“Every time I get angry, I write a book.” — Arno Lustiger (1924–2012)

The online exhibition honors the Frankfurt historian and Holocaust survivor Arno Lustiger on the occasion of his 100th birthday. In addition to photographs, letters and newspaper articles, the multimedia exhibition also shows posters, paintings and video material from Lustiger’s estate, which has been kept at the Jewish Museum Frankfurt since 2017.

The exhibition highlights Arno Lustiger’s life and work along five stages - live on, build, help shape, enlighten, remember. In addition to his achievements as co-founder of the Frankfurt Jewish community and chronicler of Jewish resistance against fascism, lesser-known aspects of his biography are also highlighted, such as his work as a successful fashion entrepreneur and art collector. Lustiger’s biography is also a chronicle of the young Federal Republic of Germany and its difficult relationship with the Nazi era, which the controversial publicist publicly demanded be dealt with to the very end.

On behalf of the Jewish Museum Frankfurt, I developed the exhibition concept, selected exhibits, researched them and wrote easy-to-understand texts. The exhibition has been internationally accessible since May 2024 on the Google Arts & Culture platform of the Google Cultural Institute via the app of the same name.

The online exhibition tells the story of Anne Frank’s ancestors and family since the 17th century. Paintings, photographs, letters, memoirs and objects illustrate the life, traditions and cohesion of the family, whose roots lie in Frankfurt am Main and Landau in der Pfalz.

Anne Frank’s grandmother, Alice Frank, played a key role in passing on the family heritage. She preserved the memorabilia for her children and grandchildren. Excerpts from one of her letters can be listened to in the online exhibition. Other stages in the family’s history, from the German Empire to the Weimar Republic and the post-war period, are illustrated using historical images. The online exhibition concludes with an interview with Buddy Elias (1925–2015), Anne Frank’s cousin and former president of the Anne Frank Fonds Basel.

I was responsible for the concept and the texts. The exhibition texts are available in German and English and were written in simple language. Foreign words and technical terms have been avoided or explained.

The client was the Frank Family Center of the Jewish Museum Frankfurt am Main in cooperation with the Anne Frank Fonds, Basel. The exhibition has been available to an international audience since 2017 on the Google Arts & Culture platform of the Google Cultural Institute and via the app of the same name.