Book about the “Lviv Schindler” in Ukraine recognized as the winner of the book award “Meeting: Ukrainian-Jewish Literary Award” 2024

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The book “Solid” tells the little-known story of the Lviv shoe factory of the same name, where during the Holocaust, monks of the Studite Rule, with the blessing of Metropolitan Andrey Sheptytsky, hid Jews.

This is the story of priest Joseph Peters, the “Schindler of Lviv”, who, as a monk and priest, founded a successful manufacturing plant that found itself at the centre of a rescue operation during the Nazi occupation.

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The cellars of Solid were used to hide women, children and men who were condemned to death by the Nazis. During 1942-1944, many of them were saved from death, despite searches, denunciations, disease and hunger.

Canadian non-governmental organization “Ukrainian-Jewish Meeting” (UJE) and public organization “Publishers Forum” (Lviv, Ukraine) happily announced September 10, 2024that the book “Solid. Shoe Factory of Life”, written by Yuriy Skira and published in 2023 by the Lviv publishing house “Choven”, became the fourth winner of the book award “Meeting: Ukrainian-Jewish Literary Award” 2024.

The Vstrecha award ceremony will take place on October 4 at 20:30 Kyiv time at the 31st Lviv International Bookforum and will be broadcast online. To participate in the event, you must register. Registration will begin soon on the Publishers Forum website.

Yuriy Skira is a Ukrainian historian, religious scholar, PhD in history, senior research fellow at the Institute of Ecumenical Studies of the Ukrainian Catholic University and director of the Center for the Study of the History of the Eastern Catholic Churches. He specializes in the study of the rescue of Jews during the Holocaust by the clergy and monastics of the Greek Catholic Church. His previous book, Called: Studite Monks and the Holocaust, was shortlisted for the 2021 Vstrecha Prize.

“The Vstrecha Prize is growing stronger,” said Natalia Fedushchak, UJE’s communications director. “Ukrainian writers and publishers face many challenges due to Russia’s criminal war against Ukraine. However, they continue to explore a wide range of topics, including the country’s history and the relationship between Ukrainians and the peoples living on its territory, including Jews.”

The chairman of the jury, Oleksandr Shcherba, noted that “Yuri Skira's book “Solid. The Shoe Factory of Life” tells one of the little-known stories of the Holocaust – the rescue of Jews in Lviv by Greek Catholic monks. Unlike the story of Oskar Schindler in Krakow, here the key role is played not by businessmen, but by priests who risk their lives to save people.”

Yulia Bentya, a member of the jury, emphasized that the victory of Skira's book “confirms the huge demand for high-quality historical research. This is an exemplary publication with a convincing presentation of the material and a large number of archival documents.”

The book was also assessed by Alexander Motyl, a jury member from the United States, who noted “the author’s ability to connect micro-details with important macro-issues, creating a multi-layered understanding of life under occupation.”

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