"Schmitzler’s People"

The Exhibition presented pre-war Snyatyn, a multi-cultural town located in the Stanislav province (currently a part of the Ivano-Frankivsk region), on the border of eastern Galicia and Bukovyna. The lives of its inhabitants were documented by photographer Yidl Schmitzler. What has been retained in the memories of Ukrainians, Poles, and the small number of Jews who lived through the Holocaust? What evidence of this past can we find in contemporary Snyatyn? We tried to find answers to these questions in the research conducted within the framework of the Geschichtswerkstatt Europa program of the Memory. Responsibility. Future. (EVZ) Foundation.

There were two expeditions into Snyatyn; one in 2009 and the other in 2010. They were organized by the Center for Urban History of East Central Europe, the Institute of Architecture at the Lviv Polytechnic National University, and the Institute of History at the Polish Academy of Sciences. The expeditions included ethnology students from the Warsaw University, architecture students from the Lviv Polytechnic National University, history students from the I. Franko Lviv National University and the Ukrainian Catholic University, and student volunteers from Poland and Germany. They researched the historical and contemporary aspects of this town in Galicia. The research conducted in Snyatyn was led by Dr. Khrystyna Boyko from the Institute of Architecture at the Lviv Polytechnic National University, Dr. Sofiya Dyak from the Center for Urban History of East Central Europe, and Olga Linkiewicz from the Institute of History at the Polish Academy of Sciences. After they are processed, the materials from these two expeditions, specifically documentation obtained from cemeteries, photographs and interviews, will be located on Center for Urban History’s web site.

We invite you to read Dr. Linkevych’s article "Przypadek Śniatynia. Interdyscyplinarne badania nad pamięcią o przedwojennym miasteczku".

The Exhibition Shmitzler’s People. Inhabitants of pre-war Snyatyn was featured as part of the XIII Festival of Jewish Culture SIMCHA

Location: Wrocław, Center of Jewish Culture and Education, at the Pod białym Bocianem synagogue, Włodkowica Street, 7.

The exhibition was made possible thanks to the honored patronage of the Ambassador of the Republic of Poland in Kyiv.

Credits

Сover Image: The Exhibition Shmitzler’s People. Inhabitants of pre-war Snyatyn