From the YIVO Archives: Autobiographies, Diaries, and Journals
“[T]o find old documents is something which brings back so many memories of my childhood…So this is YIVO. It collected all kinds of writings, all kinds of memories. And it makes your heart beat a little bit fast.”
— Elie Wiesel, YIVO Heritage Dinner 2011
YIVO’s autobiography collection brings to life the stories of hundreds of unknown young people, written in one of the most dramatic and complex periods of Jewish history in Europe, on the eve of the Holocaust—a tragedy that was beyond the imagination of anyone living then. These autobiographies, written for a series of competitions hosted by YIVO in Vilna in the 1930s, survived while most of their owners did not. It is our privilege to make their stories heard in a respectful way and pay tribute to their memories.
The autobiography contestants were primarily between the ages of 16-22, though some were even younger. Most of these autobiographies came from towns and cities throughout Poland and Lithuania, though a handful came from countries as far away as England, Palestine, Syria, and the United States.
The children and teenagers who submitted autobiographies wrote about their day-today life, many discussing their lives in the shtetl and their apprehensions about what the future had in store. They shared their struggles to find work and the antisemitism they encountered in the process. They wrote of the horrors of World War I, the Polish-Soviet War, and the Polish-Ukrainian War, and how their lives were impacted. Others shared accounts of their childhood, schooling, and family, sharing stories of poverty and struggle.
The autobiographies were looted by the Nazis and sent to Germany in 1942. They were among the YIVO archival materials recovered after World War II in Frankfurt and sent to YIVO in New York City in 1947.
While many of the children and teenagers who submitted their stories perished in the Holocaust, their stories are saved at YIVO, where they will live on.
With your friendship and support we will make certain that their stories are never forgotten. Please donate to YIVO during this holiday season.