Historical Artifacts

Vilna was known as the “Jerusalem of the North.” It was a center for Jewish learning with over 100 synagogues and houses of study. But it was also a hub for the Haskalah, known as the Jewish Enlightenment, a modern Jewish intellectual movement.

Please note that artifacts open in a new window. To return to this list just close the artifact detail tab in your browser. Unless otherwise stated, all artifacts featured in the exhibition come from the YIVO Archives and Library collections.

The Paradox of Polish Jewry

Lecture by Samuel Kassow

Page of a record book with handwritten notes

Pages from the pinkas (record book) of the Vilna Gaon kloyz

Vilna, Poland, no date. Record Book

First algebra book published in Vilna

Vilna, Poland, 1829. Algebra Book

Astronomical diagram from “Kokhava de-shavita” (The Comet)

Vilna, Poland, 1835. Astronomical Diagram

Title page of “Masekhet Shavu’ot”

Vilna, Poland, 1883. Babylonian Talmud

Portrait of the Szabad family

Vilna, Poland, 1897. Family Portrait

Police report about Jewish revolutionaries

Vilna, Russian Empire, 1899-1900. Police Reports

Studio portrait of a philanthropist at her desk

Studio portrait of Dvora Esther Gelfer

Vilna, Poland, no date. Portrait of a Jewish Philanthropist

“The Rabbi from Bartenura”

Vilna, Poland, 1904. "Der bartenura"

Violinist Jascha Heifetz as a child

Circa 1908. Portrait of Young Violinist

Jatkower Street

Vilna, Poland, no date. Painting of Vilna

Scene from The Dybbuk

Circa 1920s. The Dybbuk

Yiddish poster advertising a Zionist organization

“Buy a Shekel!”

Vilna, Poland, Circa 1920s. Fundraising Poster

“The Big Prize”

Poland, Circa 1920s. Yiddish Theater Poster

Ostra Brama Chapel

Vilna, Poland, 1929. Film Clip of Ostra Brama

Cornerstone-laying ceremony at the site of YIVO’s new building

Vilna, Poland, 1929. Film Clip of YIVO's New Building

In and around the old Jewish quarter

Vilna, Poland, 1929. Film Clip of Streets of Vilna

Streets of Vilna

Vilna, Poland, Circa 1910s - 1930s. Photographs and Postcards of Vilna

Theft of cows from the old age home

Vilna, Poland, Circa 1920s. Notice of Theft

Election poster announcing a mass meeting

Vilna, Poland, Circa 1920s. Election Poster

Leib Kadison’s set design for the play “Hirsh Lekert”

No date. Set design in acrylic, ink, pencil, and crayon

Multilingual poster advertising a reading

Evening of readings by Hebrew poet Elisheva

Vilna, Poland, 1932. Poster for an appearance

Cover of the first Yung VIlne publication

Cover of Yung Vilne Literary Journal

1934. Issue no. 1. Yung Vilne

At Home

1934. Yung Vilne Illustration

Funeral procession for Polish Leader Józef Piłsudski

Vilna, Poland, 1935. Film Clip of Funeral Procession

Holiday card with illustration of a tree

Rosh Hashanah Card from the Va‘ad ha-Yeshivot

Vilna, Poland, 1939. Holiday Card

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“Vilna, Vilna”

1998. Performed by Adrienne Cooper, Zalmen Mlotek, and the New Yiddish Chorale

The Jerusalem of the North

In the 1930s, Vilna was one of the largest Jewish centers in Europe. Legend claims that when Napoleon was passing through the city in 1812 he called it the “Jerusalem of the North.” It was also known as the “Jerusalem of Lithuania.” Let’s embark on a journey through the city in its Jewish heyday.

This experience will take approximately 35 minutes.

1936

1936
Summer Olympics held in Nazi Germany