The Great Synagogue of Vilna, Lithuania contained one of the world’s great Jewish libraries, the Strashun Library. The contents of the Strashun Library were a main target of the Nazis’ looting of Jewish cultural objects, and Jews were brought from the Vilna Ghetto to identify the significant books. These members of the “Paper Brigade” risked their lives to rescue books from the Nazis. Many of these items were rescued after World War II, but tens of thousands of artifacts remained buried in the ruins of the Great Synagogue.
The Great Synagogue of Vilna, Lithuania contained one of the world’s great Jewish libraries, the Strashun Library. The contents of the Strashun Library were a main target of the Nazis’ looting of Jewish cultural objects, and Jews were brought from the Vilna Ghetto to identify the significant books. These members of the “Paper Brigade” risked their lives to rescue books from the Nazis. Many of these items were rescued after World War II, but tens of thousands of artifacts remained buried in the ruins of the Great Synagogue.
The Great Synagogue of Vilna, Lithuania contained one of the world’s great Jewish libraries, the Strashun Library. The contents of the Strashun Library were a main target of the Nazis’ looting of Jewish cultural objects, and Jews were brought from the Vilna Ghetto to identify the significant books. These members of the “Paper Brigade” risked their lives to rescue books from the Nazis. Many of these items were rescued after World War II, but tens of thousands of artifacts remained buried in the ruins of the Great Synagogue.