The last couple of months on the project have been very busy. Firstly, we had to say good-bye to our excellent Research Associate Deborah Butcher whose life is taking a different course. Her year on the project was wonderfully productive and Deborah’s contribution was essential in getting our research moving. We thank Deborah for all her hard work and wish her well for the future.

We are therefore hiring again: Vacancy: Research Associate

Dr Spiro @Lessons & Legacies

Mia and I travelled to California for the biennial Lessons & Legacies Conference where we presented papers in a panel together with Professor Sue Vice (University of Sheffield): ‘The Archive and the Production of Holocaust Memory’. Mia spoke on the role and effect of the editor on the shape of published Holocaust memoirs. Sue presented on three out-takes from Claude Lanzmann’s Shoah, a paper which tallied well with another panel in the conference dedicated solely to Shoah. My own paper reflected on the role of the historian in shaping the narratives arising from family archives, a presentation directly related to my research on the Dorrith Sim Collection.

The Jewish Experience in Scotland (2016) exhibition by SCoJeC and the Glasgow Jewish Representative Council

This week we hosted the 3rd meeting of the project’s Advisory Board. Two main discussion points arose, both related to the project’s work with the wider public. We had originally planned to develop an exhibition on the project’s themes of migration, space, and identity which could be used as a stand-alone piece in various venues and support educational initiatives. However, as our project began, we linked with a number of related initiatives in Scotland who were working on Jewish genealogy and developing a ‘Holocaust era study centre’ in the SJAC. Exhibition projects are arising from these groups and we are delighted to see them come to fruition. Our ideal has always been to co-operate and enhance the resources available to the wider public and schools in Scotland. Hence we have now decided to create a short film which speaks to the project’s themes; this will be tied in with specific educational resources for which we will seek input and co-operation with Scotland’s professional bodies for teachers. The Research Associate who will join us, will have an important role in developing the film and resources. More on this in due course.

The second area of discussion concerned the possibility of celebrating and remembering the first Jewish Book Week which took place in Glasgow in 1937. 2017 marks the 80th anniversary of this event and we hope to be able to arrange an event next year to reflect on the content and impact of the 1937 Glasgow Jewish Book Week.