Richard Hatch will be lecturing and performing at Congregation Sukkat Shalom in Juneau, Alaska on Monday, May 4, 2026. His subject is “Guenther Dammann and The Lives of the Jewish Conjurers”, a book Dammann, a young Jewish scholar of magic, wrote and published in Berlin in 1933. Sadly, Dammann and his family perished in the Holocaust and his book never received the attention it deserved, being a celebration of the great Jewish exponents of magic throughout history. Hatch will talk about the book (showing a copy of the original), Dammann’s life, and his own translation of the book, due to be published later this year by Tannen’s Magic in New York, one of the nation’s oldest surviving brick-and-mortar magic shops, founded by two Jewish brothers, Irv and Lou Tannen, in the 1930s. The presentation will include the performance of several pieces inspired by the performers in the book. A volunatry donation to the Juneau food pantry is encouraged in lieu of an admission fee. Information on the congregation, the only synagogue in southeast Alaska, may be found here: https://www.sukkatshalomalaska.com/
