Remembering the Unforgettable: Artifacts from the Holocaust

From Hollie Davis, MLIS Senior Editor Antiques Reference – p4A

This month (today, January 18, in fact) marks the anniversary of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising, the single largest revolt during the Holocaust and one that resulted in the eventual leveling of the Ghetto and the deaths of almost 70,000 Jews.  (13,000 were killed in the Uprising while the majority were executed at Treblinka.)  Like the rest of the world, the auction business still struggles with how to treat the Holocaust – as an act of horror best left firmly in the past, as a event requiring historic preservation, as a crime against humanity so large that no one should profit from it even through the sale of artifacts.

Much of the time, this is an esoteric, rhetorical discussion, as so little survives.  (Nazi-related material, of course, survives in greater quantities, but many auction houses still opt not to sell it.)  Judaic silver finds its way to market periodically and, if it is pre-war, commands the prices one would expect from early, quality, sterling silver.  (The Shabbat candlestick with menorah pictured above was actually made in Warsaw in 1860.)  But war-related ephemera is far rarer, although the objects that exist are surprising – mostly mail and paper currency.  It’s not something we normally expect, but generally speaking, prisoners in the concentration camps were allowed to send mail.  Of course, the circumstances were limited, it was heavily regulated and heavily censored, but letters and postcards survive, like this group from Theresienstadt.  (Peter Spier, illustrator of the children’s classics Petunia and The Fox Went Out on a Chilly Night, and his family survived their internment at Theresienstadt.)

Some of the concentration camps, including Theresienstadt, issued “currency” as well.  In reality, it was more like scrip, in that it had no value outside of the camp.  The extent to which this currency was actually used versus simply served as propaganda is still debated, but it too survives, speaking volumes, just as the remnants of walls around the Warsaw Ghetto do, about how organized, extensive, and chillingly sanctioned the Holocaust was.

How to Do Research

Here’s a fun way to learn How to do Research produced by the Kentucky Virtual Library.

Great 20th-Century Achievements

The 20th century was a time of many positive events, discoveries, and achievements. This selection can stimulate discussion about what makes something historic or world-changing and which contemporary events might qualify for a similar list in the future.

1. Computer revolution – The computer revolution, sometimes called the information revolution, resolved an age-old search by humankind to invent a machine that could perform mathematical and logical computations in order to help people solve complex problems.

2. Apollo 11 – Apollo 11 was the first successful space mission involving a manned landing on the moon.

3. DNA – Found in the cells of all living things, DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) is a chemical substance that contains hereditary information.

4. electricity – Though the techniques of generating and using electricity were developed during the 19th century, its use made the 20th century one of astounding technological innovation.

5. television – A television is an electronic device that transmits pictures and sound as electrical waves from one system to another.

6. Human Genome Project – The Human Genome Project is an international research project that officially began in 1990 to undertake over a 15-year period the worldwide mapping of the genes that constitute human DNA.

7. World Wide Web – The World Wide Web is the service that allows users of the Internet to retrieve information. Through the use of hyperlinks, users have access to the millions of documents stored on the Internet’s servers.

8. Wright Brothers: first flight – The Wright Brothers’ first flight, near Kitty Hawk, North Carolina on December 17, 1903.

9. Moon landing: Buzz Aldrin – Astronaut Buzz Aldrin stands beside a deployed U.S. flag on the moon during the Apollo 11 mission of 1969.

10. Polio vaccine – School girl receives the Salk polio vaccine.

Learn more about these events using the library’s online resources such as U.S. History in Context or Science in Context.

Brain Teaser – General Knowledge

This week’s brainteaser is to test the breadth as well as the depth of your knowledge. Need help? Use Credo Reference Online

1. In “Sesame Street” and the “Muppet Show”, what sort of animal was Kermit?

2. Which rock group released albums called “Their Satanic Majesties Request” and “Sticky Fingers”?

3. The word “Hock” is used to refer to wine from which country?

4. Which animal is usually associated with Capricorn, the tenth sign of the zodiac?

5. Monza is well known for its motor-racing circuit. In which country is Monza?

6. “Zn” is the symbol for which chemical element?

7. Was the film “Casablanca” made before, during, or after the Second World War?

8. Who was the predecessor of John F. Kennedy as president of the United States?

9. What shape is the pitch in Australian Rules football?

10. What name is usually given to Beethoven’s 3rd Symphony?

How did you do?

0 – 1 Mmmm, not exactly brilliant.
2 – 5 A reasonable stab.
6 – 8 A good showing. But there’s still room for improvement!
9 – 10 You really know your stuff. Well done!

Questions set by Tony Augarde (www.augardebooks.co.uk)

Whose kids are living in poverty?

Kids who don’t get enough food, or have safe places to live, have a much harder time later in life.

Are only minority kids living in poverty? Has the economic downturn increased the number of kids in poverty? And who’s getting hurt worst?

The US Census Bureau has looked at that, and is giving you that information here!  Child Poverty in the United States: 2009 and 2010.

This government document and many more can be founded by searching the Library Catalog.

Related online resources:

• Opposing ViewPoints in Context
• Pro and Cons Leading Issues