The Strashun Library: Treasures Rescued from the Ashes of Vilna

Matisyahu Strashun (1817-1885) amassed one of the most important Jewish libraries in Eastern Europe during the 19th century. His collection included 5,700 rare Hebrew and Yiddish imprints and manuscripts published throughout Europe and the Middle East from the 15th-19th centuries. It was plundered by the Nazis and its materials were found in a train depot after World War II by the US Army, who shipped the collection to YIVO. As part of the Edward Blank YIVO Vilna Collections Project, YIVO and the Martynas Mažvydas National Library of Lithuania are cataloging and digitizing the surviving components of the Strashun Library from their respective collections. An exhibition of rare books and documents from the original Strashun Library will open January 22, 2017.

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The History and Future of the Strashun Library

Sunday, January 22, 2017 | 1:00pm
CONFERENCE

To celebrate this exhibition opening, scholars Brad Sabin Hill, David Fishman, Zachary Baker, Jeffrey Veidlinger, and Frida Shor will discuss the historical importance of Matisyahu Strashun’s private library, the Strashun Library as a “Jewish Public Library,” Jewish public culture in the Russian Empire, and the Library’s survival during WWII and transition to YIVO. Lyudmila Sholokhova and Roberta Newman (YIVO) and Lara Lempert (National Library of Lithuania) will discuss YIVO’s landmark efforts to steward the Strashun Library into the 21st century and beyond. 

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