The Book Smugglers is the nearly unbelievable story of ghetto residents who rescued thousands of rare books and manuscripts - first from the Nazis and then from the Soviets - by hiding them on their bodies, burying them in bunkers and smuggling them across the borders. It is a tale of heroism and resistance, of friendship and romance of unwavering devotion - including the readiness to risk one's life - to literature and art.
Based on Jewish, German and Soviet documents, including diaries, letters, memoirs and the author's interviews with several of the story's participants, The Book Smugglers chronicles the daring activities of a group of poets turned partisans and scholars turned smugglers in Vilna, "The Jerusalem of Lithuania."
David E. Fishman is a professor of Jewish History at The Jewish Theological Seminary and the author of numerous books and articles on the history and culture of East European Jewry. There will be a book-signing after the lecture.
The Book Smugglers is the nearly unbelievable story of ghetto residents who rescued thousands of rare books and manuscripts - first from the Nazis and then from the Soviets - by hiding them on their bodies, burying them in bunkers and smuggling them across the borders. It is a tale of heroism and resistance, of friendship and romance of unwavering devotion - including the readiness to risk one's life - to literature and art.
Based on Jewish, German and Soviet documents, including diaries, letters, memoirs and the author's interviews with several of the story's participants, The Book Smugglers chronicles the daring activities of a group of poets turned partisans and scholars turned smugglers in Vilna, "The Jerusalem of Lithuania."
David E. Fishman is a professor of Jewish History at The Jewish Theological Seminary and the author of numerous books and articles on the history and culture of East European Jewry. There will be a book-signing after the lecture.
The Book Smugglers is the nearly unbelievable story of ghetto residents who rescued thousands of rare books and manuscripts - first from the Nazis and then from the Soviets - by hiding them on their bodies, burying them in bunkers and smuggling them across the borders. It is a tale of heroism and resistance, of friendship and romance of unwavering devotion - including the readiness to risk one's life - to literature and art.
Based on Jewish, German and Soviet documents, including diaries, letters, memoirs and the author's interviews with several of the story's participants, The Book Smugglers chronicles the daring activities of a group of poets turned partisans and scholars turned smugglers in Vilna, "The Jerusalem of Lithuania."
David E. Fishman is a professor of Jewish History at The Jewish Theological Seminary and the author of numerous books and articles on the history and culture of East European Jewry. There will be a book-signing after the lecture.