Jewish small-town life in Soviet Ukraine is focus of April 23, 2023, Jewish Genealogical Society of Illinois hybrid meeting

“In the Shadow of the Shtetl: Small-Town Jewish Life in Soviet Ukraine” will be the topic of an online talk by University of Michigan Professor Jeffrey Veidlinger for the Sunday, April 23, 2023, hybrid meeting of the Jewish Genealogical Society of Illinois. In his talk, he will explore how elderly Yiddish speakers relate their memories of Jewish life in the Soviet Ukrainian shtetl, their stories of survival during the Holocaust, and their experiences living as Jews under Communism. Register for the 2 p.m. CDT online Zoom talk at: https://jgsi.org/event-5039015. Register for the 12:30 p.m. CDT in-person meeting at Temple Beth-El in Northbrook, Illinois—which includes access to the JGSI research library and Jewish genealogy help desk—at: https://jgsi.org/event-5143776.

Jeffrey Veidlinger is the Joseph Brodsky Collegiate Professor of History and Judaic Studies at the University of Michigan. His most recent book, “In the Midst of Civilized Europe: The Ukrainian Pogroms of 1918-1921 and the Onset of the Holocaust” (2021), won a Canadian Jewish Literary Award, was a Kirkus Outstanding Book of 2021, and was a finalist for the National Jewish Book Award and the Lionel Gelber Award. He is also the author of the award-winning books “The Moscow State Yiddish Theater: Jewish Culture on the Soviet Stage” (2000), “Jewish Public Culture in the Late Russian Empire” (2009), and “In the Shadow of the Shtetl: Small-Town Jewish Life in Soviet Ukraine” (2013).