The special exhibit tells "the story of a Jewish dressmaker from Prague unable to join her relatives in Milwaukee because of immigration barriers". The story itself played out over and over as Jewish refugees, trying to flee Nazi occupation, were faced with national quota systems barring them from immigrating to other countries.
The exhibit features a story of Hedwig Strnad and her husband....trying to reach relatives in Milwaukee. To facilitate their request Hedwig's husband included sketches of some of the dresses she designed. She was well known and respected in Prague and the surrounding area. Letters asking for assistance and the colorful sketches. Letters and sketches found years later in a box in an attic.....letters and sketches that form the basis for this very interesting and impactful exhibit.
The dresses were fabricated by the Milwaukee Repertory Theater's cosume shop and they are displayed on eyeless white mannequins. They are both sad and beautiful. The fabrics, the colors, the styles. And all created from just one sketch.
The narrative explains the entire story much better than I can here. And it makes you stop and think about the loss of this one talented dress designer....and wonder about all the other victims of that terrible time and all of the talent lost.
This particular exhibit is very timely. With wars and conflicts in so many countries, and barriers to immigration all too common, I too wonder.....what art will never be created...what inventions will never see the light of day....what novels won't be written.....how many future doctors will never treat a patient.....how many future parents will never live to raise a family.
This was my third visit to the Jewish Museum....it won't be my last.....
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