The Vilnius Komitet and the Destruction of Polish Jewry, 1939–1941

The Library is pleased to partner with the Institute for Polish-Jewish Studies in welcoming Miriam Schulz to present her recent publication Before The Bow That Was Drawn: The Vilnius Komitet and its documentation of the destruction of Polish Jewry, 1939–1940/41 - a pioneering study of the very first Jewish historical committee in Eastern Europe documenting the destruction of Jewish communities in Poland since September 1939. Her study is based on The Wiener Library collection of reports and statements on the persecution of the Jews in Poland.

In November 1939, a group of 60 Jewish journalists and writers, refugees from recently occupied Poland, founded the Komitet tsu zamlen materialn vegn yidishn khurbn in Poyln 1939 (Committee to Collect Documents on the Destruction of Polish Jewry 1939) in still independent Vilnius. Without delay, they embarked on a mission to gather documents and eye-witness accounts about the destruction of Polish Jewry until June 1941––when the Wehrmacht invaded Lithuania and killed leading members of the Committee. Miriam Schulz will present the history and legacy of this committee

Miriam Schulz is a Graduate Student of Yiddish Studies at Columbia University, New York City. Alongside her studies, she is working as a research assistant for the project Protecting Memory: Preserving and Memorializing the Holocaust Mass Graves of Eastern Europe.