News , Press | 26. Jan. 2022

The MGH virtual exhibition in the Israeli and American press

Under the title „Victims of history“, the medieval historian Prof. Yitzhak Hen, director of the Israel Institute for Advanced Study in Jerusalem, published a detailed review of our virtual exhibition on Jewish scholars at the MGH in the January 20, 2022 issue of Haaretz, one of the most-read daily papers in Israel. The exhibition, showcasing the biographies of six male and one female scholars of Jewish descent who worked for the MGH, is receiving a lively and very positive reception in Israel.


Concluding his review, Prof. Hen relates an exemplary personal experience that he had while researching at the MGH institute in Munich: „More than a decade ago, during a visit to the MGH library, in Munich, I paged through a book whose cover had been stamped with a Nazi seal. When I pointed to the symbol and gave an inquiring look to Rudolf Schieffer, the institute’s director at the time, who was sitting next to me, he said, “This is our history! We must come to terms with it. Not erase it.” Since the end of World War II, Germany has invested a great deal of effort in coming to terms with its past. The fascinating online exhibition is but one example of that, and it deserves all manner of praise and respect.“


Since the English issue of Haaretz is circulated with the New York Times International Weekly, the review has prompted growing interest in our virtual exhibition not just in Israel, but also in the USA.


Links

Article „Victims of history“ by Yitzhak Hen


The review on the homepage of the daily newspaper Haaretz


Click here to view the exhibition and the introductory film