Programs | Education | Exhibitions | Publications | Study Tours
For 100 years, the YIVO Institute for Jewish Research has preserved the legacy of one thousand years of Ashkenazi Jewish life. Through our treasured collections and robust programming and educational initiatives, YIVO tells the story of what we have cherished, what we have endured, and how we have persisted. It is the story out of which the future of the Jewish people will be built. As the destination for knowledge of Yiddish language, culture, civilization, and its evolution throughout the world, YIVO is essential for keeping this story alive.
YIVO is celebrating our Centennial Anniversary. This powerful moment marks the celebration of a historic century of perpetuating Jewish culture. We will mark this milestone with events and announcements throughout the year. Visit this page regularly for the latest updates on events, classes, exhibitions, new products in the YIVO store, and so much more.
Join us in 2025 as we celebrate our first one hundred years and look forward to starting YIVO’s second century.
Treasures from the YIVO Collections
YOUTUBE SERIES
Every Friday throughout 2025, YIVO will release a new video highlighting a book, object, or artifact from its collections. Each short video features a YIVO staff member discussing an item and explaining its historical significance. Subscribe to YIVO's YouTube Channel.
A Trip into the Archive: The Case of Otto Schneid
LECTURE
March 27, 2025 | 1:00pm ET | On Zoom
Alyssa Quint discusses art historian Otto Schneid and the creation of YIVO’s Museum of Jewish Art, Judaica, and Art History, a defunct project from the early days of the Institute.
The YIVO Sound Archive and the Klezmer Revival
LECTURE
April 24, 2025 | 1:00pm ET | On Zoom
YIVO sound archivist Eléonore Biezunski tells the story of the Max and Frieda Weinstein Archive of YIVO Sound Recordings in relation to the revitalization of klezmer music since the mid-1970s.
The Making of an East European and Holocaust Historian: Lucy S. Dawidowicz and the YIVO in Vilna, New York, and Offenbach
LECTURE
May 7, 2025 | 1:00pm ET | On Zoom
This talk by Nancy Sinkoff will explore the influence of the YIVO on Lucy S. Dawidowicz (1915-1990), a postwar American Jewish public intellectual and historian, who was central to the field that is now called “Holocaust Studies.”
New Trends in YIVO Scholarship
PANEL DISCUSSION
June 11, 2025 | 1:00pm ET | On Zoom
Join YIVO for a panel discussion sharing new research on various historic YIVO initiatives featuring presentations by William Pimlott, Kamil Kijek, and Nicolas Vallois, followed by a conversation led by Jessica Kirzane.
YIVO in America
CONFERENCE
Day 1 | June 22, 2025 | 7:00pm-9:30pm ET | In Person & On Zoom
Day 2 | June 23, 2025 | 10:00am-9:30pm ET | In Person & On Zoom
Join us for a celebration of YIVO’s 100th anniversary with a conference focusing on how YIVO’s founding vision for Jewish social sciences has been realized in America since its headquarters shifted to New York City in 1940.
YIVO Learning and Media Center Grand Opening
Mid-2025
YIVO will open the doors of a new Learning and Media Center soon. In the space, visiting classes will experience archive-based lessons drawing from YIVO's collections, and members of the broader public will be welcome to explore Jewish history and culture.
YIVO at 100
On view June 22, 2025 – December 31, 2025
In honor of its centennial, YIVO presents three landmark exhibitions that illuminate the extraordinary stories preserved in its world-renowned collections. These exhibitions highlight the passion, courage, and dedication that built the world’s foremost archive of Eastern European Jewish life.
- Hail to the Zamlers! YIVO’s Collections at 100
- The Paper Brigade: Smuggling Jewish Treasures in Nazi-Occupied Vilna
- The Strashun Library: Rare Books Rescued from the Ashes of Vilna
100 Objects from the Collections of the YIVO Institute for Jewish Research
Publication Date: June 2025
Delve into Jewish history through 100 unique objects from the YIVO Archives and Library. This gorgeously-illustrated coffee table book contains images and essays which represent modern Jewish history and culture through YIVO's one hundred years of collecting. The volume highlights a variety of manuscripts, photographs, ritual objects, and other ephemera.
2025 Study Tour of Lithuania & Poland
EXCLUSIVELY FOR YIVO
June 16-29, 2025
Join YIVO for an enlightening journey to Lithuania and Poland. Reclaim your heritage as you examine the life that was lived in these lands. View the remarkable history of old Warsaw, Kraków, Vilnius, and Białowieża.
2025 Study Tour of Imperial Cities in Central Europe
Budapest — Vienna — Berlin
EXCLUSIVELY FOR YIVO
July 7-17, 2025
Come and explore the rich history of Hungary, Austria, and Germany through a uniquely Jewish lens. This tour will visit beautiful synagogues, unrivaled museums, and landmarks of Jewish religious life and secular genius.
2025 Study Tour of Northern Italy
EXCLUSIVELY FOR YIVO
September 1-14, 2025
Join YIVO on a journey of discovery across northern Italy, exploring the fascinating, troubled, and glorious history of Italian Jews in the northern tier, unfamiliar to most of us.