The Tragedy of Europe's Jerusalem: Lithuania's Jews and the Holocaust

Instructor: Saulius Sužiedėlis

3 sessions, Tuesdays

Tuition: $250
YIVO members: $175

Vilna is often referred to as “Europe’s Jerusalem,” largely because of the Lithuanian capital’s celebrated history as a hub of Litvak culture and for its rich intellectual and religious Jewish traditions. This course will examine several critical aspects of the history of Lithuania’s Jews during the twentieth century and will consist of three sessions, which examine the transformation of the region after the Great War; the Holocaust, which resulted in the destruction of more than 90% of Lithuania’s Jews; and a survey of topics specific to the Holocaust in Lithuania with an emphasis on local history and case studies of selected locales and personal histories.

View a longer description, including suggested readings.

“Collaboration and Resistance” — Aya Ben-Naftali 

“The Historical sources for Anti-Semitism in Lithuania and Jewish-Lithuanian Relations During the 1930s” — Saulius Suziedelis

“Holocaust in LIthuania in the Focus of Modern History, Education, and Justice” — Yitzhak Arad 

“’Listen, the Jews are Ruling Us Now’: Antisemitism and National Conflict During the First Soviet Occupation of Lithuania” — Saulius Suziedelis 

“Persecution and Mass Murder of Lithuanian Jews During Summer and Fall of 1941” — Christoph Dieckmann, Saulius Suziedelis

“Lithuanian Collaboration During the Second World War: Past Realities, Present Perceptions” — Saulius Suziedelis 

“The International Commission for the Evaluation of the Crimes of the Nazi and Soviet Occupation Regimes in LIthuania: Successes, Challenges, Perspectives” — Saulius Suziedelis 

Saulius Sužiedėlis is professor emeritus of history at Millersville University of Pennsylvania Professor Sužiedėlis received his Ph. D. in Russian and East European history from the University of Kansas in 1977. From 1982 to 1987 he was a research historian for the  Office of Special Investigations at the U. S. Department of Justice, and during 1989-1990 worked as a radio journalist and commentator for the Voice of America. Professor Sužiedėlis is the author of a number of scholarly books and articles on Lithuanian history published both in the United States and Lithuania. Between 2007 and 2010 he served as director of Millersville University’s Annual Conference on the Holocaust and Genocide. In 2013 Professor Sužiedėlis was awarded an honorary doctorate from Vytautas Magnus University in Kaunas in recognition of his work in furthering the study of humanities in Lithuania and for contributions to Holocaust research.