PROGRAM of 2025
All events are free of charge!
For the fifth time, the International Jewish Culture Festival “Shalom Everywhere” warmly welcomes you to Klaipėda!
Dear friends, as we invite you to the festival events, our humble organizing team reflects: five years—does it feel long or short? What began as a timid idea has, over five years, grown into a highly professional festival, the only one of its kind in Lithuania. Every year, participants come from across Europe—musicians, lecturers, writers, scholars, and filmmakers—to share their talents and insights. Our audience spans generations and interests, from Klaipėda residents to visitors from across the regions. The festival has already built a loyal circle of friends, partners, and supporters. The main sponsor of the International Jewish Culture Festival “Shalom Everywhere” is the Klaipėda City Municipality.
The 2025 festival will celebrate the 100th anniversary of YIVO and highlight Jewish literature and the Yiddish language.
YIVO founded in Vilnius, Lithuania, in 1925, YIVO—the Yiddish Scientific Institute—was established to preserve and study the history and culture of Eastern European Jewry. Today, the institute’s archives in New York hold over 23 million unique items, and its library boasts more than 400,000 volumes—making it the world’s largest repository for Jewish studies. During the festival, visitors will have the rare chance to explore YIVO’s fascinating history up close at our special exhibition.
Yiddish, also called Litvish or Litvishe, was once the everyday language of Ashkenazi Jews across Eastern Europe, including Lithuania. By the 19th century, it was the dominant language of Lithuanian Jews, and in the early 20th century, 99% of Jews in Lithuania spoke Yiddish as their mother tongue. It was even taught in schools. Tragically, the Holocaust dramatically reduced the number of speakers—but the language lives on.
Come to “Shalom Everywhere” to discover YIVO, the rich world of Yiddish, Jewish literature spanning over 3,000 years, and countless other fascinating stories. We await you, dear friends, throughout September in Klaipėda, Salantai, and Gargždai.
Be with us. Be among us
5.30 p.m.
Klaipėda County Ieva Simonaityte Public Library
Music and Performing Arts Space
Herkaus Manto st. 25
Duration 1 hour
Online meeting
Yiddish literature in interwar Lithuania: “All Alone”?
After the First World War, many works of fiction and journalism appeared describing the hardships experienced during the war, above all the forced expulsion of Jews in 1915 and the resulting identity crisis. In the 1920s, works by Lithuanian Yiddish writers were permeated with feelings of separation, alienation, and loneliness. However, in the 1930s, a new identity of Lithuanian Jews—organically connected with Lithuania—began to be actively affirmed.
This talk will present interwar (1918–1940) Lithuanian Yiddish writers, literary groups, and publications, and will review the evolution of the issues addressed in their works.
Lecturer: Akvilė Grigoravičiūtė.
Akvilė Grigoravičiūtė is a researcher of Yiddish literature and a translator. She collaborates with the Medem Yiddish Language and Culture Center Library in Paris.
The lecture access link: https://shorturl.at/7ZIkN
5.30 p.m.
Klaipeda City Municipality I.Kant Public Library Pempininkai department
Taikos ave. 81A
Duration 1 hour 50 min.
Movie
„Seven Blessings“
1969 | Israel | Dir. Ayelet Menahemi | Comedy/Drama
A young woman returns to Israel to celebrate her wedding. During the traditional seven days of festivities (Sheva Brachot), she is confronted with family secrets, long-buried pain, and complex relationships with her loved ones. Beneath the joyful atmosphere lies a tapestry of cultural, emotional, and historical layers, with a special focus on the traditions of Sephardic Jews of Moroccan descent.
The film has been recognized with awards in ten categories and won the top prize at Israel’s “Oscars” in 2023.
Subtitled in Lithuanian.
Special thanks to the Embassy of Israel in Vilnius for supporting the screening.
The film is part of the Embassy’s project “Israeli Cinema in Your City”.
5.30 p.m.
Klaipėda County Ieva Simonaityte Public Library
Herkaus Manto st. 25
Duration 1,5 hour
An Evening in Memory of Leonidas Donskis
Leonidas Donskis – philosopher, cultural historian, intellectual, aesthete
It is sometimes said that no one is irreplaceable. Yet this is not true when we speak of truly outstanding and exceptional personalities. The insights of Leonidas Donskis (1960–2016) — philosopher and public intellectual born in Klaipėda — are deeply missed today when reflecting on current events in Lithuania and the world. His perspective and analyses were marked by profound erudition, a refusal to succumb to extremes, and an unwavering adherence to moral principles.
This commemorative evening will focus on Leonidas Donskis’ academic biography and career in the context of 20th–21st century events, his role in politics, and the intellectual dissemination of his ideas and views.
