Rachel Auerbach. Lviv Chronicles

Rachel Auerbach is known primarily as the author of the Warsaw Ghetto Chronicle, one of three Holocaust survivors of Dr. Ringelblum's Oneg Shabbat group. Less visible and relevant is her work with witnesses and testimony during the Eichmann trial in Jerusalem. And the Lviv part of Auerbach's biography as a public intellectual associated with the philosophical and mathematical school of Kazimierz Twardowski, the Yiddish-language magazine Tsushtayer, and the avant-garde literature and art community is almost completely unknown. It was in Lviv that Rachel Auerbach would publish her first poems, write many articles, meet like-minded friends and get acquainted with people who changed the artistic and literary landscapes, and prove herself as a skillful organizer of educational and publishing processes, a professional lecturer, and editor.

Lviv between the Great Wars was not a city comfortable for "others" by origin, for intellectuals who sympathized with "wrong" political movements, or for women who wanted to realize themselves professionally. It was a time of political and social tension, a difficult economic situation, and difficult elections. At the same time, it was a time of bold ideas, heated discussions, original discoveries, and new opportunities.

Rachel Auerbach came to Lviv in the 1920s and left the city for good in the 1930s. Here she studied, worked, made friends, and tried to create a new Yiddish-speaking intellectual environment. During the walk, we will talk about her paths and crossroads, family and community, choices and challenges. We will also talk about where to look for Lviv in Auerbach's work and where to find traces of Rachel in Lviv.

The walk will last about 2 hours. 

To participate, please register in the online form.

Credits

Cover Image: advertising posters on Vahova Street, Lviv / collection of the State Archive of Lviv Oblast / Urban Media Archive of the Center for Urban History