Current Exhibits
Jewish Chaplains at War: Unsung Heroes of the ‘Greatest Generation,’ 1941-45
During World War II, American Jewish chaplains were committed to their country and to Judaism. More than one thousand rabbis (half of America’s Jewish clergy) volunteered to serve as chaplains. Of these, 311 were selected. Eight died while on duty. Each of the Jewish chaplains had to become, as David Max Eichhorn wrote to his family, both “a good soldier and a good rabbi.”
Dates: October 9, 2007 through May 4, 2008
Location: Center for Jewish History, 15 West 16th Street, NYC
Directions to the Center for Jewish History. For Information and tours please call 212-294-6160
Click here (pdf) to read a complete listing of the names of the chaplains who served during World War II.
From Haven to Home: 350 Years of Jewish Life in America
A 1735 Hebrew grammar book required for every Harvard College freshman at the time, a 1863 petition protesting General Ulysses S. Grant’s decision to expel all Jews from Kentucky and Tennessee during the Civil War, and a handwritten version of Irving Berlin’s “God Bless America” are just a sampling of the historical treasures owned by the Library of Congress and reproduced in this intriguing exhibition.
From Haven to Home shows why Jews from around the world began traveling to America in 1654: to seek refuge from persecution, discrimination and legal barriers to their security and advancement. The exhibition also documents the ways in which Jews made America their home and enumerates their contributions to the nation’s developing values and institutions.
Boston Jewish history receives prominent attention throughout the exhibit. Most notable are portraits of Moses Michael Hays, founder of the Bank of Boston; Judah and Abraham Touro, major donors to the Massachusetts General Hospital and the Bunker Hill Monument, and views of Jewish neighborhoods along Blue Hill Avenue in the 1930s and 1940s.
View a slideshow of the exhibition here.
Now at the Fashion Show Mall on Las Vegas Boulevard in Las Vegas, Nevada