EDJC 2023 National Library of Israel Exhibition
The European Days of Jewish Culture festival has been extensively reinforced by the collaboration with the National Library of Israel, which has acted as a means to develop all kinds of exhibition and educational materials, which have given an important added value to the festival while facilitating its celebration throughout the continent.
ABOUT THE EXHIBITION
Memory has several dimensions. It comprises both internal, personal recollections of what we have witnessed ourselves and collective, external commemoration of what no longer exists. Memory is timeless to an extent, surviving as it does over generations, preserved in writing long past the lives of those in whose minds it was first held. And yet it is also firmly rooted in time, described and defined by the moment in which it was created. Compare a communal register (pinkas) to a piece of ephemera like a flyer or wedding invitation: one is created as a lasting memory tool, the other as a fleeting testimony to a single moment, but both are inherently related to their original creators and the times in which they lived.
Libraries are repositories of memory—in commemorative, archival materials, books, and records of countless lives, knowledge, and thoughts. The National Library of Israel, with its archival collections and over five million books, defines itself as a central institution of national memory.
This exhibition is designed around archival materials, memoir and press excerpts, historical photos, communal registers, postcards, and other memories of European communities, each poster presenting a window into the story of a community through the points of connection offered by documentary heritage. We suggest that you view it as a series of postcards sent to you from the past. Consider: which documents preserve your own memory? What would you add to a poster about your community? For additional digital materials and a deeper look at the stories hinted here, visit the online exhibition.
Take advantage of the captivating exhibition on Memory produced by the National Library of Israel. This exhibition is available in an editable format, allowing you to translate and adapt it to local languages and contexts.
In case you use this exhibit for your EDJC activities, please notify us by writing to edjc@jewisheritage.org.