No. 193 hshgu, hshgu, Winter IVOIVO 2001-2002 YYNEWS hHuu† pui Memorial Concert YIVO Showcases Music of Vladimir Heifetz IVO paid tribute to the late Heifetz, who helped make the Arranged by Heifetz, the pieces Ycomposer and conductor, evening possible. The concert included texts and melodies by YIVO Institute Vladimir Heifetz, with the opened with Ot Azoy Neyt a M. Warshawsky. Among the for “Songs Are All I Have!” concert. Shnayder and Fuga (Hekher Beser), songs performed were Frayer Jewish The November 15 event was sung by The New Yiddish Foygl and Zun in Mayrev, both Research dedicated to the memory of Chorale. with words by Wolf Younin; Der Heifetz and his wife Pearl. It Rususher Lakh Polka, with hHshagr featured the New Yiddish text by Mendl Elkin; and uuhxbaTpykgfgr Chorale, directed by Zalman an excerptfrom “A Ghetto thbxyhyuy ≈ thbxyhyuy Mlotek; Cantor Shayna L. Cantata,” with text by poet hHuu† Smith and Re’ut Ben-Ze’ev, Abraham Sutzkever. sopranos; Cantor Robert “It was grand,” noted Paul Paul Abelson, baritone; Bob Glasser, Associate Dean of Goldstone, piano; and Prof. the Max Weinreich Center. Mark Slobin of Wesleyan “The concert showed the range of Heifetz’s compo- University as guest speaker. Cantor Robert Paul Abelson, Re’ut Ben-Ze’ev and Milton Zisman, Esq., and Cantor Shayna L. Smith performing a song with the sitions and arrangements Rabbi Israel Paleyev repre- new Yiddish Chorale at the Vladimir Heifetz of Jewish music.” sented the Estate of Pearl Memorial Concert. [continued on page 9] Yale to Publish Kruk Diaries in English, Spring 2002 IVO and Yale University Press are proud to Literature at Yale University, and translated by Yannounce that The Last Days of Jerusalem of Barbara Harshav. Lithuania: Chronicles from the Vilna Ghetto and the Kruk, who organized and oversaw the library Camps, 1939-1944 will be published in Spring 2002. of the Vilna Ghetto, also played an active role in This is the long-awaited English translation of the several of the ghetto’s social welfare and cultural Yiddish diaries of Herman Kruk, a Bundist activist organizations. He was recruited to serve the from Warsaw, who fled to Vilna at the beginning Einsatzstab des Reichsleiter Alfred Rosenberg, of World War II. which plundered YIVO and other Jewish libraries Herman Kruk The new English-language edition, published for treasures the Nazis hoped to use in a Frankfurt- (1897-1944) with assistance from the Nusach Vilne Society, has based “Institute for the Study of the Jewish been edited by Professor Benjamin Harshav, Question.” But Kruk, along with poet Abraham Blaustein Professor of Hebrew and Comparative Sutzkever and others, secretly worked to rescue and hide many rare books and artifacts from the Hold the CONTENTS: Nazis. Date Like Emanuel Ringelblum in the Warsaw Ghetto, Chairman’s Message . .2 YIVO Events Schedule . .16 Kruk was a resolute chronicler of day-to-day life YIVO’s Annual Executive Director . .3 Library . .18 under the Nazis, with full awareness that he might Benefit Dinner Development . .4 New Accessions . .21 not live until the war’s end. He hoped that his Thursday Publications . .6 Music Archives . .25 diary would survive to reveal the horrors of that May 2, 2002 EPYC Curriculum . .8 YIVO Donors . .26 time to future generations. Pierre Hotel, YIVO News . .9 Exhibitions/Colloquia . .30 In September 1943, during the final liquidation New York Uriel Weinreich Prog. .14 Letters . .31 of the Vilna Ghetto, Kruk was deported to the Max Weinreich Center .15 Yiddish . .32-40 Klooga camp in Estonia, where [continued on page 13] For YIVO’s Winter - Spring Public Programs Schedule, See Pages 16-17 Message from the Chairman of the Board Preserving Our Treasures am glad for this opportunity to let all our commitment and intensity since the terrible events I friends and supporters know that we at YIVO of September 11. To ensure that the enormous are safe — our work goes on with an even greater cultural and intellectual treasures of East European culture held at YIVO will never be wiped out in one stroke or disaster, YIVO is establishing new guidelines, procedures and Bruce Slovin YIVO News security measures. This is our #1 mission! Founded in 1925 in Vilna, Poland, as the Yiddish Many of you have tried to help — by responding Scientific Institute and headquartered in New to our appeal letters, by donating your time and York since 1940, YIVO is devoted to the history, money, by letting us all know that you care about society and culture of Ashkenazic Jewry and to YIVO and its Board and staff. This is especially the influence of that culture as it developed in the Americas. Today, YIVO stands as the preeminent “Together we can make certain center for East European Jewish Studies; Yiddish that this latest assault on the language, literature and folklore; and the study of the American Jewish immigrant experience. things we love will not deter our vision.” Afounding