Beyond Swastika and Jim Crow: Jewish Refugee Scholars at Black Colleges

February 4 - May 31, 2011

By the time World War II began on September 1, 1939, Germany had purged itself of its Jewish professors, scientists, and scholars. Some of these academics, deprived of their livelihoods by the Nazis, found refuge in the United States. But in this new world, they faced an uncertain future.

A few dozen refugee scholars unexpectedly found positions in historically black colleges in the American South. There, as recent escapees from persecution in Nazi Germany, they came face to face with the absurdities of a rigidly segregated Jim Crow society. In their new positions, they met, taught, and interacted with students who had grown up in, and struggled with, this racist environment.

Beyond Swastika and Jim Crow explores the unlikely coming together of these two groups, each the object of exclusion and hatred, and examines the ongoing encounter between them as they navigated the challenges of life in the segregated South. Through historical objects, photographs, texts, and artworks such as The Gleaners by John Biggers, visitors are invited to learn the stories of two disenfranchised groups brought together in search of opportunity and freedom.

Beyond Swastika and Jim Crow: Jewish Refugee Scholars at Black Colleges was created and is circulated by the Museum of Jewish Heritage--A Living Memorial to the Holocaust.  Learn More >

This exhibition is made possible through major funding from the Leon Levy Foundation. Additional support provided by the Helen Bader Foundation; The Lupin Foundation; The Blanche and Irving Laurie Foundation; public funds from the New York State Council on the Arts, a state agency; the Alpern Family Foundation; and the Charles and Mildred Schnurmacher Foundation.

Press >

Daily Herald | Holocaust museum examines Jewish persecution and Jim Crow

A new exhibit at the Illinois Holocaust Museum in Skokie, “Beyond Swastika and Jim Crow,” explores the unlikely coming together of these two groups, each the object of exclusion and hatred, and examines the ongoing encounter between them as they navigated the challenges of life in the segregated South.

Through historical objects, photographs, texts and artworks such as “The Gleaners” by John Biggers, visitors learn the stories of two disenfranchised groups brought together in search of opportunity and freedom.  Read Online >

Skokie Review | Holocaust Museum: Exhibit describes refugee Jewish scholars at black colleges

The Illinois Holocaust Museum & Education Center's newest traveling exhibition tells the under-reported story of German-Jewish refugee scholars expelled from their homeland by the Nazis who found new lives at historically black colleges in the American South.

"Beyond Swastika and Jim Crow: Jewish Refugee Scholars at Black Colleges," scheduled to open Friday, is further indication of how this invaluable facility in Skokie places a high priority on the "education" part of its mission.  Read Online >

Photo >

Professor Ernst Borinski teaching in the Social Science Lab, Tougaloo College, MS, ca. 1960. Prof. Borinski, a refugee from Germany, was part of the Tougaloo community for thirty-six years. In the Social Science Lab, students were encouraged to think critically and question social attitudes, prejudices, and race relations. His tombstone in the campus cemetery reads: "Ernst Borinski, Inspiring Teacher."
Courtesy of Mississippi Department of Archives and History