At a Glance
- YIVO Institute celebrates its 100th anniversary with a book of 100 unique objects.
- The collection includes Otto Frank’s desperate 1941 letters to an American philanthropist.
- A Nazi portrait painted on a Torah scroll highlights the brutality of the Holocaust.
- Why it matters: These artifacts illuminate overlooked moments of Jewish history and the power of archives.
YIVO Institute for Jewish Research marks a century of preserving Jewish culture with a new book that showcases 100 objects from its archives, ranging from Otto Frank’s pleas for help to a chilling Nazi portrait on a Torah scroll.
A Century of Jewish Heritage
Founded in 1925 in Vilna, YIVO has grown into a New York-based institution that holds every facet of Jewish life. Executive Director Jonathan Brent explains:
> “There are Zionistic works, there are anti-Zionistic works… there are materials about anarchism, Bolshevism, immigration, atheism, the entire gamut of Jewish life.”
The institute’s mission is to collect and share materials that capture the full spectrum of Jewish experience.
Otto Frank’s Unfulfilled Pleas
The archive holds letters dated from 30 April 1941 to 11 December 1941 in which Otto Frank writes to Nathan Straus, Jr. for financial help to secure visas for his family.
- Frank emphasized the safety of his two daughters as the main concern.
- The letters reveal that Cuba issued a single visa for Otto, which was cancelled after Germany declared war on the United States.
- Otto Frank was the sole family member to survive the Holocaust.
A Nazi Portrait on a Torah Scroll
A striking oil painting of Arthur Seyss-Inquart appears on a torn Torah scroll, a desecration that symbolizes the Nazis’ administrative view of genocide.
- The portrait was found in a Vienna flea market by American couple Shirley and Mortimer Kadushin.
- Brent notes the image reflects “tremendous, lethal hatred” expressed in a banal bureaucratic act.
Other Highlights from the Collection
- A 12-year-old Amschel Moses Rothschild copied a Talmud tractate in 1721-22, later passed down through the Rothschild family.
- Lenci dolls dressed in Siena contrada costumes were made by children in a displaced-persons camp in Florence after World War II.
- A glass menorah actually functions as a cannabis bong, created by David Daily and artist Charlie Glass for a Hanukkah celebration.
Key Takeaways
- YIVO’s 100-object book celebrates a century of comprehensive Jewish archival work.
- Otto Frank’s letters reveal the desperate attempts to secure U.S. visas before the war.
- The Nazi portrait on a Torah scroll starkly illustrates cultural desecration during the Holocaust.
YIVO’s anniversary collection underscores the enduring importance of archives in remembering and teaching the complexities of Jewish history.
