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Destins croisés / Crossed destinies: Etty Hillesum, Charlotte Salomon and Hélène Berr

On the Day of Remembrance of the Victims of National Socialism

Collage of three portraits: Hélène Berr as a black and white photo, Charlotte Salomon as a self-portrait in oil and Etty Hillesum as a black and white photo. All the women are looking directly at the viewer.

Collage from: Detail from a self-portrait of Charlotte Salomon, gouache, around 1940
Charlotte Salomon Foundation Amsterdam; Hélène Berr in Aubergenville (Yvelines), France, 1942/43 © Mémorial de la Shoah / Coll. Mariette Job; Etty Hillesum, 1937, photographed by Bernard Meylink; Photo: Jewish Museum Amsterdam
 

On 27 January, the 80th anniversary of the liberation of the Auschwitz concentration camp, we remember three young European women who were murdered in the Shoah: Etty Hillesum (Netherlands), Charlotte Salomon (Germany) and Hélène Berr (France). Etty Hillesum's writings, Charlotte Salomon's paintings and Hélène Berr's diary reflect the persecution of the Jews from different perspectives. Their artworks also shed light on different ways of experiencing life under Nazi rule. We can learn from their works how individual forms of self-assertion developed into impressive manifestations of Jewish resistance.

Mo 27 Jan 2025, 6.30 pm

Map with all buildings that belong to the Jewish Museum Berlin. The W. M. Blumenthal Academy is marked in green

Where

W. M. Blumenthal Academy,
Klaus Mangold Auditorium
Fromet-und-Moses-Mendelssohn-Platz 1, 10969 Berlin
(Opposite the Museum)

Three academics present the life and work of the three artists and discuss their legacy. Judith Koelemeijer (founder of the Etty Hillesum Research Centre, Amsterdam) will talk about Etty Hillesum, Mariette Job (niece and editor of Hélène Berr, France) will introduce Hélène Berr and Inka Bertz (Jewish Museum Berlin) will talk about the artist Charlotte Salomon. Karine Baranès-Bénichou (founder of Association Memory - Women in Art and Jewish Memory, initiator of the event, Tel-Aviv) will moderate.

Following the event, H.E. Ambassador François Delattre will host a reception with a musical program at the French Embassy (Pariser Platz 5, 10117 Berlin, starting at 8.45 pm):

Program: 
“La musique qui est en Elles”
Véronique Briel, piano
Patricia Reibaud, violin

Your registration confirmation for the event at the JMB is also valid for admission to the reception, please bring a valid ID with you.

In cooperation with the Commission pour la restitution des biens et l’indemnisation des victimes de spoliations antisémites (CIVS) and the French embassy in Berlin. 

With the kind support of the embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, the World Jewish Congress and the Fondation pour la Mémoire de la Shoah.

Logo: Premier Ministre and Commission pour la restitution des Biens et l'indemnisation des victimes de spoliations antisémites. Logo of the French embassy with the inscription: Ambassade de France en Allemagne. Liberté, Égalité, Fraternité. Logo of the Fondation pour la Mémoire de la Shoah Logo of the Kingdom of the Netherlands (with coat of arms) Logo: Memory. Femmes artistes et mémoire juive.

Where, when, what?

  • WhenMo 27 Jan 2025, 6.30 pm
  • Where W. M. Blumenthal Academy,
    Klaus Mangold Auditorium
    Fromet-und-Moses-Mendelssohn-Platz 1, 10969 Berlin
    (Opposite the Museum)
    See location on map
  • Entry fee

    Free of charge
    Register for this event

  • Language German, English and French with simultaneous interpretation

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