Author: hiddenheritage

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Watching My Mother: Memories That Never Wash Away

Authored by Abena Amoh

Jewish people scrubbing the sidewalk in Austria (1938).

“I watched as my mother was forced to scrub the sidewalks with other Jews shortly after the Anshluss.”
Vienna, Austria (March 1938)

On March 12, 1938, Adolf Hitler officially announced an Anschluss between Austria and Germany (History, n.d.). The German term Anschluss means union (Encyclopedia Britannica n.d.). Hitler claimed that his desire was to unify all European countries that spoke German. Interestingly, the idea of this type of unification was initially proposed by Austrian socialists in 1919 (Low 1974, 1).

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The Rise in Illegal Immigration in the 1960s

Authored by Elizabeth Paul

This is a hidden compartment meant to smuggle in illegal aliens from Mexico, taken in 1968.

In 1965, the Immigration and Nationality Act, also known as the Hart-Celler Act, was signed into law by President Lyndon B. Johnson (Ball et al 2017). This act ended the quota system started in the 1920s that had been put in place that gave preference to those of European origin, and instead created a system that was meant to reunite immigrant families and attract skilled workers (History.com 2010). This original quota system, however, did not include Mexico (The John W. Kluge Center at the Library of Congress 2015). Because of this, temporary workers from Mexico were often hired to work on farms as part of the Bracero Program (Ball et al 2017). However, even after the end of this program as well as the introduction of the 1965 Immigration and Nationality Act, former workers that were part of the Bracero Program would still cross over the border to work these farm jobs.

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Does the Melting Pot Still Meld in 2018?

Authored by Ocaria DiMango

A copy of the cover of Forbes Magazine, dated October 30, 1978 displaying the Statue of Liberty. This is currently part of the Endres Collection for the Center for Migration Studies.

This artifact is a copy of the October 30, 1978 issue of Forbes magazine, which portrays the Statue of Liberty in all her glory, a symbol of American’s immigrant heritage. Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, the wretched refuse of your teeming shore. Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed to me, I lift my lamp beside the golden door! (Moreno 2004). However, this sentiment towards new immigrants has changed throughout the life of America. I believe that views towards immigration, over time, have been based on what America was going through in history. It’s important for us to look back on an article like this and see how far we’ve come – so in this case, I wonder, how far have we come since 1978? Continue reading →

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“The United States and the World”: The Select Commission on Immigration and Refugee Policy

Authored by Catherine Findorak

“Illegal Migration Examined at San Antonio Hearing.” Select Commission on Immigration and Refugee Policy Newsletter No. 3 (January 1980)

In August of 1981, joint committees of the U.S. house and senate released the final report of the Select Commission on Immigration and Refugee Policy (SCIRP), entitled U.S. Immigration Policy and the National Interest (1981). Based on years of work, the final report of the commission recommended “closing the back door to undocumented/illegal migration, opening the front door a little more to accommodate legal migration in the interests of this country” (U.S. Congress 1981, 3) and stressed the need to work with other countries to improve the conditions that cause migration and exile (Fragomen 1981).

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Jacques Goar: A Mediator between the Catholic Church and Greek Orthodox Teachings

Authored by Megan Duffy

Title Page of Goar, Jacques. 1730. Euchologion Sive Rituale Graecorum Complectens Ritus Et Ordines Divinae Liturgiae. 2nd ed. Venice: Bartholomaei Javarina.

 

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Unlike many Catholic theologians during his time, Jacques Goar spent his life not only studying about the Greek Orthodox Church, but understanding how similar they are with the Catholic Church. All of these efforts resulted in his work, Euchologion sive rituale graecorum complectens ritus et ordines divinae liturgiae.

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In Memory

Authored by Amy Del Debbio

A memorial plaque creates a sense of honor and family with a visual reminder of faculty and staff who passed away. This memorial piece, along with other pieces, are found in Wilby High School’s courtyard—which is an extension of the school’s library. During the warmer months, students are encouraged to read or work quietly in the courtyard.

While visiting the Egyptian pyramids during WWII, Franklin D. Roosevelt remarked that “Man’s desire to be remembered is colossal” (Prasch 2013, 198). While the pyramids may be an appropriate memorial for a pharaoh, a memorial plaque may be more suitable for the average person. Prior to the courtyard being transformed into a memorial garden, the memorial plaque, which was donated by the Class of 2005 and contained in Wilby’s library, was the centerpiece of the cabinet that housed all “In Memory” artifacts.

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Responding to Genocide

Authored by Madeline Sanchez

A group of young Jewish girls from Shtetl, a town in Eiskes pose before being murdered in September 21, 1941 by the Einsatzgruppen, a special task force that was actively hunting and killing Jews

Inhumanity is one of the most cruel and atrocious acts committed by human beings because of personal bias. The disregard of another individual’s life has led to one of the worst events recorded in history, the Genocide. Encompassing the Genocide during World War II into one word; it was savagery. Human lives destroyed due to the Holocaust, violating human rights, and overall eradicating liberty for the Jews.

