The Paper Brigade of Vilna was a dedicated group of Jewish heroes whose goal was to rescue Vilna’s Jewish culture for future generations. A true story of bravery and resistance to inhumanity and persecution.

The Book Smugglers: Partisans, Poets and the Race to Save Jewish Treasures from the Nazis documents the nearly unbelievable true story of ghetto residents who, through brave acts of resistance, powerful friendships, and devotion to literature, rescued thousands of rare books and manuscripts – first from the Nazis, then from the Soviets – by hiding them, burying them and smuggling them into the Vilna Ghetto, and later, across borders.

BookSmugglers 9.2023
Spotlighting a combination of original artifacts and archival materials with state-of-the-art technologies, follow the Paper Brigade of Vilna through World War II, into the post-war Soviet era, and across the borders to Moscow, Europe, the United States, and Israel.

The Book Smugglers: Partisans, Poets and the Race to Save Jewish Treasures from the Nazis is curated by Holocaust Museum Houston based on the book by David E. Fishman.

RESISTING CULTURAL GENOCIDE WITH GENOCIDE SCHOLAR DR. DAN HAUMSCHILD, PH. D
When the term ‘genocide’ was coined by Raphael Lemkin, it meant something very different than what it has come to stand for in the language of international law. In this opening talk for The Book Smugglers: Partisans, Poets and the Race to Save Jewish Treasures from the Nazis, Dr. Dan Haumschild will shed light on the heroism of the Paper Brigade by illuminating their efforts through Lemkin’s lens. This presentation will provide audiences with a compelling history of a concept, conceived amid the catastrophe of the Holocaust.

Join the Jewish Museum Milwaukee to celebrate the accomplishments of the brave individuals of the Paper Brigade. Classical string music from the Wisconsin Conservatory of Music will set the scene for an evening of kosher wine, hors d’oeuvres, and a special tour of the exhibit.