In the early 20th century, the Lower East Side was the most crowded neighborhood in the world. Fleeing violent persecution, large waves of newly arrived immigrants from Eastern Europe recreated a familiar environment of their previous homeland as they sought to establish new roots in America. Uniquely captured in postcards, lively street scenes presented a stunning visual record of the "Jewish ghetto" in New York and cities throughout Eastern Europe. In partnership with the Museum at Eldridge Street, the Blavatnik Archive is proud to present an exhibit of original postcards that will bring images of that by-gone era back to the Lower East Side, and highlight the continuity of Jewish street life from its Eastern European origins to its formative role at the heart of the Jewish American experience.  

Please join us at the Museum at Eldridge Street, in Manhattan, for an opening reception on Thursday, December 15 at 6pm.  The exhibit is on view through February 23, 2017. 

More information available here and here.

The Blavatnik Archive continues to seek out educational partnerships that contribute to academic research as well as classroom learning. We are proud to announce that primary resources from the Archive are being featured, for the first time, in a new undergraduate course at the University of Michigan, The Politics and Culture of Modern Eastern European Jewry.

Developed and taught by Zvi Gitelman, Preston R. Tisch Professor of Judaic Studies, the course incorporates hand-picked selections from the Archive to supplement in-class presentations and online coursework, including postcards from the early 1900s depicting Jewish life in the Russian Empire, posters reflecting Soviet policy on religion and ethnicity, and video oral testimony clips about the experiences of Jewish men and women who fought in the Russian armed forces during WWII.  

To see what the students are learning about, visit a special section on our website.

Our colleague Tasha Rogers visited her home town of Penza, Russia and took the time to sit down with three Jewish Red Army veterans at the Jewish Community Center and record their stories. Check our website soon to see their interviews and profiles. 

Because there are fewer and fewer surviving WWII veterans it's more important than ever to document their life stories. This makes one realize that history is not only a global concept but that each person is part of it. Interviewing veterans in Penza and hearing their war stories sometimes brought tears to my eyes, and so we cried together. Sharing their life stories was a cathartic experience for them. So they opened their doors and hearts, feeling they were part of something big and important again, serving their best tea or just whatever treats they had, willing to show their best photographs and proud of their accomplishments all over again.                                             

Tasha Rogers, September 2016

Do you have family members whose story you'd like to see featured?
Get in touch with us!

We're working on revamping our website and making all of our collections available online to a diverse audience - from researchers to history buffs, from those seeking to learn more about their cultural heritage to educators looking to enrich their programs. We're interested in learning about potential users' online habits and preferences, especially in searching for historical and cultural material.

We would be thrilled to hear what you think - would you be interested in participating in a 10-15 minute online survey within the next two weeks?  Please let us know here.

Thank you.