Working at the USHMM

Last Friday I continued to work at the USHMM.

There were no disasters to start the day and I settled in to work. After several hours of not finding anything of interest to me, I started to get frustrated and wonder if there would actually be anything for me here. I read through hundreds upon hundreds of documents on employment and confiscated property. My eyes felt glazed and they were pounding in my head when I hit a large grouping of legal decrees and laws relating to anti-Jewish laws. Finally, something I could use! I perked right up and copied away.

I probably could have found these documents elsewhere, but had just the day before been thinking to myself, "I need to make copies of all of these laws these documents keep referencing." So I felt like I'd found something really valuable. Yes, they are accessible elsewhere, but I found them all together and didn't have to dedicate that time to tracking them down one by one.

I stopped working at around 3, when my eyes just couldn't take it anymore. The microfilm is made up of image negatives, meaning when I look at the documents, it is white type on a black background. I don't have any vision problems, but after 5 or 6 hours, I can't take it anymore! It really tires out my eyes.

On my way out I met with Radu, who had invited me to use this collection. It was the first chance that we had had to talk as he was at a conference until then. His opinion of the collection is that it is probably somewhat valuable to me in terms of content, and certainly valuable in the sense that only a very few people have ever used it. The museum is also in the process of acquiring a large collection from Tunisia and he told me to keep in touch so that I would know when they get it. Everyone here is so helpful!

Today I met a representative from France who is here trying to work with someone on a memorialization project in Caen. He gave me his card and told me to contact him next time I'm in Paris.

The documents today are more of the same that I didn't find relevant, so the work is going more quickly, but at the same time less productively, than on Friday.

I really hope that I find more things that are useful!