A l b e r t ’s D re a m
Wo r k s B y M i c h a l N a c h m a n y
Albert’s Dream
14 Street Y, NYC Nov. 2015-Feb. 2016 After the end of World War II, about 15,000 children, many of them orphans, and most of them Holocaust survivors, arrived in Palestine to begin a new life. This exhibit is centered around the story of "Albert", a fictional character who arrived in Palestine as part of this "Youth Aliya", presenting a visual exploration of his imagination via his treasured objects, his memories of his mother, and his process of creating a new home . A few years earlier, in the mid 1930s, Michal's late father Shamai, not yet 13, arrived in the Jaffa port with his parents, leaving behind his older brother in Poland. Facing the hardships of living in Palestine, his mother soon after returned to Poland, and perished in the Holocaust, along with his brother. Shamai grew up motherless, lied about his age to be able to serve in the British Army in World War II, led a group of soldiers in defending Jerusalem in 1948, graduated in the first officer class of the new Israel Defense Force, and later served in Ben Gurion's government as a Deputy Secretary. He was also an avid collector of stories, friends, and keepsake objects, some of which personally related to his journeys and experiences, and others which perhaps provided a way for him to imagine the stories of others he had yet to meet. Albert's Dream is dedicated to the memory of Michal’s parents
Keepsakes
Mother’s Memories
Albert’s Dreams
״In Basel I Founded The Jewish state. If I said this out loud today l would be greeted by universal laughter. In five years perhaps, and certainly in fifty years, everyone will perceive it. ״ (Herzl’s Diary, Sep. 3rd, 1897) Exactly 50 years later, in November 1947, the U.N. adopted the partition plan for Palestine. Hertzel’s dream became a reality. Over 15,000 'Youth Aliya' children, like Albert, resettled in the new State of Israel.