Starting on 2 August 2010, the Jewish Historical Museum
will present selected acquisitions from the past year in its
temporary exhibition case and at its Resource Centre. This
temporary summer display will highlight a few of the most
exceptional, moving, and impressive gifts and purchases, including
the recently discovered personal archive of the Jewish medical
doctor Andries Bloch. The acquisitions will remain on display until
Sunday 24 October 2010.
The JHM temporary exhibition case will hold a selection of
paintings, prints, and documents, such as The Little
Savoyard (1859) by Maurits Léon (1838-1865). This painting,
which JHM was able to acquire thanks to the financial support of
the BankGiro Loterij, is one of the very few known works by this
artist. Léon was the first nineteenth-century Dutch painter to
specialize in scenes of Jewish religious ceremonies. The JHM will
also exhibit the bronze head of Max Elion by Jobs Wertheim
(1898-1977) and a portrait of Sientje Bloch-Elte as a young woman
by the painter Willem van den Berg (1886-1970).
The portrait of Sientje Bloch (1901-1945) is part of a very special
group of acquisitions. Recently, in a home in Sarphatistraat in
Amsterdam, the personal archive of the Jewish physician Andries
Bloch (1895-1945) was found. This archive, which was recently
donated to the Jewish Historical Museum, includes a collection of
touching letters written by Geziena (Sientje) Elte in the summer of
1922 to her future husband Andries (Dré) Bloch. On 23 March 1923,
Dré and Sientje were married in Scheveningen. Two of the surviving
documents relate to this event: the wedding invitation and a
special newspaper printed for the occasion. The couple had two
children, Klaartje Elisabeth (Liesje) (1926) and Meijer Hans (Hans)
(1932), whose drawings, Sinterklaas poems, class notes, and letters
were included in the find.
The present occupants have lived alongside this historical treasure
trove for almost 35 years. During their work, they found a hollow
behind the fireplace in their living room, which contained a large
number of documents and objects that had once belonged to Andries
Bloch. Apparently, Bloch had hurriedly hidden his personal
belongings behind the fireplace before his departure for Westerbork
in 1943. They would remain there for more than 60 years. Now, at
the start of the twenty-first century, they have resurfaced to tell
the moving story of the life and work of one Jewish doctor and his
family. Andries Bloch, his wife, and his children did not survive
the war.
The discovery of this archive makes it possible to reconstruct the
lives of these four random victims of the Shoah. More than 65 years
after their death, they again have human faces and stories of their
own.
For information and/or images
, please contact:
Marketing and Communication Department
T +31 (0)20 5 310 370
E Communication Department