CIRCULATION OF OBJECTS

Beginning with the persecution of the Jewish community in Germany in the 1930s and forced emigration, through World War II and after its end, Jewish objects circulated and changed hands: stolen, appropriated; less often saved or found. Jewish Breslauers managed to take some possessions with them when they left the city, others were orphaned forever by those who were murdered. Still others were abandoned by those unable to depart with their belongings. These objects became the subject of trade, passing from hand to hand. Finally some of them – together with things that became widely referred to as "post-German" – were found in abandoned houses and adopted by the newly arrived inhabitants of the city that became Polish Wrocław.

Here we tell the story of three objects included in the exhibition. Although they are not representative of the entire complexity of the fate of Jewish belongings during and after the Holocaust, they are an example of the complex migration paths followed by people and objects from pre-war Breslau.

  • The story of Alfred Neuländer’s prayer book

    multimedia

    The story of Alfred Neuländer’s prayer book told by his nephew Oliver Newland, New Zealand. Language versions: EN Photos: Fundacja Spark

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  • The story of Willy Cohn’s diaries

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    The story of Willy Cohn’s diaries told by his granddaughter Tamar Cohn Gazit, Israel. Language versions: EN HEB

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  • The story of Berta Hadda’s kilim

    multimedia

    The story of Berta Hadda’s kilim told by her great-grandson Daniel Ljunggren, Sweden. Language versions: EN SE TIMELINE 1936: Tapestry is created at the Jewish school in Breslau – a collaborative work by Berta Hadda and her pupils. Breslau, Germany   1940s: Tapestry is handed over together with clothes and other belongings to Berta’s brother […]

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  • Testimony by Gabrielle Falk, née Freund

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    Testimony by Gabrielle Falk, née Freund (1923 – 2019) about her early life in Breslau before emigration (segment of a US-made podcast documentary on the Falk Family by Rosa Linda Ramon, 2009).

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  • “Reverse Motion” by Anna Schapiro

    artwork

    Ink on wall, ink on paper, 2024. The exhibition was accompanied by a site-specific artistic commentary by Anna Schapiro. Schapiro, a Berlin based artist, explored the layers of histories encapsulated in the objects presented at the exhibition, the cumulative stories they conveyed and the way these invisible and neglected pasts still weave themselves into the […]

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