7 September 2023

Presenting the podcast “Remembering Vilnius: Voices from the Holocaust”

This September marks the 80th year of the liquidation of the Vilnius Ghetto (the ghetto was destroyed on 23-24 September 1943). On 21 September at 6 pm, the Martynas Mažvydas National Library of Lithuania invites you to a presentation of the Fortunoff Holocaust Testimonies Video Archive podcast “Remembering Vilna: Voices from the Holocaust”. The event will be held in English in the Event Space of the National Library (3rd floor).

The Fortunoff Holocaust Testimonies Video Archive at Yale University (USA) contains more than 4000 accounts of people who experienced first-hand the Nazi persecution and atrocities. They hid, resisted and survived the Holocaust. The testimonies were collected in North and South America, Europe, Israel, and recorded in the language of the witnesses’ choice. The National Library and the Judaica Research Centre have been working with the Fortunoff Video Archive of Holocaust Testimonies since 2022, so library patrons also have access to this unique database.

The podcast “Those Who Were There: Voices from the Holocaust” tells the story of the Holocaust through the first-hand accounts of survivors and witnesses.

“Remembering Vilnius” is the third part of the podcast “Those Who Were There: Voices from the Holocaust”. The latest season of this ten-part podcast was produced in collaboration with the YIVO Institute for Jewish Research in New York. The podcast tells the story of the destruction of the Jewish community of Vilnius through the testimonies of survivors and the diaries of Herman Kruk. It discusses the rise of anti-Semitism between the two world wars, the invasion of Lithuania by the Soviet Union followed by the German occupation, the creation of the ghettos, the massacre of the Jews of Vilnius, and the end of the Second World War and its consequences.

We invite you to attend the presentation. Producers Nahanni Rous and Eric Marcus and host Eleanora Reissa will talk about the podcast. They will share excerpts from the podcast.

Nahanni Rous is the main producer of the podcast “Remembering Vilnius”. She has listened to more than 60 testimonies of people born in Vilnius and survivors of the Holocaust, and compiled them into a ten-part audio-documentary about Jewish life. Rous also hosts and produces the Jewish Women’s Archive’s podcast “Can We Talk?” which explores the intersections of gender and Jewish culture.

Eric Marcus is a journalist and writer, and one of the producers of the Fortunoff Holocaust Testimonies video archive podcast “Those Who Were There”. He is also the founder and host of the award-winning podcast “Making Gay History”. This podcast compiles an audio archive of rare interviews to bring LGBTQ history to life through the voices of those who lived it.

Eleanora Reissa is the host of the Fortunoff Holocaust Testimonies Video Archive podcast “Those Who Were There”. She is also a Tony Award-nominated director, playwright, choreographer, critically acclaimed singer in English and Yiddish, and a Broadway, television and film actress.

Briefly about the event

Date

21 September

Time

6 pm

Place

Events Area, III a.

Attendance

free

Duration

1,5 h

Organiser and partners

Judaica Research Centre at the National Library; Yiddish World Centre, YIVO Institute for Jewish Research

Important

the event will be held in English; the event may be filmed and/or photographed

More information

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