Presenter: Judy Baston
Format: Download MP3 Audio

Vilna ? known as the Jerusalem of Lithuania ? had a strong cultural tradition that endured and flourished even after the Vilna Ghetto was established in 1941. One of the most important cultural institutions in the Ghetto was the Vilna Ghetto Library. After Judy Baston discovered that her three young cousins in the Vilna Ghetto had been on the list of Ghetto Library patrons, further research led her to uncover additional documentation from the Vilna Ghetto Library in the Lithuanian State Central Archive -- lists of readers in the Library, lists of workers in the Library and even a list of readers who did not return books to the Library. In this presentation, she will also share reports from two Ghetto librarians that provide a detailed look at which authors and titles were read by different kinds of Ghetto Library patrons.