- October 31, 2025
- 8:50 pm
- Ukraine
In Ukraine, on October 30, 2025, a special cultural-academic event will take place — a seminar of the Jewish Studies program and the Department of History of the Ukrainian Catholic University (UCU), organized with the assistance of the Honorary Consulate of the State of Israel. As part of it, Anna Nevzlin, the head of the project “Jewish Heroes”, will talk about the life of the Jewish community in Lviv in the 1945–1950s based on archival documents — about a time when the city, having survived the Holocaust, was trying to regain its breath, memory, and hope.
The event will take place in the academic building of UCU, room 424, and will last three hours.
It is open to everyone — you can attend in person or join online via Zoom. Details are available on the event page on Facebook.
Lviv: City of Memory and Revival
Lviv has always been the heart of Jewish Galicia. Here, even before the war, there were dozens of Jewish schools, theaters, charitable societies, and cultural centers. After 1944, when the city was liberated from the Nazis, a new chapter began — difficult but full of hope. Jews who survived the Holocaust tried to reclaim not only their homes and families but also their spiritual life.
The archival documents that Nevzlin will discuss reveal forgotten pages of this era. After the liberation of Lviv by Soviet troops, a commission to assist surviving Jews was created. The synagogue resumed its work, activists searched for rescued children, organized aid for orphans, the disabled, and displaced persons. It seemed that Jewish life was being reborn.
Three Directions of Jewish Life
According to archival data, three lines of Jewish activity formed in post-war Lviv:
— officially registered religious community;
— independent religious circles;
— and underground Zionist groups.
These directions symbolized different forms of survival. The official community sought dialogue with the authorities, unofficial groups tried to preserve traditions, and Zionists dreamed of repatriation and spiritual liberation.
Despite the control, Lviv in 1945–1946 was alive. Prayers, holidays, bar mitzvahs, and lectures on Judaism were held. People once again believed in the possibility of a future.
Pressure from Soviet Authorities
Just a year later, everything changed. The Soviet authorities began to tighten control over religious organizations. The authorities refused to open a second synagogue, prohibited collecting donations, and declared any charity “illegal.”
The archives contain documents where the community was accused of “violations of the charter” and “contacts with foreigners.” Some activists were interrogated, others disappeared from public life. Reports mention provocations and anti-Semitic incidents presented as “domestic conflicts.”
By 1962, the last synagogue in Lviv was closed. Jewish life was once again driven underground.
Ukrainian Catholic University — History, Mission, and Significance
Ukrainian Catholic University (UCU) is a leading humanities university in Eastern Europe, located in Lviv on Ilya Sventsitsky Street, 17. It was founded in 1928 by Metropolitan Andrey Sheptytsky as the Greek Catholic Theological Academy. After being closed by Soviet authorities in 1944 and decades of underground activity, it was revived in 1994 through the efforts of Cardinal Lubomyr Husar.
Today, UCU is a modern international university combining academic freedom and Christian ethics. It has faculties of philosophy, history, theology, psychology, journalism, sociology, and business. The university is known for its campus with the Metropolitan Sheptytsky Library, the Church of St. Sophronius, and the digital media center.
A special place is occupied by the Jewish Studies Program (Jewish Studies UCU) — a research center studying the history of Jews in Ukraine, the Yiddish language, and the heritage of Galicia. It collaborates with the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and ANU — Museum of the Jewish People in Tel Aviv.
The mission of UCU is to preserve the humanitarian and spiritual heritage of Ukraine, to foster a culture of dialogue between religions and peoples. In Lviv, where Ukrainians, Poles, and Jews have intersected for centuries, the university has become a space where history does not divide but unites.
Today, UCU is part of international academic networks (IFCU, FUCE), develops digital education, and joint projects with Israeli and European universities. The seminar on the Jewish community of Lviv 1945–1950 is an example of how the university connects archival past with the living memory of the present.
Anna Nevzlin — Between Luhansk and Tel Aviv
The lecture will be conducted by Anna Nevzlin, a historian, researcher of 20th-century Jewish history, and head of the international project “Jewish Heroes“. Her life itself reflects the history of generations. According to available information, she was born in Luhansk, studied and taught at the East Ukrainian National University named after V. Dahl (Luhansk, Ukraine).
Daughter of Boris Isaakovich Nevzlin (November 17, 1945, Luhansk, USSR — November 27, 2022, Israel) — a Soviet and Ukrainian scientist, engineer, associate professor of the East Ukrainian National University named after V. Dahl, former president of the Luhansk branch of the International Academy of Informatization.
After the Russian occupation in 2014, she moved to Israel.
Today, Anna lives in Tel Aviv, works at ANU — Museum of the Jewish People, engages in archival research and volunteer activities. Her project is dedicated to little-known Jewish heroes of the 20th century who fought for the right to be Jews and maintained faith under the totalitarian conditions of the USSR.
Thus, Anna Nevzlin connects three spaces — Ukrainian, Israeli, and Jewish. Her activities are a bridge between the histories of peoples divided by time and borders.
Project “Jewish Heroes”
Anna Nevzlin’s project “Jewish Heroes” is not just a database. It is a living space of memory. Here are collected stories of scientists, engineers, soldiers, poets, and human rights activists who in the 20th century fought to preserve Jewish identity.
Many of them were subjected to arrests, exiles, bans on professions, but did not renounce their faith and culture. The project helps to restore these names and show that history is not only about empires and leaders but also about ordinary people who kept the light in an era of darkness.
Why This Is Important Today
For Ukraine, this event has special significance. The seminar helps to view Jewish history not as separate but as part of the common national memory. Lviv is a place where tragedy and revival intertwine.
For Israel, it is a reminder of roots. Many Israeli families originate from Galicia, and such projects restore their connection to the land of their ancestors.
For Europe, it is further proof that memory can become a foundation for dialogue, and history — a tool for reconciliation.
The seminar “Jewish Community of Lviv in Archival Documents 1945–1950” is not just a lecture about the past. It is an attempt to restore the voices of those who were silenced.
The organizers invite everyone interested in history, culture, and identity to join this event. Lviv once again becomes a place where the past and future speak the same language — the language of memory, faith, and human dignity.
The seminar can be attended in person or joined online via Zoom. Details are available on the event page on Facebook.
