Our mission is to preserve Jewish heritage, culture and identity in Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union. With a current focus on the tiny landlocked country of Belarus, bordered by Lithuania, Russia, Ukraine, Poland and Latvia, we are focused on unlocking a vital history of relevance to every Jewish person worldwide.
Underlying each charitable project we undertake, from the smallest of discussion events to the construction of major memorials, is the quest for history. Yet it is through people’s personal stories that we are able to build a rich, vibrant picture of what life was like in Belarus centuries ago. This is the picture we are forming today which underpins the Cultural Heritage Route we are building as a member of the AEPJ across the entire Country.
There comes a point in many people’s lives when we wonder about family history. As we watch ourselves grow older in the mirror, see our children grow and even our children’s children move into adulthood – many of us develop a genealogical interest and start to reach out to services that might help inform us.
But all archive services are not the same, and some parts of history are incredibly complex to find. Put these two scenarios together and we can see how easily vast amounts of history are lost.
Jewish history from Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union is not only ancient but layered with politics, tribemanship, tragedy and cover up on a scale unseen anywhere else in the world. This history IS Jewish history and behind iron doors awaits our very identity.
The Together Plan holds the keys to the most guarded and content rich Belarusian archives in the world – and our Archive Services Team, based in London and Minsk, is skilled, experienced and equipped to track family history back generations!
This special team works tirelessly, breaking new ground every day to unearth the rarest of facts for our clients and we couldn’t be prouder of, or more excited about, the results.
Over recent years, and with a particular explosion of interest over the course of the pandemic, The Together Plan’s Archive Services team have gone about connecting hundreds of people to their past – back to the origins of family history which contextualises their lives today.
From bare threads of names, partial addresses, fragments of photographs and private letters, they have been able to produce detailed reports that pinpoint everything from the streets in which people lived, their occupations, what animals were kept, property ownership, physical appearances, how people were related and, crucially, when and how people left Belarus, what fate they may have suffered or mercifully escaped, if they were among the fortunate ones.
They have even connected people in the Diaspora to relatives on sides of the family they never knew existed – reuniting families with one another and with knowledge that enriches and changes them forever.
This team uses hard gained knowledge and experience to support clients by sourcing records in the Belarusian archives where those records exist. If there is information there about your family, our Archive Services team have tried and tested methods to find it.
In short, The Together Plan offers a route to the heart of Jewish history on the brink, and your stories are as important to us as they are to you! We can’t wait to take your journey with you. To find out more about our Archive Services and how we are putting Jewish Belarus back on the world map, click here.