Presenter: Bill Farran
Format: Download MP3 Audio

It is estimated that 80% of all European Jews can trace their ancestors back to the Kingdom of Poland and Lithuania. Until the modern era, they learned and prayed in wooden synagogues that were works of art that did not survived the Holocaust. This presentation attempts to bring them back to life and make us proud of our Jewish history before the Partition of Poland. There was a Jewish presence in western Europe dating back to Greek and Roman times. As the power of the Catholic Church increased, Jews were expelled from their homes.??They were welcomed in Poland by the Nobles who wanted Jewish business skills to develop towns and trade. The presentation will discuss, the relationship between the nobles, Jews and serfs in the shtetl, the Jewish Golden Age and its destruction and the rebuilding of Jewish society. Bill through his art work will discuss how wooden synagogues were built and will give guided tour.??The Partition of Poland and the establishment of the Russian Pale of Settlement will lead to the fall of the Shtetl and Jews.