putting Jewish Belarus on the map
Belarus is a treasure trove of hidden Jewish secrets and we are going to start sharing it with you. This month we bring you exciting news of a series of talks about the Novogroduk Jewish prisoners who escaped a ghetto through the longest tunnel dug during the war. We bring you exciting news of the new Jewish Heritage Centre in Minsk that will be opening soon. We will be introducing you to Minsk’s upcoming Jewish artist, and find out how we have plans to put Jewish Belarus back on the map and the role you can play. Finally, we bring you the next episode of Gilbert Ghetto Guides – this month Sir Martin Gilbert’s writings take us to 1942 Minsk and the Belarus Soviet Refuseniks of 1983.
watch this...new Minsk Jewish...space!
There is a buzz in the air in Minsk right now as a new Jewish Heritage Centre starts to come to life.
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Belarus, Jewish artists - then and now
Belarus gave us some of the world’s greatest Jewish artists, but are there any Jewish artists in Belarus today?
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WW2's most successful tunnel escape
Did you know that the longest and most successful tunnel escape during the Second World War took place in Belarus and that it was Jewish ghetto prisoners who achieved the impossible?
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putting Jewish Belarus back on the map
It’s time to start putting Jewish Belarus back on the map. The Together Plan has been hard at work building the foundations to put this plan into action.
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The Together Plan in the USA
It is now possible for our American friends to support, volunteer and get closer to our work as we now have an official presence in the USA.
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Gilbert’s Ghetto Guides
The experience of Jews in the area that is now Belarus has its rightful place in Sir Martin Gilbert’s histories of the Holocaust. As a feature of our monthly newsletter, a short excerpt from his writings is featured focusing on one of the cities, towns, villages, and forests where Jews tried desperately to escape the Nazi German murder machine.
Click here for this month’s guide
Belarus ancestry and archives - we can help
The Together Plan has been offering a fully bespoke, professional, archive research service for some years. Yet there has never been a more exciting time for people to connect to personal history – or for that history to have a greater impact on world knowledge!
Through our dedicated team of experienced archivists across Belarus, we have been astounded at the history we have been able to unearth over recent years, with an unparalleled richness of detail down to street names, livelihoods and even the animals people owned.
From the moment our team hears from new clients, we embark on a special journey together. With fragments of information about places, names and even buildings, we have been able to map back generations, providing a valuable glimpse into personal family history and all manner of information about daily life as it was.
To read the full article click here.
If you are looking to help to find records in the Belarus archives – we are ready to help you. Click here to find out how.
upcoming events
Tunnel for All – online talk
March 26th at 11.30 PST, 2.30pm EST, 7.30pm BST 8.30pm Israel 9.30pm Belarus
Part 1 of a series dedicated to the 80th anniversary of the escape from the ghetto in Novogrudok, Belarus.
Online talk by Tamara Vershitskaya, The Together Plan’s Heritage Specialist in Belarus who will introduce the story of the 234 Jews who dug a tunnel under the noses of their Nazi guards.
Click here to book tickets
Against All Odds – online talk
April 30th at midday PST, 3.00pm EST, 8.00pm BST 9.00pm Israel 10.00pm Belarus
Part 2 of a series dedicated to the 80th anniversary of the escape from the ghetto in Novogrudok, Belarus.
Online talk by Susan Abrams (nee Abramowicz) Bach (North Carolina)
Determination to survive against all odds is the theme of the true experiences of Joseph and Chaim Abramowitz. After suffering the loss of their families, each in his own way managed to escape from the ghetto in Novogrudok, Poland and join the fight against the Nazis.
Film Night at the Pump House – in person event
Yentl
1983 Barbara Streisand Musical
17th May at The Pump House, Watford, Hertfordhsire WD17 2JP
Doors open at 19.00, film starts 19.30
The year is 1904. Rebbe Mendel is a single father who teaches the Talmud, a sacred text of Judaism, to the boys of his small Polish town. Behind closed doors, he also instructs his daughter, Yentl, despite the fact that girls are forbidden to study religious scripture. When Yentl’s father dies, she still has a strong desire to learn about her faith — so she disguises herself as a male, enrolls in a religious school, and unexpectedly finds love along the way.
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