The Molotov-Von Ribbentrop non-aggression pact ultimately led to the annexation of large swaths of territory into the Soviet Union. The Jews of eastern Poland and the Baltic States now had to acclimate to the realities of Soviet Jewish life. With the Nazi invasion of the Soviet Union - Operation Barbarossa - on June 22, 1941, the mass shootings of Soviet Jewry began.
The Holocaust in the Soviet Union was unique in many respects. The Einsatzgruppen SS killing squads, along with local collaborators, murdered the Jews of the Soviet Union through mass shootings outside of the towns. Survival under Nazi occupation was rare, and was only possible by escape to the unoccupied areas of the Soviet Union or by serving in the Red Army. The Soviet government appointed the Jewish Anti-Fascist Committee, headed by leading Soviet Jewish writers and intellectuals. They generated publicity regarding the Holocaust, and gathered data which was eventually published as the Black Book.
The postwar Stalinist repression of Jewish life was one of the darkest periods of Jewish history in the Soviet Union. Sustaining Jewish life became nearly impossible, and those who struggled to do so did it heroically and against all odds.
This series on the history of Soviet Jewry is sponsored by Shuvu - Chazon Avraham, a network of schools in Israel whose student body is primarily composed of children of immigrants from the former Soviet Union. Support Shuvu’s educational projects here: https://www.shuvuusa.org/donate
For sponsorship opportunities about your favorite topics of Jewish history contact Yehuda at: yehuda@yehudageberer.com
Subscribe To Our Podcast on:
PodBean: https://jsoundbites.podbean.com/
Follow us on Twitter or Instagram at @Jsoundbites
You can email Yehuda at yehuda@yehudageberer.com
The Machine Matzah Controversy
Beyond the Pale: Russian Jewry outside the Pale of Settlement
The Yeshiva Elite in 19th Century Lithuania
Censorship in Czarist Russia
Cantonists & The Czarist Military (+ Recap of a Trip to Ashkenaz/Germany) Featuring Dovi Safier
The Chassidic Movement in the Russian Empire
Russian Jewry under the Czars 1881-1914
Russian Jewry under the Czars 1772-1881
Galician Greatness: Rav Shlomo Kluger
The Legacy & Impact of Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch
The Life & Legacy of the Aruch Hashulchan
A Dream to Rebuild: The Early Years of Ponovezh Yeshiva
The Machal Fighters of 1948
The Great Shanghai Escape Part X
The Great Shanghai Escape Part IX
The Great Shanghai Escape Part VIII Featuring Dovi Safier
The Great Shanghai Escape Part VII
The Great Shanghai Escape Part VI
The Great Shanghai Escape Part V
The Great Shanghai Escape Part IV
Join Podbean Ads Marketplace and connect with engaged listeners.
Advertise Today
Create your
podcast in
minutes
It is Free
The Hello Heaven Podcast
Rav Gershon Ribner
The Nightingale of Iran
Abundant Ever After with Cathy Heller
For Heaven’s Sake
Unpacking Israeli History