A conversation with Yechiel Weizman on his book
Unsettled Heritage: Living Next to Poland’s Material Jewish Traces after the Holocaust (Ithaca, 2022)
In Unsettled Heritage, Yechiel Weizman explores what happened to the thousands of abandoned Jewish cemeteries and places of worship that remained in Poland after the Holocaust. He asks how postwar Polish society in small, provincial towns perceived, experienced, and interacted with the physical traces of former Jewish neighbors. Combining archival research into hitherto unexamined sources and anthropological field work, the book uncovers the concrete and symbolic fate of Poland’s material Jewish remnants and shows how their presence became the main vehicle through which Polish society was confronted with the memory of the Jews and their annihilation. Leading the conversation with Weizman will be Monika Rice, and joining them will be Alon Confino and Amos Goldberg.
This event will be held via ZOOM Webinar.
Registration is required, register in advance here.
Dr. Pieter Vlaardingerbroek will present an illustrated talk live from Amsterdam on the architecture and interior of the 1675 Portuguese Synagogue (the Esnoga) in Amsterdam and the synagogue’s direct influence on the architecture of the 1763 Touro Synagogue in Newport, Rhode Island.
Pieter Vlaardingerbroek, Ph.D., is a leading expert on Dutch architecture and material culture. He is an architectural historian for the City of Amsterdam, having served in a similar position for the Cultural Heritage Agency of the Netherlands. He is an Assistant Professor of Architectural History and Conservation at the University of Utrecht. Professor Vlaardingerbroek is the author of many articles and books and served as editor for the definitive volume on the Portuguese Sephardic synagogue, The Portuguese Synagogue in Amsterdam, published by the City of Amsterdam in 2013.
There is no fee to participate, but reservations are required to receive the Zoom login information.
The eighth annual conference dedicated to Jewish cultural heritage in Slovakia, including major projects and activities — and the people behind them.
This year, a focus will be the restoration of the synagogue in Trenčín, which is implemented with the support of the EHP Grant (Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway) with co-financing from the state budget of the Slovak community and resources of the Jewish community.
The conference will be available online at https://www.facebook.com/zidianaslovensku and https://tachles.tv/
Program
The annual “Open Jewish Houses/Houses of Resistance” commemorative program takes place in a score of towns and cities around the Netherlands.
Storytellers, visitors and residents share stories in houses where Jews or members of the resistance lived and worked before, during and just after the Second World War.
Part 1 or 2 webinars being held by The Foundation for Jewish Heritage, exploring how and to what extent Jewish cemeteries can and are currently being used as visitor destinations across Europe.
The webinars are designed for those working in tour guiding, for heritage institutions, or as part of genealogical research services.
Speakers from central and eastern Europe will share their experiences and visions about engaging visitors with these sites. There will be opportunities to share good practice and effective ways of marketing Jewish heritage to a broader range of visitors, to discuss successful promotion of historic Jewish cemeteries by tour guides, and to think what different audiences might want from their encounters with historic Jewish cemeteries.
Speakers include: Olga Skobeeva, Project co-ordinator at the NGO ‘Eko-Kultura’ in Chernivtsi Ukraine; Rabbi Chaim Wiener from Jewish Journeys Ltd on the tours he provides of Jewish interest to various destinations in Europe, and Dr Krisztina Frauhammer, the thematic expert of project REDISCOVER who will present on the development of the Szeged Jewish route, accompanying app and an onsite guided cemetery tour.
There will be a key-note address by Dr Paul Darby with findings from his report ‘Jewish Cemeteries as Visitor Destinations – Exploring Current Practices, Current Challenges and sustainable futures in seven European Countries.’
The second in a two-part webinar series hosted by The Foundation for Jewish Heritage for those leading work with Jewish heritage, heritage industry experts and an invited audience.
The webinar explores how and to what extent Jewish cemeteries are currently being used as visitor destinations across seven countries in Europe, and how current initiatives might contribute to the sustaining and promotion of more historic Jewish cemeteries. Speakers from across central and eastern Europe will share their experiences and visions about engaging visitors with these sites which are integral to the European experience, and the common heritage of all Europeans. Speakers include: Marta Mackowiak who will discuss a new project related to Jews from Lower Silesia and her collaboration with the Jewish Historical Institute in Warsaw, Dušan Vrban from the Association of Significant Cemeteries in Europe, who will share his findings on what Europe’s cemeteries offer as heritage destinations and Monika Göttler, who will speak on the Bavarian City of Regensburg’s role as a REDISCOVER partner and the benefits from this European cooperation for their local work on valorization of their Jewish heritage and the development of Jewish cultural heritage-based products and touristic services that have come out of this partnership.tour.
It will begin with an introduction by the Foundation for Jewish Heritage Chair Dame Helen Hyde followed by a key-note address by Dr Paul Darby with findings from his report ‘Jewish Cemeteries as Visitor Destinations – Exploring Current Practices, Current Challenges and sustainable futures in seven European Countries.’ This report has involved consultation with key stakeholders, market analysis, documenting case studies, and exploring the use of new products and digital technologies.
A Zoom webinar in English introducing the current temporary exhibition at MEIS — the National Museum of Italian Judaism and the Shoah in Ferrara— Houses of Life; Synagogues and Jewish Cemeteries in Italy.
The exhibition mainly features plans and architectural drawings of synagogues, as well as gravestones, tombs, and other architecture features, through the ages.
A historic ark and other Judaica are also featured.
Speakers in the webinar include the two curators of the exhibition, Andrea Morpurgo and MEIS director Amadeo Spagnoletto, as well as Dr. Jessica Del Russo.
Click here to receive the Zoom link
The Concluding Conference of the “Preserving Jewish Cemeteries” EU co-funded grant. This conference concludes an 18 month project undertaken jointly by the ESJF European Jewish Cemeteries Initiative, Centropa and the Foundation for Jewish Heritage which has focused on preserving Jewish cemeteries in seven European countries. Efforts have involved raising awareness in local communities, implementing educational projects, and integrating Jewish cemeteries into the school curriculum.
Click here to find the program and link to register for online access
The annual conference of the International Association of Jewish Genealogy Societies takes place this year in London.
Closing event of the conservation and restoration camps held this year in the Jewish Cemetery of Alba Iolia, as part of the project Conservation and restoration of the monumental funeral stones of the Jewish cemetery in Alba Iulia.
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