They were Uneasy Years.

Michigan’s Jewish community found itself increasingly at home here in the U.S. in the 1930s, but worries pressed in – over the economic turmoil of the Great Depression and growing concerns about the rise of Nazism and threat of war in Germany.

As part of the And Still They Prospered: Living Through the Great Depression program series at the Lorenzo Cultural Center at Macomb Community College, an exhibit entitled “Uneasy Years: Michigan Jewry During the Depression and War,” will be displayed during the full run of the series, Feb. 27-May 8. The exhibit is on loan from the Michigan State University Museum.

And Still They Prospered will feature a wide variety of presentations on life and living in the 1930s in the Detroit region and beyond. Among the presenters will be Paul Kavieff, a local historian who has written a book on Detroit’s notorious Purple Gang, a loose confederation of Jewish gangsters that came to prominence during the Prohibition years.

“They are a sense of pride and embarrassment to the Detroit Jewish community,” Kavieff said of the gang. “A sense of pride, not so much that these guys were gangsters and they were Jewish but that they were tough and they stood up. And of course there is a sense of embarrassment in the fact that these were Jews and many Jews in Detroit feel that they brought a lot of bad publicity to the Jewish community here. I personally don't feel that way, I mean this group was just a small percentage of the whole, and these are choices people make.”

Kavieff’s presentation is scheduled for 11 a.m. Wednesday, May 5.

And Still They Prospered will examine what it took not only to survive the great economic and related challenges of the Great Depression and the 1930s, but will also look at the seeds that were sown to allow the Detroit region to rise up from that challenge and create a new industrial super power.

The Lorenzo Cultural Center is located on Macomb Community College’s Center Campus, Garfield & M-59, Clinton Township. The cultural center is open 10 a.m. – 4 p.m. Wednesday – Saturday; and 1-4 p.m. Sundays. Additional information on the cultural center and on the And Still They Prospered program series is available at www.lorenzoculturalcenter.com.

About the Lorenzo Cultural Center
The Lorenzo Cultural Center (lorenzoculturalcenter.com) explores the influences and experiences that shape our community's heritage, examining topics from a variety of perspectives and creating interactive opportunities for learning, celebration and entertainment.  Located on Macomb Community College's Center Campus, Hall and Garfield Roads in Clinton Township, the cultural center is adjacent to the Macomb Center for Performing Arts.

About Macomb Community College
Macomb Community College (www.macomb.edu) is one of the nation’s leading community colleges, providing learning experiences to more than 59,000 students annually. Macomb nationally ranks in the top two percent in the number of associate degrees awarded and as the largest grantor of associate degrees in Michigan. The college’s comprehensive educational programming includes pre-collegiate experiences, university transfer and career preparation programs, bachelor degree completion and graduate degree programs, workforce training, professional education and certification, and continuing education and enrichment opportunities. 

Media contact:
Dan Heaton
586.445.7271
heatond@macomb.edu