In late 1936 Ernst and Margot Rosenthal left Germany and immigrated to the United States in hopes that they could live a life free of discrimination and persecution.
Bruno Heidenheim, Album to bid farewell to Margot (1913–2010) and Ernst (1898–1971) Rosenthal, Chemnitz, 1936; Jewish Museum Berlin, accession 2017/285/0, gift of Karin and Steve Rosenthal, photo: Roman März
In order to ease their departure, friends of theirs, the Heidenheim family, gave them “Small Tips for Great People”, an affectionately handmade album that was a collage of self-composed sayings and poems and pictures cut out of the newspaper. The charming going-away present was to prepare the Rosenthals for their host country.
Further information on this object can be found in our online collections (in German).
Our Stories: “Farewell, farewell, think of us oft, we'll send you our well-wishing thoughts. Happiness awaits across the sea, but saying goodbye to you isn't easy.” Aubrey Pomerance, head of our archive and curator of the new core exhibition, talks about this testimony to a close friendship and two diverging life paths.
Core Exhibition: 13 Objects – 13 Stories (13)
13 Objects – 13 Stories
A Torah shield, a sculpture, a cushion: 13 unusual objects tell 13 stories of Jewish life. One of the tours of the JMB app leads right through the exhibition to eye-catchers of all kinds, some small, some big. What would a museum be without its many objects, each rich in meaning? You can get a sneak peek of the objects here on our website.
L’amitié au coeur (Friendship of the Heart)
by Étienne-Maurice Falconet (1716–1791), Paris, 1765, marble
Finds from the Memmelsdorf Genizah
Memmelsdorf (find site), ca. 1725–1830, paper, ink, fabric, leather, porcelain
Torah Shield
donated by Isaak Jakob Gans (1723–1798), Hamburg, 1760–1765, silver
Shevirat ha-Kelim (Breaking of the Vessels)
Anselm Kiefer, 1990–2019, lead, iron, glass, copper wire, charcoal, Aquatec
Manheimer Family Portrait
by Julius Moser (1805–1879), Berlin, 1850, oil on canvas
Puppet Show
King Solomon and the Queen of Sheba, Käte Baer-Freyer (1885–1988), Berlin, ca. 1924, plywood, metals
Decorated Cushion
“ISRAELI, JEW, and now SEVERELY DISABLED ...,” Daniel Josefsohn (1961–2016), Berlin, 2014/15, textile
Silver Formerly Owned by Jews
Provenance: up to 1939 unknown Jewish owners, 1939 Hamburg Tax Authority
Going-away Present
Bruno Heidenheim, Album to bid farewell to Margot (1913–2010) and Ernst (1898–1971) Rosenthal, Chemnitz, 1936
Hand Washbasin
Manufacturer: S. & D. Loewenthal, Frankfurt am Main, 1895/96, silver
No Longer in the Country
Unclaimed membership cards for the Jewish community Frankfurt am Main, 1949
Composition
by Otto Freundlich (1878–1943), 1938, tempera on cardboard
Yellow Star
of the Lehmann family, Berlin, 1941–1945
Emigration/Exile
Jewish Life in Germany: Past and Present
More about our new core exhibition
Exhibition
since 23 Aug 2020
Online Showcase
Digital presentation of our archive collections on different topics, video projects, and more
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JMB App
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