As 2023 approaches, we extend a sincere thank you for supporting the museum and our programming. Take a look back at our most popular programs of 2022, from book talks to discussions on Jewish heritage and Holocaust history. Then, start planning for our upcoming events!
All recorded programs from the Museum are available in our dedicated Programs playlist.
Top Attended
In a year full of programs, these had the largest in-person audiences:
The Lost: A Search for Six of Six Million with Daniel Mendelsohn and Francine Prose
October 13, 2022
Fifteen years after the release of the National Book Critics Circle Award and the National Jewish Book Award winner, The Lost: A Search for Six of Six Million is now being reissued. The updated book contains new material developed in conjunction with Ken Burns’s new 3-part documentary, The U.S. and the Holocaust, which features Daniel Mendelsohn and the story of his family.
In this Museum Program, Mendelsohn was in conversation with Francine Prose, the New York Times bestselling novelist, short story writer, essayist, and critic.
RBG’s Brave and Brilliant Women Book Talk
December 11, 2022
During the last year of her life, Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg sat down with Moment Editor-in-Chief Nadine Epstein to discuss the Jewish women she found inspiring. In Epstein’s intergenerational book RBG’s Brave and Brilliant Women: 33 Jewish Women to Inspire Everyone, she profiles the women Ginsburg identified and reflects on each of their stories. The trailblazers in the book, like Ginsburg herself, each fought to forge a better world rather than accepting it as it was.
This Museum program, co-sponsored by Moment, celebrated RBG’s Brave and Brilliant Women, and featured Epstein in conversation with author and journalist Abigail Pogrebin.
Genius & Anxiety: How Jews Changed the World
March 15, 2022
In the century between 1847 and 1947, a handful of men and women changed the world. Many of them are well known—Marx, Freud, Proust, Einstein, Kafka. Others have vanished from collective memory despite their enduring importance in our daily lives. Without Rosalind Franklin, for example, genetic science would look very different. Without Fritz Haber, there would not be enough food to sustain life on earth. What do these visionaries have in common? They all had Jewish origins.
Norman Lebrecht has devoted half of his life to researching the mindset of the Jewish intellectuals, writers, scientists, and thinkers who turned the tides of history and shaped the world today as we know it. His conclusions are featured in his book Genius & Anxiety: How Jews Changed the World, 1847-1947. The Museum hosted a conversation between Lebrecht and Museum Trustee Matthew Goldstein about the book.
Kosher Nostra: The Life and Times of Jewish Gangsters in the United States
December 6, 2022
Since the nineteenth century Jews have been involved in organized crime all over the U.S. Some of the most famous mafiosos including Bugsy Siegel, Meyer Lansky, and Mickey Cohen were all Jewish boys who grew into some of the most influential underground figures we know. These activities flourished during Prohibition, as many became deeply entrenched in bootlegging, gambling, and murder.
Audiences learned about the so-called “Kosher Nostra” with Robert Rockaway and Joe Kraus. This talk was moderated by Geoff Schumacher.
Nazis of Copley Square Book Talk
February 15, 2022
In 1939, the Christian Front was formed in response to a call by Father Charles Edward Coughlin to oppose the Popular Front, a communist organization. The members of the Christian Front were American Catholics who supported a pro-Nazi agenda. In 1940, the FBI alleged that members of the group were trying to install what they called a “temporary dictatorship” to end the influence of Jews and Communists, who they saw as the same, in the United States.
Charles Gallagher‘s book Nazis of Copley Square: The Forgotten Story of the Christian Front chronicles the history of the front and how it was ultimately taken down. The Museum, in partnership with the New York City College of Technology, hosted a discussion about the book between Gallagher and David Kertzer.
The Escape Artist Book Premiere
October 27, 2022
This conversation between award-winning journalist and bestselling novelist Jonathan Freedland and Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and writer David Remnick celebrated Freedland’s new book The Escape Artist. The Escape Artist tells the incredible story of Rudolf Vrba, the first Jew to break out of Auschwitz—one of only four who ever successfully pulled off that feat—to reveal the truth of the death camp to the world and to warn the last Jews of Europe about what awaited them at the end of the railway line. Against all odds, Vrba and his fellow escapee Fred Wetzler climbed mountains, crossed rivers, and narrowly avoided German bullets to bring their first full account of Auschwitz to the world; their forensically detailed report that eventually reached Franklin Roosevelt, Winston Churchill, and the Pope.
