument when he was in
Auschwitz-Birkenau's inmate orches-
tra, also are on view.
Among the unforgettable photos:
Nazis picking up a farewell note writ-
ten by one of their murder victims; a
young girl, Eva Hadl, holding her

Alice Burdick Schweiger is an Ann
Arbor-based freelance writer.

2/20
1998

.4

Photo by Anders Krusberg

Gift of Louis Banner. Photograph by Peter Goldberg, Museum of Jewish Heritage, New York

lace, star of "60 Minutes," remembers
a trip to Israel.
A touch of modern Judaica includes
the Liberty Menorah, on which mini
statues of liberty hold the Chanukah
candles. One of the more moving
exhibits is a Torah that was confiscated
by the Germans during the war. It was
to be used by the Nazis as a relic in a
Prague museum after their hoped-for
extermination of the Jewish race.
With each floor, the museum light-
ing grows a little brighter, with the
third floor shining the brightest. The
Museum of Jewish Heritage is about
Jews as survivors, and the brightness is
a way to end the tour in an upbeat,
optimistic mood.
When visitors exit the museum,
they see the Statue of Liberty. The
intent is to leave people with the
feeling that there is hope for the
future. The museum accomplishes
its goal. 0

The Museum of Jewish Heritage
is located at 18 First Place, Bat-
tery Park City, in New York City.
Hours are 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Sunday-
Wednesday, 9 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Thursday, 9 a.m-2 p.m. Friday.
The museum is closed on Satur-
days and Jewish holidays.
$7/adults; $5/students and
seniors; under 6/free.
(212) 968-1800. Advanced tick-
ets are advised.
Call Ticketmaster at
(800)>307-4007.

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I

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twin brothers, Paul and George, who
were used in experiments by Dr. Josef
Mengele; and a cattle car filled with
Jews being deported to the death
Right: A ner tamid (Jewish eternal light)
camps.
by the workshop of Barta and Nash, Cluj,
Videotaped testimonies of sur-
Romania,
1930. An eternal light burns
vivors from Steven Spielberg's Shoah
perpetually
in a synagogue in front of the
Visual History Foundation are shown
ark
that
holds
the Torah scrolls.
on various television
monitors. Oftentimes,
voices are blended
together as horrific
memories are retold.
Gift of Frania Brat Blum.
On the third floor,
Photo by Peter Goldberg,
Gift of Paul Heim
Jewish renewal after 1945
Museum of Jewish Heritage,
ler. Museum of Jew -
depicts the creation of
'.NeYt.York
'sit Heritage, New
Jewish culture after the
York
Holocaust and the migra-
tion to Israel. TV screens
highlight famous Jewish
artists, musicians, actors,
Dress made by Frania Bratt at the newly lib- Photograph of Eva Hadl holding her twin
writers and scientists.
erated Dachau concentration camp in May
brothers, Paul and George, with the help of
Woody Allen, Barbra
1945 to replace her inmate uniform, using
their mother lien, in Budapest, Hungary
Streisand, George Gersh-
fabric supplied by the U.S. Army. After the
August 1938. Iren Nadi and her three chil-
win, Irving Berlin,
war, Frania Bratt Blum wore this dress on
dren all survived Auschwitz, where the boys
Leonard Bernstein,
the anniversary of her liberation and on
were selected by Dr. Josef Mengele fir his
Mandy Patinkin and
other special occasions.
Sting perform. Mike Wal-

