On October 22, activities were held in Vilnius’ Old Town as part of the ongoing international IMAGINE project.
Activities were organized for students of the Faculty of Communication at Vilnius University on the theme: “Vilnius Old Town tells the stories of Jews who lived there.” First, the students attended a lecture on Jewish life in Vilnius from the 18th to the 20th centuries, when Vilnius was known as “Northern Jerusalem” and cultural, scientific, and intellectual life flourished. The lecture also presented the stories of two Jewish women, Fania Brancovskaja and Marija Rolnikaitė, who lived in Vilnius before World War II, based on archival material from Centropa.
Later, the students attended a lecture on the Holocaust in Lithuania and the history of the Vilnius ghetto. After the theoretical lectures, the university students were invited to participate in an educational excursion to learn about the history of the Jewish quarter, its buildings, and the Vilnius ghetto period, discussing which places and buildings were related to the lives of Fania Brancovskaja and Marija Rolnikaitė. After visiting Vilnius’ Old Town, a discussion was held, and the students shared their thoughts on which places and stories had affected them the most and why.
Guided by Ingrida Vilkienė, coordinator of the International Commission’s educational programs, and Dr. Neringa Latvytė, a lecturer at Vilnius University’s Faculty of Communication, twenty-five students took part in the activity.
The international project IMAGINE is being implemented in seven European countries. The project was initiated by Centropa and is supported by the European Commission. In Lithuania, the project is being implemented by the International Commission Secretariat in cooperation with the Faculty of Communication at Vilnius University.
