Staff at the Jewish-owned Leopold Seligman company in Hausvogteiplatz, Berlin, 1933. Archive Westphal
Berlin boasted a thriving, largely Jewish-owned fashion district that sought to rival Paris in the 1920s and 1930s—before it was destroyed by the Nazis. Leading Jewish designer and trendsetter Norbert Jutschenka owned a successful business there until the Nazis forced him to sell his company for a fraction of its value.
Judith Leiber, who had to give up studying chemistry because of the outbreak of World War II, reinvented herself after the war in Budapest and then New York. Celebrities and First Ladies have carried her crystal-studded designer handbags. During the focus on Fashion Week, join us to explore what was lost in the fall of a once-rising fashion capital, and how working in the clothing industry helped some survivors build new lives.
Guests
Kyra Schuster, Curator, United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
Uwe Westphal, Journalist and Author, Fashion Metropolis Berlin 1836–1939: The Story of the Rise and Destruction of the Jewish Fashion Industry
Host
Dr. Edna Friedberg, Historian, United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
Watch live at facebook.com/holocaustmuseum. You do not need a Facebook account to view our program. After the live broadcast, the recording will be available to watch on demand on the Museum’s Facebook and YouTube pages.