Austrian National Fund Exhibit Opening
From left: Pati Jinich, Evelyn Torton-Beck, Charlotte Masters, and Hannah Lessing.
Photo: Austrian Embassy
A new exhibition by the Austrian National Fund opened on November 13, 2024 at the Austrian Embassy. The exhibition “From Repression to Remembrance” describes the work and activities of the National Fund in areas such as the recognition of victims of National Socialism, project funding, art restitution, the documentation of life stories, the restoration of Jewish cemeteries, the Simon Wiesenthal Prize, the Austrian exhibition in Auschwitz, and compensation and restitution for victims of National Socialism.
The opening reception included remarks by Deputy Chief of Mission Hans Almoslechner and National Fund Managing Director Hannah Lessing, and two distinguished guest speakers: Ambassador Stuart Eizenstat and U.S. Special Envoy for Holocaust Issues Ellen Germain.
Their remarks were followed by a panel discussion titled “Lessons for Tomorrow: Austria's Commitment to Remembrance and Responsibility” with “new” Austrian citizens: Americans who recently acquired Austrian citizenship as descendants of victims of the National Socialist regime, and moderated by Hannah Lessing:
Evelyn (“Evi”) Torton Beck, Professor Emerita at the University of Maryland, holds doctorates in comparative literature and clinical psychology. She received an honorary doctorate from the University of Music and Performing Arts in Vienna, Austria, for her life's work in creating interdisciplinary women's and gender studies and her constant fight against antisemitism, homophobia and all “isms” that divide us. Her writings include groundbreaking research on Franz Kafka, Frida Kahlo, Jewish women's studies, lesbian studies, and feminist transformations of knowledge. She is also involved in the projects of Fielding Graduate University: “Creative Longevity and Wisdom” and “Somatics and Phenomenology.” She has written studies on Sacred Circle Dance, which she continues to teach in the Washington, DC area.
Pati Jinich is the Emmy-nominated Mexican-American host and executive producer of La Frontera, her PBS primetime documentary series that reveals untold stories from the U.S.-Mexico border, and Pati's Mexican Table, which has been bringing Mexican flavors into American homes for more than ten years. The James Beard Award-winning chef and former political analyst has made it her life's work to promote understanding between her two homelands: Mexico, where she was born, and the United States, where she currently lives and raises her family. In addition to her television work, she is a New York Times bestselling author of three cookbooks, including her latest, Treasures of the Mexican Table: Classic Recipes, Local Secrets.
Charlotte Masters is a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania's Master of Social Work program and currently works as a psychotherapist in Bethesda, Maryland. Charlotte Masters was born and raised in Washington, DC, and has been actively involved in Holocaust and genocide education for 26 years. She is the granddaughter of Peter Masters, who had to flee Austria at a young age and through whom she received Austrian citizenship in 2022, the year of his 100th birthday.
