MILWAUKEE — Jewish Museum Milwaukee is opening a “Violins of Hope” exhibit — featuring violins connected with the Holocaust and Jewish resilience — as part of a citywide effort to remember and learn though a brief visit of the historic string instruments to southeast Wisconsin.
The museum will showcase 24 violins, from Nov. 5 to Jan. 25, as part of its exhibit, “Violins of Hope: Strings of Jewish Resistance and Resilience.” A special preview event is scheduled for Nov. 4.
The exhibit is a collaboration between Jewish Museum Milwaukee and Nathan and Esther Pelz Holocaust Education Resource Center, both programs of Milwaukee Jewish Federation. The effort is part of a citywide residency, led by the Milwaukee Youth Symphony Orchestra, that brings together more than 60 organizations for five months of programming centered on the historic instruments.
“These violins are all connected to the Holocaust in some way,” said HERC executive director, Samantha Abramson, who is curating the exhibit with Michael Morris, HERC’s community engagement manager. The restored stringed instruments will help the museum tell the stories of Jewish musicians during one of the darkest chapters in history, the Holocaust, Abramson said.
“In some cases, we know the stories of those specific instruments, and in some cases, we don’t,” Abramson said. Here is part of one such story, a piece we do know, from Violins of Hope materials: “Erich Weininger was a butcher in Vienna as well as an amateur violinist. When the Nazis marched into Austria in 1938, Erich was arrested and sent to Dachau, where he managed to bring along his violin.”
Some of the violins are adorned with mother-of-pearl Jewish stars or stickers, reflecting the deeply personal stories of their owners.
With the Milwaukee Youth Symphony Orchestra leading the citywide residency, this is the first time a non-Jewish organization has taken the lead in bringing the collection to a community, Abramson said.
“Jewish Museum Milwaukee will be the only Jewish space having an extended exhibition. We’re going to interpret the violins in a way that no other location will, and that is through the lens of the Jewish community and our identity, with the instruments as vessels sharing hundreds of years of stories..”
The “Violins of Hope” exhibit is part of a broader effort to combat antisemitism and educate the public about Jewish identity. The collection is owned by Avshalom and his late father Amnon, skilled luthiers in Israel who began collecting the violins after the Holocaust. The violins have traveled internationally since 2015.
The exhibit is designed with education in mind, targeting K-12 students, particularly those in fifth grade and above. Interactive elements will allow visitors to touch a violin (not from the collection) and view the instruments from multiple vantage points. HERC is also developing lesson plans and resources for teachers, aiming to increase school visits and deepen understanding of Jewish history and the impact of the Holocaust.
“These are stories of individuals, and a violin is a deeply personal thing,” Abramson said. “We want visitors to think about the resilience of the Jewish people, and also to understand that we are all connected globally.”
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‘Violins of Hope’ at museum and more
A citywide “residency” is bringing together more than 60 organizations for five months of programming centered on historic Holocaust-era instruments.
Violins of Hope exhibit
What: “Violins of Hope: Strings of Jewish Resistance and Resilience,” museum exhibit, timed to coincide with a citywide visit of historic violins
Where: Jewish Museum Milwaukee, 1360 N. Prospect Ave.
When: Nov. 5 to Jan. 25, with Nov. 4 opening preview
More info: JewishmuseumMilwaukee.org
More events
Multiple events have been organized by the Milwaukee Youth Symphony Orchestra, some in partnership with Milwaukee-area Jewish organizations, including a residency, concerts, and a performance of “Fiddler on the Roof.” More info: Violinsofhopewisconsin.org/events.
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