The Memory Books of a Lost Jewish World

By the end of World War II, Holocaust survivors had lost their families, their homes and their entire way of life. Their response was quintessentially Jewish: they turned to stories. Drawing on a long history of self-narration, survivors gathered together to write yizkor—or memory—books, remembering all that had been destroyed and honoring the vanished worlds they had left behind.   On this episode of the Conversations with B'nai B'rith Podcast, CEO Dan Mariaschin speaks with historian Jane Ziegelman about her rich, illuminating new book, “Once There Was a Town: The Memory Books of a Lost Jewish World.” They explore the history of yizkor books and their role in keeping alive the memory of the Jewish communities destroyed in the Shoah—including Luboml, Ziegelman's own family's ancestral shtetl.   Watch this episode on the B’nai B’rith International YouTube channel. Follow us on Instagram and Threads at @bnaibrith. Follow us on the B’nai B’rith International Facebook page. Follow us on Twitter/X at @bnaibrith.   Once There Was a Town: The Memory Books of a Lost Jewish World