partner of the Center for Jewish History, YIVO holds the following constituent gratifying and I want to personally thank every memberships: one who has contributed. I am glad that the future • American Historical Association • Association of YIVO is as important to you as it is to me. for Jewish Studies • Association of Jewish Together we can make certain that this latest Libraries • Council of Archives and Research assault on the things we love will not deter our Libraries in Jewish Studies • Research Library Group (RLG) • Society of American Archivists vision. Our greatest challenge is to move forward • World Congress of Jewish Studies. — I accept my part in meeting this challenge. As I have said many times, I want to look Chairman of the Board: Bruce Slovin forward — with my children and their children as Executive Director: Carl J. Rheins well — to celebrating the miracle of Jewish survival for many more seasons. I am sure you Director of Development share my desire for a better and more peaceful and External Affairs: Ella Levine world — but in the meantime we must work day Director of Finance and Administration: to day, little by little, to collect, preserve, teach and Andrew J. Demers celebrate our East European Jewish culture. Acting Chief Archivist: Fruma Mohrer As you look through this issue of Yedies, I think Head Librarian: Aviva Astrinsky you will understand the complexity of YIVO as an Head of Preservation: Stanley Bergman institution. It includes: our Public Programs and films; endowed fellowships that support emerging Director of New Media: Roberta Newman scholars in Jewish Studies; publications about to Editor: Elise Fischer go to print and those still in the planning stage Yiddish Editor: Hershl Glasser (for example, the YIVO Encyclopedia of the History Production Editors: Jerry Cheslow, Michele Alperin and Culture of Jews in Eastern Europe); Continuing Education and Yiddish classes; the renowned Uriel Contributors Erica Blankstein, Nikolai Borodulin, Adina Cimet, Weinreich Program in Yiddish Language, Jocelyn Cohen, Michael Cohen, Krysia Fisher, Shaindel Literature and Culture; Library and Archives and Fogelman, Marilyn Goldfried, Leo Greenbaum, Fern Kant, the services they provide; exhibitions; and many Zalman Margareten, Yeshaya Metal, Chana Mlotek, other activities. Fruma Mohrer, Roberta Newman, Joe Pinzon, Cori As you see, YIVO is reaching out to you and to Robinson, David Rogow, Yankl Salant, Daniel Soyer, the global Jewish community! I hope you are as Steve Wander proud of this wonderful institution as I am. I hope 15 West 16th Street you share my optimism about the future; it will be New York, NY 10011-6301 a rough road, but with your help — and with a Phone: (212) 246-6080 shared vision of success — we can face whatever Fax: (212) 292-1892 is to come with the knowledge that we are a www.yivoinstitute.org e-mail to Yedies: [email protected] community that can work together and be strong. Thank you. 2 YIVO News Winter 2001 - 2002 Message from the Executive Director Reacting to the September 11th Attack s with many other major educational and Other proposals being considered include produ- Acultural institutions in the United States, the cing facsimiles of one-of-a-kind works and placing terrorist attack on the World Trade Center and the rare originals in high-quality off-site storage. Pentagon on September 11th has had a profound Central to these proposals is the need to differ- impact on YIVO and its staff. With our home at the entiate between short-term and long-term disaster Dr. Carl J. Rheins Center for Jewish History located less than a mile preparedness. Short-term plans can be imple- from the World Trade Center, many staff members mented immediately in the current fiscal year. personally witnessed the destruction of the WTC. Long-term strategies may take up to five years to Perhaps because so many are veterans of the complete. In this context, I urge all YIVO members Israeli, Soviet and other armies, our staffers re- and friends to respond positively to Bruce Slovin’s sponded with great composure and discipline. special October 17th emergency appeal. Immediately following the New York attacks, close In other developments, YIVO has accelerated contact with the Center’s Executive Director and discussions with the Jewish Studies faculties at Director of Security was established; our emergency Bar-Ilan University, Tel Aviv University, Ben telephone contact list was activated; communi- Gurion University of the Negev and the Hebrew cations were established University of Jerusalem among department heads; “A committee of senior librarians concerning new institu- and procedures were put tional cooperation as part in place for the evacuation and archivists has begun the of our total commitment of all personnel. By early arduous task of reexamining to Jewish scholarship afternoon all personnel every aspect of YIVO’s current and to Israel.