The National Library of Israel prepared a thematic exhibition Memory on the occasion of the European Days of Jewish Culture 2023. With it, they present a part of their extensive holdings, from archival material, books, documents, diaries, memories, and postcards, excerpts from the press, historical photographs, small print and the like, with a special emphasis on the selection of material that reflects the rich and centuries-old cultural-historical tradition of European Jewish communities.

Memory has several dimensions and includes both internal, personal memories of what we ourselves experienced, as well as external, collective recollection of what is no longer there. A memory is to some extent timeless, as it is passed down from generation to generation and is preserved in written form long after the lives of those in whose minds it was formed. At the same time, it is also firmly anchored in time, described and defined by the moment in which it was created. A comparison of an official book – the register of an individual Jewish community (pinkas) with an example of small print such as a leaflet or a wedding invitation reveals that the former was created as a commemorative tool and the latter as a fleeting testimony of a single moment. Yet both are inextricably linked to their original creators and the times in which they lived.

In the Synagogue Maribor, which is the national coordinator of the international project European Days of Jewish Culture in Slovenia, we prepared a Slovenian translation of the exhibition Memory. In its Slovenian version, the original exhibition has been enriched with a few additional explanations, which are marked with an asterisk (*) in the text.

You are cordially invited to the VIRTUAL TOUR OF THE MEMORY EXHIBITION.

For access to additional digital material and a deeper insight into the stories hidden within, visit the National Library of Israel website.