Reading Room Exhibition: Rebuilding and reestablishing Jewish traditions after the Holocaust: Purim and Pesach

For many Holocaust survivors, the defeat of Nazi Germany did not bring instant freedom, nor did it necessarily bring happiness. The Red Cross, the Jewish Relief Unit, and other organisations did what they could in way of post-war relief and rehabilitation, but the bleak reality of the situation was that many survivors did not have homes, families or communities to go back to.

In this exhibition, we show how survivors rebuilt and reestablished Jewish traditions after the war by looking at the holidays of Purim and Passover. From our Collections we have found a number of photographs and items from the first Purim and Passover some of the survivors would have been able to openly and safely celebrate for up to 13 years.

These celebrations played a vital role in the reestablishment, rehabilitation, and revival of Jewish cultural and religious life after the Holocaust. 

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