Jewish Heritage Europe

Book Review: Learning about Jewish Life (and Lives) from Jewish cemeteries. Review essay of Rudolf Klein’s new book

  Jewish cemeteries are often called Houses of the Living, and for good reason. The epitaphs and grave markers — be they simple matzevot or grand mausolea — represent, and tell the stories of, the people they memorialize. They speak … continue reading →

Photo Essay: On the 100th anniversary of the end of WW1, honoring the Jewish soldiers who fell (on all sides)

  Today, November 11, marks the 100th anniversary of the armistice that ended World War I. We remember the Jewish soldiers who fell during the conflict — and, in particular, we take a look at the memorials raised in their … continue reading →

Kristallnacht: Wonderful surviving — and restored — synagogues to mark the 80th anniversary

  By now it’s a JHE tradition. The night of November 9-10 marks the  80th anniversary of the so-called Kristallnacht pogrom in 1938, when the Nazis launched coordinated violent attacks on Jews, Jewish property and Jewish places of worship all … continue reading →

Important New Book on Synagogue Architecture by Sergey R. Kravtsov

An important new book on synagogue architecture has just been published. Titled In the Shadow of Empires: Synagogue Architecture in East Central Europe, it is a collection of essays by JHE friend Sergey R. Kravtsov, of the Center for Jewish Art … continue reading →

Persistent “symbolic mezuzahs”; and why photograph ruined traces of Jewish life?

  JHE friend, the Cologne-based photographer Christian Herrmann, spends his free time traveling to eastern Europe to photograph the surviving traces of pre-Holocaust Jewish life that still stand across the region. We have highlighted his work a number of times, … continue reading →