From early immigrants to today’s civic leaders, An American Story chronicles the challenges and achievements of individuals in Northeast Ohio’s Jewish communities using imagery, video, interactive displays and key artifacts. Here are three items to look for the next time you tour this permanent exhibition at the Museum:
Thorman/Klein gold locket
c. 1850s
Courtesy of the Ethel Kendis Family
This is one of the first artifacts you encounter in the permanent collection. Simson Thorman was the first Jewish settler in Cleveland, arriving from Unsleben, Bavaria in 1832. This locket contains photos of Thorman and his wife, Regina Klein, who joined him in Cleveland when she immigrated in 1839.
Superman Comic Book, No.17
July/August 1942
Some people don’t know this but Superman was created in Cleveland by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster, two Jewish friends from Glenville High School. This issue from 1942 shows Superman humiliating German dictator Adolf Hitler and Japanese Prime Minister Hideki Tojo. Other items related to the Man of Steel in the collection include a Shuster Superman sketch and a 1934 Glenville High School yearbook.
Salt cellars with spoons
c. 1800s
Courtesy of Betty Gold
The Holocaust Survivor Room shares the stories of local survivors through objects and video including that of Betty Gold, a former Museum docent who frequently shared her experiences with students. Ryszard Lubinski and Betty Gold were playmates in the Trochenbrod shtetl. Both survived the war, but each lost track of the other after liberation. When they met again decades later, Lubinski gave Gold these salt cellars, which had been a prewar gift from her family to his. Beyond Trochenbrod: The Betty Gold Story is available in our Museum Store and chronicles the history of the once tightknit community destroyed by the Nazis, her life during the war and adjusting to Cleveland, her new home.
—Lindsay Miller, Registrar and Exhibitions Coordinator
