A Jewish Artist in Berlin Before, During, and After the Third Reich

About the Lecture

Konrad Geldmacher (1878-1965) was a formally trained sculptor and medalist who, though not widely celebrated today, publicly pursued his craft in Berlin beginning even before his military service during the First World War and well into the 1960s. Though clearly identified as a Jew, indeed a participant in the dramatic 1943 Rosenstrasse protests, Geldmacher nevertheless had official permission to live openly, to work, and to travel within Berlin throughout the Nazi period. Many details of his life experience and evidence of his artistic achievement are rendered more vivid by images of his medals and sculpture, of photos reflecting his private life, and of surviving significant official documents.

Note: This event will take place in-person at the Center for Jewish History and will be live streamed online.

Our Guest

Dr. Ira Rezak is an emeritus professor of medicine (Stony Brook University) and an author who has long been interested in the collection and study of medals with particular attention to their historical context and their social agency. He is a fellow of the American Numismatic Society and of the New York Academy of Medicine, and for the past twenty-five years has served as president of the Harry G. Friedman Society, a New York organization whose focus is the art and history of Jewish material culture. He is also a Trustee of the Lottie Salton estate, who were preeminent collectors of coins and medals, and whose generous bequest supports LBI’s work in promotion of scholarship.