In Vilna, the city Jews called “The Jerusalem of Lithuania,” a group of ghetto inmates risked their lives during World War II to rescue thousands of rare books, documents, and works of art from the Nazis. In an operation that lasted eighteen months, they smuggled the materials past guards and buried them in bunkers. Those members of the group who survived the War returned after Vilna’s liberation and dug up the materials. They eventually smuggled the books across Europe until they reached the United States and Israel. What did they rescue, and why did they do it?
Register for the online webinar here.