Jewish Cultural Life in Interwar Vilnius

In the 19th century, Vilnius experienced a renaissance and became an important political, cultural and economic centre. The cultural life of the Jewish community had already evolved by then, and it later acquired new and more varied forms. Thanks to the large number of prominent local religious scholars and their extremely distinguished achievements, Vilnius was known as the capital of Torah studies, or “the Jerusalem of Lithuania” among world Jewish communities. Even under Polish rule during the interwar period, the Jews referred to Vilnius by this emotional and honourable name. Local Jews spared no efforts in nurturing the unique Litvak culture, the collective identity of their community, and the cultural importance of the city, which far exceeded its size. Despite the antisemitic policy of the Polish authorities, and the introduction of various restrictions on Jews, the foundations of modern culture that were laid before the war continued to yield fruit.