Standing at the Threshold: Henry Cohen, H. Leivick, and the Curation of Memory

Join Chaskel Tydor Curatorial Intern, Ayelet Kaminer, and Assistant Curator Charlotte Apter for a discussion of the Chaskel Tydor Curatorial Internship and Ayelet’s research at the Museum. 

On July 7, 1946, one of his last days as director of the Föhrenwald displaced persons camp, Henry Cohen was given a parting gift: a photo album documenting the camp’s cultural activities. Just twenty-three at the time, Cohen was removed from his post due to a series of conflicts with American military personnel, many of whom openly expressed antisemitic sentiments. In 2000, the album was gifted once more when it was donated to the Museum of Jewish Heritage. Starting with the moment at which it was given to Henry Cohen and concluding with its arrival at the museum, Chaskel Tydor Curatorial Intern Ayelet Kaminer will trace the album’s legacy over the fifty-four years between these bestowals. This talk will also highlight the curatorial choices made by the Föhrenwald refugees in crafting this communal memory object, as well as the album’s afterlives in works such as H. Leivick’s Di khasene in Fernvald and Mit der sheyres ha-pleyteh.