YIVO (Yidisher Visnshaftlekher Institut) was founded in 1925 in Vilnius as a Jewish scholarly institute dedicated to researching Eastern European Jewish culture, language, and history. During World War II, the institute relocated to New York, where it continues to preserve more than 400,000 books and millions of documents, manuscripts, and photographs about Jewish life in Europe.
This month, several interesting and important events are taking place in Vilnius to mark the institute’s 100th anniversary. Here are a few highlights:
October 19–21 (Sunday–Tuesday) – Conference “YIVO in Vilnius and the World”
Location: Vilnius University and the National Library of Lithuania
You can find the full program here or download it.
Interesting to note:
October 21 (Tuesday) at 3:30 PM – A guided tour (in English) of the exhibition “YIVO Centennial: Origins, Journey, Legacy” at the National Library of Lithuania, led by Dr. Lara Lempertienė, Head of the Judaica Research Center.
October 20 (Monday) at 6:30 PM – Lecture by Dr. Samuel Kassow: “Zalmen Reyzen’s and Max Weinreich’s Image of Interwar Vilna”
Location: National Library of Lithuania, Hall of Statehood, 2nd floor
Vilnius was long regarded as the cultural center of Eastern European Jewry – a city whose spirit connected past and present. As YIVO leaders Max Weinreich and Zalmen Reyzen wrote, it was here, in the “Jerusalem of Lithuania,” that the traditions of Jewish public life and spiritual leadership took shape, grounded in memory and respect for the past.
Samuel Kassow (b. 1946) is an American historian, professor at Trinity College, and one of the leading scholars of Eastern European Jewish history. His research explores Jewish political, cultural, and social life in Lithuania, Poland, and the wider region before World War II. In cooperation with YIVO, he regularly visits Lithuania as part of the institute’s study tours.
The event will be held in English . More information here.
October 21 (Tuesday) at 6:00 PM – Presentation of the Lithuanian translation of Dr. Cecile Esther Kuznitz’s monograph “YIVO and the Making of Modern Jewish Culture: Scholarship for the Yiddish Nation.”
Location: National Library of Lithuania, Conference Hall, 5th floor
Written in 2014 by Dr. Cecile Esther Kuznitz, Associate Professor of History and Director of Jewish Studies at Bard College, this book is the first comprehensive study of the YIVO Institute’s history, exploring its mission, Yiddish language and culture research, and the creation of its vast archives.
The event will be held in English. More information here.
October 30 (Thursday) at 6:00 PM – Lecture by Dr. Lara Lempertienė, Head of the Judaica Research Center, “The Last Years of YIVO in Vilnius: The First Soviet Occupation and the Beginning of the Holocaust.”
Location: Educational Hall of the Museum of Jewish Culture and Identity of Lithuania, Pylimo St. 4A
More about the event here. The lecture will be held in Lithuanian.
The exhibition “YIVO Centennial: Origins, Journey, Legacy” will run until December 31, 2025.
Curator: Dr. Lara Lempertienė
Location: National Library of Lithuania, 3rd floor.
Litvak Shtetls 