Jewish Heritage Europe

US Commission Chair Lesley Weiss honored in DC

  Mazel tov to Lesley Weiss, the chair of the U.S. Commission for the Preservation of America’s Heritage Abroad,  who was presented with the U.S. annual Jewish Heritage Celebration’s  Jewish Heritage Appreciation Award. U.S. Senator Ben Cardin (D-MD) presented the … continue reading →

Important new online resource on pre-WW2 Poland, from YIVO

  The YIVO Institute for Jewish Research has launched an important new online resource on Jews and Jewish life in pre-Holocaust Poland: the YIVO Digital Archive on Jewish Life in Poland. The vast online collection, which includes digitized manuscripts, posters, photographs, … continue reading →

MACEVA Lithuanian Jewish cemetery project — 2013 activity report

MACEVA, the Lithuanian Jewish cemetery project, has released its 2013 Activity Report on its efforts to digitally document and preserve Jewish cemeteries in Lithuania. It demonstrates progress — but also underscores the many challenges. There are progress reports on digitization … continue reading →

Jeffrey Shandler on the Shtetl — real and imaginary

  Tablet Magazine has run a fascinating podcast interview with Rutgers University professor Jeffrey Shandler, who speaks about the realities of the shtetl, the symbolism and romance that have grown up around the shtetl and the way that the concept … continue reading →

Demolition threat to former synagogue in Lithuania — are there alternatives?

The group Jews in East Prussia has reported that local authorities have granted a permit for the demolition of the abandoned, 200-year-old synagogue in Žemaičių Naumiestis (Neishtot-Tavrig in Yiddish), western Lithuania. Sam Gruber reports on the case — and what could/should/may be done — in … continue reading →