>> This is the Lubar family.
>> Yes, it is.
>> Marianne Lubar and
Kathie Bernstein have been
on a quest ever since founding
the Jewish Museum Milwaukee
in 2008.
>> This museum, it's small
and people come in and they're
amazed at the story we tell.
Here we are.
>> Here we are.
>> And now, they're realizing a
dream that first arrived on
their doorstep nearly a decade
before the museum ever existed.
>> It touched my heart then,
and I knew that it would
be important.
>> It was a letter.
>> In 1997, we had a Jewish
archives.
And Bert Strnad came in
and he said, "I have
these pictures from my father."
I opened up the packet, and
here were these eight dress
designs, and a letter from
Paul Strnad to his
cousin, Alvin.
And because it had a Nazi
stamp, it had been censored.
>> Prague, 24th of October,
1938.
Dear Alvin, you may imagine
that we have great interest of
leaving Europe as soon as
possible.
>> We just recently received
a letter from 1938 that was
much more explicit.
>> An unavoidable consequence
of these events will be death.
The influence of Germany
will greatly increase
and you can imagine what this
will mean to us Jews
living here.
>> The story, of course, is
they were seeking help in
leaving Prague, because the
Germans had already entered
the country.
>> The eight dress designs,
created by Paul's wife,
Hedy Strnad, could be
their ticket out.
The Strnads had Jewish
relatives in Czechoslovakia
that owned a clothing store,
just like their Jewish
relatives in Milwaukee.
>> I have sent you some of the
dress designs my wife made,
and I hope that the dress
manufacturers you mentioned
in your letter will
like them.
>> If an American dressmaker
picked-up the designs
it could provide financial
stability for the Strnads,
helping them secure immigration
papers.
>> It was an interest right
from the very beginning, from
the time we acquired the
letters, the drawings.
>> And I knew that if
we ever had a museum that
that would be the centerpiece
of the Holocaust area.
>> And indeed, today it is
front and center in the
museum's Holocaust exhibit.
All that remains of the Strnad's
story are the letters and dress
designs, because Hedy and Paul
never made it out,
never made it to Milwaukee,
never realized their dreams.
>> It's so sad to know that
they died in the
Holocaust.
Kathie and Marianne made sure
the Strnad's story survived.
>> We have a picture of her
with her husband, Paul.
I mean, they were a beautiful
looking couple.
>> Here's Hedy, and what I love
is the fact that she was saucy.
>> Yeah, she was.
>> And she had red hair and
she smoked cigarettes.
She had a shop and employed
people.
So, I think she was a pretty
spunky gal.
>> I think she represents
many of the Jewish women I know
who are quite strong,
and self-driven.
>> And yet there was still
something missing.
>> We're now going to take
Hedwig Strnad's designs and
we're going to make them real.
We're gonna do it in her memory
and in memory of everybody who
lost their lives.
>> Milwaukee's Repertory
Theater costume shop helped
stitch this story together,
making Hedy's fashion-forward
designs a reality.
>> It became more than just
sewing up a bunch of dresses.
They created fabric.
They hand printed, hand
screened, hand everything.
>> It's a difficult story to
tell because, we want to show
the talent of the woman,
we want to also show the
tragedy.
And we took the giant step
of doing this on our own,
which is just a huge undertaking
for such a small museum.
They're fabulous!
You know, you pick up a
certain era, and a certain
European flavor.
>> There's the label that the
Rep made from the letter
with her signature, "Hedy."
>> Yeah, "Hedy Original."
>> She would've loved it.
It's elegant, and she would
of said, "Yeah, that's nice,"
in her saucy tone.
Yeah.
>> Marianne, this is
an original.
People are really going to
love that.
And I can't wait to see how
the whole show sets up with
these gorgeous clothes,
complete with hats, bags,
gloves, and shoes.
No matter, what I'm going
to make sure it's going to
be fabulous, I guarantee you.
>> Hedy and Paul have become
part of our family.
It is a great story.
When the dresses were made,
then it became like, wow,
this is something.
Hedy, where are you?
You know, we did it for you.
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