Wiener Holocaust Library set to open following major renovations
The world's oldest Holocaust studies library and research centre re-opens its doors on 20th September with exhibition on Jewish émigré sculptor, Fred Kormis
An exhibition exploring the life and work of a little-known Jewish émigré artist marks the re-opening of one of the world’s leading and most extensive archives on the Holocaust.
Closed for refurbishment works since 22nd July, the Wiener Holocaust Library re-opens on 20th September with an exhibit on Fred Kormis.
The renovation of the central London venue marks the first large modernisation of the space since it moved to Russell Square in 2011.
Driven by his conscience to reveal he was Jewish in the early 1930s, thus destroying his career in Weimar Germany, Kormis fled the Nazis to London where he worked to re-establish his artistic reputation, and went on to create the first ever Holocaust memorial in Britain – all the while using sculpture and printmaking to make sense of his experiences as a Prisoner of War, a refugee, and an exile.
The exhibition is drawn from the Library’s unique refugee family papers collections and reunites some of Kormis’ most significant artworks from museums and private collections across the country.
A spokesperson told Jewish News: “We have completely refurbished the space with new up-to-date cabinets which will enhance our ability to showcase our vital collections. Our programme of free public exhibitions is one of the most crucial ways that people can engage with the original evidence that we have in our archive. We hope it will give people renewed impetus to come and visit this exhibition and those to come – in particular during this time in which learning about antisemitism and where it can lead could not be more important.”
The Library’s collection includes more than one million items including published and unpublished works, press cuttings, photographs and eyewitness testimony.
Click here for further information on the exhibition, which runs until February 2025.
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