Autonomous Non-Profit Organization For Academic Research and Humanitarian Purposes Center «Sefer»

School-Expedition in Lepel (Belarus), 21-31 July 2014

School-Expedition in Lepel, Belarus (23–31^st of July). The goal of the expeditions to old Belarusian Jewish towns is to reconstruct the history of the shtetl on the base of oral testimonies and historical documents as well as to research the objects of material heritage (first of all it’s Jewish cemeteries).

Lepel’s history starts in 15^th century. In the beginning of the 20^th century half of the population was Jewish, there were 8 synagogues in the town. During the WWII Nazi occupants organized the Lepel Ghetto where all the Jews that didn’t escape were killed in 1942.

The program of the School included theoretical (lectures on the history of East-European Jewry, traditional folk culture of poly-ethnical districts, Jewish ethnography and epigraphy) and practical parts (collecting ethnographic material on oral history, ethno-cultural stereotypes, etc. and works on description of Jewish cemetery of 17–19^th centuries).

The results of the expeditionary work and the catalogue of Lepel’s cemetery were published (see below).

The program of the school (in Russian) is available here. 

Photos Album is here. 

The School in Lepel is organized by Sefer Center with the support of Genesis Philanthropy Group and UJA Foundation of NY.