Most Viewed
Viewers spent 4,674,288 minutes watching our videos in 2022. Here are the programs that collected the most views:
Transgender Experiences in Weimar and Nazi Germany
June 2, 2022
Before 1933, Germany was a center of LGBT+ community and culture, with several renowned organizations serving and supporting trans and gender non-conforming people. Hitler’s Nazi government, however, brutally targeted the trans community, deporting many trans people to concentration camps and wiping out vibrant community structures. As transgender people are now increasingly targets of discriminatory legislation and hate, join the Museum for a program exploring these stories and experiences prior to and during the Holocaust.
This panel conversation featured Dr. Anna Hájková, Dr. Katie Sutton, and Dr. Bodie A. Ashton, with moderator Rabbi Marisa Elana James.
Nazis on Long Island: The Story of Camp Siegfried
January 20, 2022
In 1936, the German-American Bund, a pro-Nazi group, was formed in the United States to advocate for policies beneficial to Germany. The Bund was very active throughout the latter half of the 1930s, organizing rallies and marches, including a rally at Madison Square Garden in 1939.
One of the Bund’s most notable activities was running summer camps across the nation that were similar to Hitler Youth Camps. Camp Siegfried was located in Yaphank, New York and attracted numerous visitors. The camp even had its own train on the Long Island Railroad, the “Siegfried Special.”
The Museum held a program exploring Camp Siegfried and Nazis in the United States. The program featured a panel discussion between Bess Wohl, Bradley W. Hart, and Arnie Bernstein. The conversation was moderated by Randi F. Marshall.
From WWII to the Space Race: The Story of Project Paperclip
August 30, 2022
Between 1945 and the 1960s, the United States government brought more than 1,500 German scientists and engineers into the country through Project Paperclip to work on guided missiles, jet and rocket engines, aerodynamics, aerospace medicine, and submarine technology. The U.S. hoped these specialists could give them an advantage at the end of WWII and into the Cold War. Over time, many of the Germans disappeared into American military, industrial, and academic positions. However, one of them, Wernher von Braun, became prominent through his involvement in the Space Race.
The Museum held a program exploring Project Paperclip with Dr. Michael Neufeld and Eric Lichtblau. The conversation was moderated by Linda Dawson.
Sophie Scholl and the White Rose
February 22, 2022
The White Rose was founded in 1942 by several students at the University of Munich, including Sophie Scholl and her brother Hans. The members were united against Nazi policies and began writing and distributing leaflets calling on the German people to take action to stop injustice and genocide. In 1943, Hans and Sophie Scholl were arrested by the Gestapo after they distributed leaflets to students at their university. Hans Scholl, Sophie Scholl, and Christoph Probst, another member of the group, were executed on February 22, 1943. Since then, the White Rose, and Sophie Scholl specifically, have become a symbol of resistance during WWII.
This program examined Sophie Scholl and the White Rose. The program featured a conversation between Wolfgang Huber, Frank McDonough, and Nathan Stoltzfus. The conversation was moderated by Lori Weintrob.
German Patriots: Jewish Germans During WWI
April 21, 2022
Germany entered World War I on August 1, 1914 when the country declared war on Russia. 11 million German soldiers were mobilized, 100,000 of whom were Jewish. A number of these Jewish soldiers were honored for their service with the Iron Cross. In addition, many German Jews supported the war effort at home along with their neighbors. This service and dedication were soon disregarded, but World War I efforts are an essential part of the German Jewish story.
Showcasing artifacts from the Museum’s collection, we explored these efforts and experiences with scholars Dr. Michael Geheran, Dr. Jason Crouthamel, and Dr. Tim Grady, moderator Ralph Blumenthal, and the Museum’s Curatorial Research Assistant Rebecca Frank.
The Jewish Diaspora: Latin American Stories
January 16, 2022
Between 1880 and 1930, Latin America experienced its largest influx of Jewish immigration. These immigrants were fleeing the poverty and persecution that affected them in Europe. During the lead up to WWII, more Jewish immigrants arrived to escape the rise of the Nazi regime. This wave of immigrants often came to the region on tourist visas or by pretending they were Catholic.
These immigrants arrived in a region that had Jewish communities living in a variety of contexts Some had been established three hundred years before, while some had only been there for twenty. Nevertheless, each community was vibrant, and many are still thriving today.
This program, co-presented with the Hispanic Society of America, explored Jews in Latin America and included a conversation between Dr. Marion Kaplan, Dr. Yael Siman, Dr. Leo Spitzer, and Dr. Adriana Brodsky. The conversation was moderated by Simon Romero.
Recordings of many of our past programs are available in our dedicated YouTube playlist.
For more upcoming events, refer to our calendar.