The group of young Jew girls exhibited in this image was part of Shtetl a small market town in Eastern Europe, Poland (Zollman, n.d.). This image emphasizes the direct contrast of normalcy and the horrors of the Genocide, as well highlights the millions of lives shattered because of racial prejudice.

Eastern Europe, Poland held the largest Jewish population that lived before the war, and was where extermination of the Jewish population of the world collectively took place (Frontline, n.d.). On September 24, 1941, the entire Jewish populations of Ejszyszki was shot in the Jewish cemetery of Ejszyszki by the Einsatzgruppen (Yad Vashem, n.d.). The Einsatzgruppen were a special task force considered mobile killing units that operated in German-occupied Europe. These groups were actively hunting and killing Jews in many other countries occupied by the Nazis (Aktion Reinhard Camps, n.d.).

Deprived of human worth, the Jews imprisoned in concentration camps; shot, starved, gassed and ultimately burned being the many torturous ways they died. 6 million European Jews murdered by the German Nazi regime, considered an inferior race, an overall threat to German racial purity and community (History, n.d.). Germans considered themselves racially superior to Jews (United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, n.d.). Based on this catastrophic event among many others that occurred throughout history, it is clear that without laws to protect human rights, those facing discriminatory persecution can suffer grave humiliation and even annihilation as was the case of European Jews.

The Holocaust era was one of the most devastating events that have marked our history. Its everlasting effects will always be remembered as the Holocaust obliterated innumerable of Jewish communities in Eastern Europe. Holocaust survivor’s history can urge elected leaders to unite, take responsibility and strive for social justice, to protect the oppressed and aim to end genocide.

 

References

“Einsatzgruppen.” n.d. Accessed March 26, 2018. http://www.deathcamps.org/occupation/einsatzgruppen.html.

“Introduction to the Holocaust.” n.d. United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. Accessed March 26, 2018. https://www.ushmm.org/wlc/en/article.php?ModuleId=10005143.

“Shtetl – The Life and Death of a Small Town and the World of Polish Jews – Shtetl.” n.d. FRONTLINE. Accessed March 26, 2018. http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shtetl/reflections/.

“The Holocaust – World War II – HISTORY.com.” n.d. Accessed March 26, 2018. https://www.history.com /topics/world-war-ii/the-holocaust.

“The Untold Stories. The Murder Sites of the Jews in the Occupied Territories of the Former USSR.” n.d. Accessed March 26, 2018. http://www.yadvashem.org/untoldstories/database/index.asp?cid=188.

“What Were Shtetls? | My Jewish Learning.” n.d. Accessed March 26, 2018. https://www.myjewishlearning.com/article/shtetl-in-jewish-history-and-memory/.

 

 

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A Herstory on Lesbians

Authored by Nicole Loder

Image of Joan Nestle, Polly Thistlethwaite, and cat. Lesbian HERstoy Archive Collection. 1994.

Pictured are activist and writer, Joan Nestle, current Chief Librarian at the CUNY Graduate Center (Thistlethwaite 2014) Polly Thistlethwaite, and cat at the Lesbian HERstory Archives (LHA) in 1994 taken by the photo collection manager, Saskia Scheffer. I discovered this picture, with the help of an archivist, in a crammed filing cabinet, not too far from where the picture was taken. The cabinet was organized with an eclectic cataloging system, determined by the many archivists over the years. I was searching for content involving cats for an upcoming exhibit when we discovered this artifact. As I held this image, I wondered when the last time someone took notice of this seemingly insignificant photograph.
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The Founding of the Ninety-Nines (Organization of Female Pilots) at Curtiss Field

Authored by Gabriella Trinchetta

Aerial photograph of Curtiss Field, Valley Stream, New York

Aerial photograph of Curtiss Field in Valley Stream, New York, taken on July 30, 1935. Courtesy of the Valley Stream Historical Society Archives.

In the 1920s and 1930s, female pilots famously made strides in aviation through participating in air races, holding positions in the commercial sector, and completing lengthy solo flights, all while facing discrimination. Many people believed that a woman’s stereotypical delicate nature prevented her from successfully flying a plane because of weakness (Corn 1979, 560). Unfortunately, women pilots also faced difficulty in finding careers even after acquiring their licenses, so they often regrettably held positions in airplane sales. Famous professional female pilots, such as Amelia Earhart, Louise Thaden, Blanche Noyes, and Ruth Nichols worked in airplane sales before finally given the chance to prove their strength in flight (Corn 1979, 560). Even when airlines hired female pilots, they hesitated to allow them to fly in all conditions. For example, some airlines prohibited their female pilots from flying in less than perfect weather conditions (Corn 1979, 562-563). Continue reading →