YIVO Launches New Archival Initiative to Gather Stories of Jewish Life during the COVID-19 Pandemic

YIVO announces a new initiative to collect first-hand accounts of the effects of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Jewish life. The collecting is commencing today via an online form accessible at yivo.org/share-your-story.

Stefanie Halpern, Director of the YIVO Archives, explains, “From its earliest years, YIVO collected the experiences of the Jewish people in their own words. Today, as the COVID-19 pandemic affects the world in unprecedented ways, we are launching a new archival initiative to ensure that everyone’s stories and experiences during these difficult times can be saved for future generations.

The YIVO Archives is built from the stories and experiences of the Jewish community. YIVO’s materials document times of prosperity, times of change, and times of great adversity. Now the YIVO Institute for Jewish Research is asking the Jewish community once again to share its stories and help us document Jewish life during this time.

For more information contact:
Alex Weiser
Director of Public Programs

YIVO

The YIVO Institute for Jewish Research is dedicated to the preservation and study of the history and culture of East European Jewry worldwide. For nearly a century, YIVO has pioneered new forms of Jewish scholarship, research, education, and cultural expression. Our public programs and exhibitions, as well as online and on-site courses, extend our outreach to a global community. The YIVO Archives contains 24 million unique items and YIVO’s Library has over 400,000 volumes—the single largest resource for the study of East European Jewish life in the world. yivo.org / yivo.org/the-whole-story