The Collection of Mira Jedwabnik Van Doren

Recent Accession

YIVO received the collection of artist, filmmaker, and daughter of Vilna, Mira Jedwabnik Van Doren. The Mira Jedwabnik Van Doren Vilna Collection includes taped interviews and accompanying transcripts of survivors from Vilna, notable Yiddish personalities, writers, artists, and scholars including Abraham Sutzkever, Samuel Bak, Fira Bramson, Bina Weinreich, Chana Mlotek, Benjamin Harshav, and many others. These interviews, as well as the thousands of photographs, documents, and manuscripts detailing life in Vilna before the war that comprise the collection were used in Jedwabnik Van Doren’s acclaimed documentary The World Was Ours, which showcases four centuries of Jewish life in Vilna before the war. This collection stands as a testament to Mira Jedwabnik Van Doren’s devotion to preserving and sharing this vibrant history and will be of great use to scholars and students interested in creating new projects that draw on her important work.