Jewish citizens of Leipzig had a decisive influence on the city and the MdbK with their civic and cultural commitment since the 19th century - until they were disenfranchised, persecuted, expelled, robbed and murdered under National Socialism. Knowledge of their work and their art collections is largely lost today. The MdbK wants to bring the names and stories of Leipzig's pioneering Jewish protagonists back into the public consciousness and the museum. Together with the artist Shlomit Lehavi and the publicist Sharon Adler, it has been searching for traces since 2024 to make forgotten and erased connections visible again.
Making Visible, phase 1 and 2
In the first phase, the MdbK and Sharon Adler conducted research into forgotten Jewish actors. A total of 28 individuals and families were identified in the archives of the Jewish Religious Community of Leipzig, in city and state archives and in the MdbK's documentation. What they have in common is that they were Jewish, engaged in charitable social and cultural activities and had a connection to the MdbK.
The selection of the protagonists, who were researched more intensively in the second phase of the project, was based on criteria developed by the project team. Among other things, the family stories should reflect different aspects of social and cultural engagement as well as different ties to the museum. The biographies of Wilhelm Breslauer, Hermann and Toni Halberstam, Cläre Kirstein, Moritz Kraemer and Laura Sonntag took centre stage. Shlomit Lehavi has created an artistic visualisation of the results of this second phase.
Leerstellen Sichtbarmachen (Making Voids Visible)
As an artistic intervention and visualisation of the results, Lehavi's work Leerstellen Sichtbarmachen is juxtaposed with Stephan Huber's Stiftermosaik (Donor Mosaic) in the foyer of the MdbK. The panel mosaic, which he created in 2004 for the museum's new building, brings together patrons of the museum from three centuries in a group portrait. This historical image serves as a reminder of Leipzig's citizens' foundation mentality in the 19th and early 20th centuries, and as an invitation to continue this tradition in the future.
In Leerstellen Sichtbarmachen, the image of the depicted donors and patrons is expanded to include Jewish protagonists, making it clear that knowledge and history depend on the questions that guide them. Shlomit Lehavi works across genres, combining traditional techniques with media art methods. Leerstellen Sichtbarmachen — an installation of digital drawings presented on a transparent screen — stands at the intersection of video, drawing, and interactive art. The piece is spatially integrated into the foyer, creating a place of remembrance within the MdbK.
Visitors will be able to access the researched biographies as audio files at an on-site audio station and online. Leerstellen Sichtbarmachen invites visitors to pause, act and observe, offering the opportunity to delve deep into forgotten family histories.
Before 1933, Jewish families, collectors and artists played an important role in Leipzig's cultural life. However, their contribution and commitment, as well as their life stories, were erased from the city's memory when they were persecuted, expelled and murdered under National Socialism. Their absence has left gaps. Recognising these people and filling these gaps is an important part of dealing with the MdbK's collection and history.
This project is supported by the Cultural Foundation of the Free State of Saxony and the Holger Koppe Foundation.
You can listen to the biographies of the five selected stifters here
