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 than her…
Letter from Willy Hellpach to Martha Kubatzki on Reichstag stationery, 1930 Out of the ArchivesAn Epistolary Romanceby 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 unexpected historical intrigue. On the first…
National Poetry MonthOn a Poem by Leyb Kvitkoby J.D. Arden, M.L.I.S. candidate, Reference Services Research Intern, Center for Jewish History Inscrutable Catby 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 Reading Room at the…
National Poetry MonthOn a Poem by Yehudah Amichaiby 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 YouTube. The…
Women in HistoryNobel Prize Winnersby 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 when she won for…
Happy 126th birthday to the Statue of Liberty! Today also marks the end of a year worth of renovations to the Statue. The American Jewish Historical Society here at the Center holds the handwritten original of Emma Lazarus’s “The New Colossus” (1883), which is the poem that graces the Statue of Liberty (installed on bronze plaque in 1903). The above image is of the…