Yizkor Books have been published since 1943 to commemorate entire Jewish communities destroyed in the Holocaust. They have been published mainly in Israel, in Hebrew, Yiddish, and English. There have also been publications in other languages, such as Hungarian and German. The books were published by individuals, various organizations, and even school children, reaching peak numbers in the 1960s and 70s.
The books include a variety of texts, stories, historical overviews, poems, maps, drawings, photographs, and necrologies (lists of Holocaust victims) of the people and the institutions that made up the now-gone Jewish community. The books were created based on the idea that every person in the community was worth remembering, from the poorest beggar to the richest “Gvir” (Yiddish expression for rich person). Yizkor books are a window to knowing everyday Jewish life in Eastern and Central Europe before and during the Holocaust.
In this course, we will examine Yizkor books in person, take a look at their history and the people who published them, as well as discuss the role the books filled in Jewish commemoration of the Holocaust and its victims in the wake of the complete destruction of entire Jewries, and how they approached some areas of society, such as people with disabilities and Jewish-Gentile relations. We will also talk about how valuable books have been used as an essential source of information about Jewish victims of the Holocaust, as well as how we can use the books today to find information about our ancestors and roots.
The New York Public Library has a substantial collection of Yizkor books available digitally online at Yizkor Book Collection – NYPL Digital Collections.
Prior knowledge
No prior knowledge about the subject is needed.
Course material
Course material is included in the cost for this course.
About the teacher
Lior Becker, PhD, is a modern historian, teacher, and interdisciplinary scholar. His areas of expertise are Holocaust history, historiography and memory, 19th and 20th-century intellectual history, genocide studies, and Eastern-European Jewish history and culture. He has long experience teaching teens and adults in both Sweden and Israel.
Foto: Pixabay.
Frequently Asked Questions
More information aboute profile courses
Course information
Times
Wednesdays 19:15-21:15 CET
Course start
Wednesday 19 February
6 sessions
Application deadline
Tuesday 10 December
Admission
Costs
300 SEK to be paid via invoice or PayPal.
Information about payments will be sent in the admission letter.