While you might not hear Yiddish or encounter evidence of Jewish life while you walk through the streets of Vilnius today, the city contains many traces of a once-flourishing Jewish life. This is exemplified in the street names, architecture, courtyards, and narrow streets. It’s also represented in the plaques written in Yiddish in memory of the famous Jewish activists, writers, poets, musicians, doctors, and politicians who lived in Vilnius. The National Library of Lithuania houses a variety of books, newspapers, and periodicals in Yiddish that were printed in the pre-war era.
Two women, Viktorija Juse and Viktorija Cernakova, who work for the WJC International Yiddish Center in Vilnius, are part of a movement to preserve the rich Jewish heritage of Vilnius. There are several institutions in the city, including the Judaic department of the National Martynas Mažvydas Library of Lithuania and the Vilna Gaon Jewish Museum, that are engaged in research on Jewish topics. Juse and Cernakova spoke with WJC to explain more about the legacy of Yiddish and Jewish life today in Lithuania.
WJC: What is it like working to preserve Yiddish heritage in the year 2022?
Viktorija Juse, Director of the International Yiddish Center: After World War II, for a long period of time, Yiddish was associated with the tragedy of the Holocaust, suffering, and loss. The majority of the European Jewish population that considered Yiddish their mother tongue were annihilated. But now there is renewed interest in Ashkenazi Jewish heritage and the heritage and history of Yiddish, – which, unfortunately, is disappearing as the last speakers leave this world. There are increasing numbers of people who want to learn Yiddish and engage in research in order to feel a connection to their grandparents and great-grandparents, to understand the uniqueness of the society that existed before the war and that enriched the history of modern-day countries such as Ukraine, Belarus, Lithuania, Latvia, Poland, Romania, etc.
We believe that it is extremely important to incorporate the Jewish Yiddish narrative into national histories and modern cultures. We work with teachers, community members, and general audiences; we hold open discussions, presentations, and produce a variety of content including short video lectures and documentaries. Through this activity we open a door to the world of Yiddish culture—a world that was so diverse, so rich, so traditional, but at the same time, so modern.
Viktorija Cernakova, Program Coordinator of the International Yiddish Center: It’s amazing to work with such well-educated people and to have the possibility to glean new information—sometimes even from the original source. Spreading this knowledge to the world will make more people pause and think about what happened in their native country, about who created our present, and what impact this has for our future. I’d like to mention in particular a film that we produced about Yiddish that helps people who don’t have a connection to Jewish heritage understand how closely connected the world is. Knowing that every year we involve teachers in our projects makes me believe that this flow of information won’t just end one day, and our grandkids will easily be able to explain what Yiddish culture is.
WJC: What’s your personal motivation for reviving Yiddish?
Viktorija Juse: I believe that only by turning to our roots, to our history, can we build a successful future for our children. Jews lived in Eastern Europe for almost 1,000 years, and they built a unique way of life that was brutally destroyed by the Nazis and later by the Soviets. In teaching Yiddish culture through literature, the arts, music, and folklore, we enrich national cultures—and we have a hand in preventing antisemitism. This element becomes crucial in Holocaust education, because we shed light on how Jews lived and how integrated they were into national societies prior to the Holocaust. We discover and learn about individuals whose names are now forgotten but who lived, loved, created, prospered, and suffered.
Viktorija Cernakova: It’s rewarding to work when you know that your job has great meaning, when you deliver a product to people who really want to know, to understand, to find answers to the questions about their past. Also, my personal connection with this culture is very important. It’s the language that my grandfather spoke fluently. And I see that Yiddish can be very modern. Even today it’s still alive. It unites people from different social groups, and helps support a huge piece of an almost-destroyed culture, preserving the memory of its glory.
