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Sunday, November 15, 2026
Saving the Iraqi Jewish Archive: From Emergency to Exhibition
Corine Wegener – Founding Director of the Smithsonian Cultural Rescue Initiative
Corine Wegener is an art historian, museum curator, and retired U.S. Army Reserve Civil Affairs officer specializing in cultural heritage protection during armed conflict and other disasters. In May 2003, the Army deployed Major Wegener to Baghdad to assist after the looting of the Iraq National Museum.
Upon arriving, Wegener faced an additional task – the salvage and stabilization of a collection of damaged Jewish documents, books, and archival materials recovered in a war zone from the Iraqi Secret Police headquarters - the Iraqi Jewish Archive.
Wegener will share her story as a “Monuments Woman” in the salvage and stabilization of the collection in Iraq, the interagency effort by the U.S. government to bring it to the U.S. for conservation, and the issues still surrounding the collection more than twenty-five years later.
This presentation will start at 7:30 pm
BAF Members and B'nai Israel Congregants: Free Admission
General Public: Admission: $10 Cash or check only - at the door
This event will be held at:
B'nai Israel Congregation - 6301 Montrose Road / Rockville, MD 20852. Free Parking
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