Logistics of Memory: YIVO’s Transnational Holocaust Exhibition in 1947 (The Jews in Europe, 1939–1946)

• In Event: Exhibitions on Difficult Pasts and Their Infrastructures

Abstract

The 1947 exhibition at YIVO (Institute for Jewish Research) in New York serves as an example of a transnational effort that resulted in one of the first large-scale exhibitions to present the history of the Holocaust from an international perspective. The paper adopts an infrastructural approach to a historical case study.

It focuses on the Polish and Hungarian contributions to the YIVO exhibition, shedding light on the networks of Jewish organizations that served as the underlying infrastructure, enabling and supporting the exchange and circulation of materials for the exhibition. The authors analyze the material resources available to the creators of the exhibition and how logistical concerns influenced what was displayed. The dominance of photography and paper objects shaped not only the form of the exhibition but also its meaning. Gathering and transporting the archival and visual material posed significant physical and material challenges, especially given the transnational dimension of the Holocaust. Material had to be sent from various locations by post, which limited the types of material that could be included.

At the same time, the paper offers insights into contemporary infrastructures and reflects on the possibilities and limitations of reconstructing forgotten exhibitions. It highlights how today’s archival infrastructure shapes both our knowledge of and access to the past.

Authors

• Agata Justyna Pietrasik, Freie U Berlin (Germany)

• Daniel Véri, Museum of Fine Arts Budapest (Hungary)