Jewish Refugees during the War in Ukraine, 1648-1654: Historical Perspectives with Contemporary Significance

Joseph and Gertie Schwartz Memorial Lecture

Adam Teller (Brown University) 

"Jewish Refugees during the War in Ukraine, 1648-1654: Historical Perspectives with Contemporary Significance"

This talk will examine the Jewish refugee crisis created following the 1648 Khmelnytsky uprising in Ukraine.  The focus of the talk will be the ways in which both the refugees and the Jewish communities where they found themselves managed to overcome the social, economic, religious, and even psychological challenges of reconstruction that faced them in the post-war years.  Based on a range of primary sources, the presentation will allow us to hear Jewish voices of the time describe their experiences and give us first-hand accounts of what happened and how they responded to it.  We will also explore how examining a Ukrainian refugee crisis from the past can help deal with the tragedy unfolding in Ukraine today.

Adam Teller is Professor of Judaic Studies and History at Brown University and a fellow of the American Academy for Jewish Research. He has written widely on the economic, social, and cultural history of the Jews in early modern Poland-Lithuania. He was a member of the core academic team that created the exhibit at the award-winning POLIN Museum for the History of Polish Jews in Warsaw and is currently a member of the museum’s Academic Advisory Council.  His most recent book, ‘Rescue the Surviving Souls: The Great Jewish Refugee Crisis of the Seventeenth Century’ (Princeton, 2020), won the Rachel Feldhay Brenner Award in Polish-Jewish Studies and was a finalist for the 2020 National Jewish Book Award in History.

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This lecture will be delivered in-person at JHB100 and virtually via Zoom. To attend virtually, please click THIS LINK on Monday, January 9 at 4 PM.