The Wiener Library recently welcomed MA students from Central Saint Martins, University of the Arts London, who were challenged to produce a display in response to the diverse collections held at the Library.
One group chose to focus on the theme of ‘Arts Resists’ and examined how victims of the Holocaust persisted with artistic practice in the face of persecution, dispossession and violence. This display includes a selection of material relating to Philip Manes, a German Jew and a prolific writer with a lifelong habit of keeping records of his experiences. He continued his cultural life in the Theresienstadt ghetto and camp, where he and his wife were sent in 1942, becoming an integral part of this community.
The other chose instead to examine the separation and loss experienced by families divided by schemes like the Kindertransport. This display features original Red Cross telegrams which demonstrate the difficulty faced by those living abroad in attempting to communicate with their families whilst dealing with restrictive word counts, long delivery times and censors.
Many thanks to Vera Gan, Emily Zhou, Rhiannon Edwards and Dorothea Lam, MA Culture, Criticism, and Curation students from Central Saint Martins, University of the Arts London for the curation of this display.
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1939 Hampstead Garden Suburb Care Committee Index of refugee children who entered the UK. This Committee tried to place potential Kindertransport with foster families. This card gives the details of one child, Josef Seckl. -
A sketch from one of Philip Manes’ journals. -
1943 Red Cross Telegram from Franz Kuhn to his daughter Hannele’s foster mother, including details of the transportation of his wife. Neither of Hannele Kuhn’s parents survived the Holocaust.
