The Transfer Agreement

While the Bauhaus was being shut down in Germany in 1933, many German Jews were already emigrating to the British mandated territory of Palestine in what would later become the future state of Israel. That same year, several Zionist organisations and Nazi Germany signed an extremely controversial transfer agreement (Hebrew: “Ha’avara”) allowing as many Jews to emigrate to Palestine as possible. Until the outbreak of World War II, building materials from Germany worth millions were sent to Palestine as part of the agreement which offered tens of thousands of immigrant Jews an easier start at life. The materials also included goods which helped build the country, specifically residential buildings designed in modernist styles such as those found in the “White City” in Tel Aviv. This project took the example of the Max Liebling House (White City Center) to investigate the legacy of the Ha’avara Agreement. Following a close inspection of the building and its materiality, the project aimed to rewrite the narrative of the agreement, sketched the relationship of the house to other buildings in Tel Aviv and elsewhere, and highlighted the influence of German culture. The walls of the house, its materials, building plans and above all, the people who planned, built and lived in the house provided the raw material for the study. The results were presented in an exhibition, the core of which comprised an installation that reflected on the backgrounds of these individuals and objects from a contemporary perspective.

Artistic directors: Hila Cohen Schniderman (IL), Ilit Azoulay (DE), Nir Shauloff (IL) Performance: Lou Moria (IL)
Curator: Sharon Golan Yaron (IL)