Subject: Megillah (Book) of Esther (fwd)

From: Julian Goldberg <[email-masked]>
Date: Mon, 25 Nov 1996 12:42:22 -0500 (EST)

In the Simon Wiesenthal Holocaust Museum in Los Angeles Califonia, there
is an interesting scroll of the biblical book of Esther.  It is a scroll
that was made for children in that it has drawings in it.  It is located
in archives # 93-012 and was printed in Berlin Germany in 1936 as it is
copyrighted in this year.  It was put together by Dr. Herbert Loewenstein,
the drawings were made by Otto Gismar and the printer was M. Lessmann.
This scroll is interesting not only for being printed in Germany in 1936
after Hitler and the Nazis were in power but also because of the symbolism
found in the drawings.  One striking feature made by the artist of this
scroll is that a bulldog has been drawn in association with King Ahasverus.
The bulldog is seen sitting infront of the King's throne and walking 
together with the King in different drawings on the scroll.  A few years
ago, it was found by a scholar that the very small Hebrew letters of
Tav, Shin and Zayin as they appear in such Megillahs in the column where
Haman's ten sons that were hung are listed corresponded to the year of
1946 (ten years after this scroll was made) and there were ten Nazis that
were hung at the Nuremberg Trials in Germany after WWII  for their part
in the Holocaust.  The idea and efforts behind the trials were laid down
by the London Conference and the British were the foremost in charge of
these trials since the chief justice was British.