Separately on the Shared: What Jewish Museums are Needed in Eastern Europe?

The preservation of Jewish heritage, and its inclusion as part of Ukraine’s national narrative, is increasingly relevant today. This revitalized engagement with Jewish heritage in present-day Ukraine coincides with a boom in Jewish museums in Eastern Europe; several large-scale museum projects have been implemented over the past few years. Why is it important to study the history and culture of Jews? Can the presentation of Jewish heritage be an integral part of the national public narrative of one country, or is it an independent, ‘supranational’ phenomenon? What principles and metrics should guide the presentation of Jewish heritage within the museum space? How could (and should) the ‘painful’ aspects of shared history be shown?

These issues, among others, were tackled during this discussion as we explored the example of Polish and Russian museums in relation to the needs and capacity of Ukrainian museums.

Disputants:
Yehor Vradiy, Museum "Jewish Memory and Holocaust in Ukraine", Dnipro
Dariusz Stola, POLIN Museum of the History of Polish Jews
Grigoriy Kazovskiy, Museum of Jewish History in Russia, Moscow
Uri Gershovich, Jewish Museum and Tolerance Center, Moscow
Semion Goldin, Nevzlin Research Center at Hebrew University of Jerusalem

Jewish Days is a public program for general audiences. It is related to two other projects of the Center for Urban History - Summer School in Jewish History and Multicultural Past, held annually since 2010, and the initiative Space of Synagogues: Jewish History, Common Heritage and Responsibility (in partnership with the Lviv City Council and the German Society for International Cooperation, GIZ).

Supported by:

Kennan Institute Kyiv Office
NADAV Foundation (Israel)

• 

• 

Credits

Cover Image: jewish-heritage-europe.eu

Gallery Image by Iryna Sereda