Adah Isaacs Menken. Photo: American Jewish Historical Society.
She flew on fake horses above the stage, wore nude bodysuits so audiences would think she was naked, married four men (and divorced three)—and was surrounded by rumors of affairs with dozens of famous writers. Actress Adah Menken (1835-1868) was one of the first international celebrities, due more to her daring exploits and shrewd publicity…
Letter from Willy Hellpach to Martha Kubatzki on Reichstag stationery, 1930
Out of the Archives
An Epistolary Romance
by Catherine Greer, Archival Processing Fellow, Center for Jewish History
I spent two weeks at the Center for Jewish History as a Graduate Archival Processing Fellow. The twelve-day program provided me with a wealth of theoretical knowledge, hands-on experience in archival processing–and an…
National Poetry Month
On a Poem by Leyb Kvitko
by J.D. Arden, M.L.I.S. candidate, Reference Services Research Intern, Center for Jewish History
Inscrutable Cat
by Leyb Kvitko (c.1890-1952),
translated from Yiddish by A. Mandelbaum & H. Rabinowitz
This poem is taken from The Penguin Book of Modern Yiddish Verse, published in 1987, and is one of many such books available in the Lillian Goldman…
National Poetry Month
On a Poem by Yehudah Amichai
by J.D. Arden, M.L.I.S. candidate, Reference Services Research Intern, Center for Jewish History
The poem “First Resurrection” (תחייה ראשונה) is from the poem cycle “Four Resurrections in the Valley of the Ghosts” by Yehudah Amichai (יהודה עמיחי 1924-2000), read in Hebrew above by writer Leon Wieseltier as part of the “CultureBuzz” Amichai poetry series on…
Women in History
Nobel Prize Winners
by David P. Rosenberg, M.P.A., Reference Services Research Coordinator, Center for Jewish History
I recently researched women with Jewish roots who have won the Nobel Prize. Seven people hold the distinction in a range of topics from medicine to chemistry to literature:
Gerty Cori was the third woman, and the first American woman, to win the prize…