During the event, visitors will also be able to explore an exhibition of Leonidas Donskis’ published books and articles from the collections of the Ieva Simonaitytė Public Library of Klaipėda County and the private library of Prof. V. Vareikis.
Prof. Dr. Vygantas Vareikis, Klaipėda University
Participants: Assoc. Prof. Dr. Povilas Žakaitis, Klaipėda University; Linas Poška
Foto: Greta Skaraitienė / BNS nuotr.
5.00 p.m.
Klaipeda City Municipality I.Kant Public Library Art department
J. Janonio st. 9
The exhibition will run until 11th of October
Exhibition
“Friends of YIVO: The Vilnius YIVO Institute and the Interwar Jewish World”
Founded in Vilnius in 1925, the YIVO Institute for Jewish Research played a critically important role in collecting and studying European and global Jewish history, the Yiddish language, both ancient and modern literature and folklore, Jewish theater, pedagogy and youth issues, as well as the social and economic life of Jewish communities. After its work in Vilnius was cut short by the Nazi occupation, YIVO continued its activities in New York, where it still operates today.
This exhibition, curated from the Judaica Collection of the Martynas Mažvydas National Library of Lithuania, highlights the wide range of academic and social connections fostered by the Vilnius-based YIVO and the breadth of its scholarly achievements.
The exhibition will be introduced by Rasa Stakauskaitė, Senior Researcher at the Judaica Research Center of the Martynas Mažvydas National Library of Lithuania. Rasa works with the library’s Judaica collection, sharing it with the public through research and events dedicated to Jewish cultural heritage.
After the exhibition presentation, we invite you to another engaging event — a conversation with Assoc. Prof. Dr. Kamilė Rupeikaitė about the remarkable artist Arnas Nadelis (1878–1943), who lived in Königsberg and Berlin.
Special thanks
6.00 p.m.
Klaipeda City Municipality I.Kant Public Library Art department
J. Janonio st. 9
Duration 1 hour
Lecture
„Between Poetry, Music, and Art: The Phenomenon of Arno Nadel (1878–1943)“
Born in Vilnius and spending the first twelve years of his life there before moving to Königsberg and later Berlin, the remarkable artist Arno Nadel (1878–1943) was celebrated for his many talents and wide-ranging activities. He was a poet, playwright, translator, arranger, musicologist, music critic and collector, composer, choral conductor, pianist, organist, and painter.
During the Nazi era, Nadel’s works, like those of all Jewish artists, were condemned as “degenerate art” and banned. He was murdered in Auschwitz, and much of his artistic legacy and vast archive were destroyed. This lecture seeks to restore Nadel’s presence to the cultural history of multiethnic Lithuania.
Lecturer:
Dr. Kamilė Rupeikaitė – musicologist, Senior Researcher at the Lithuanian Culture Research Institute, and Associate Professor at the Lithuanian Academy of Music and Theatre. Dr. Rupeikaitė has published numerous scholarly articles in Lithuania and abroad and is the author of the monograph Dialogues: Composer Anatolijus Šenderovas (2020). Her academic interests include music in the Bible, multicultural musical contexts, Jewish musical culture in Lithuania, and the use of biblical motifs in professional music.
1.15 p.m.
Vytautas Magnus Gymnasium
Conference Hall
S. Daukanto st. 31
Creative Reading Afternoon
“A Daughter’s Gift of Love.” The Story of Trudi Birger
Can love save a life?
Can a story from the past inspire us today not to give up in the face of life’s challenges?
At the age of fourteen, Trudi Birger survived the Holocaust. Together with her mother, she endured the horrors of the ghetto, the unbearable labor in concentration camps, and the constant fear of death. What sustained them was unbreakable willpower, trust in one another, and boundless mutual love.
Today, Trudi’s story is not only a testimony of survival, but also a gift to younger generations — a reminder that even in the darkest times, humanity can be preserved.
Students of Vytautas Magnus Gymnasium, guided by their teacher Reda Veličkaitė, will bring this inspiring story to life through creative reading.
5.30 p.m.
Klaipėda City Municipality I. Kant Public Library, Melnragė department
Molo st. 60
Duration 1 hour
Meeting
“Let’s Laugh with the Jews”
For about 5,785 years, give or take a few days, laughter has been saving humanity.
Tyrants used to say: „Rule boldly as long as the people weep, run when the people begin to laugh.“
Laughter is life’s vitamin. You don’t need to buy it, you need to receive it and share it in the kitchen, on a bench outside your home, or at a gathering with friends.
The unforgettable world of Jewish humor will be revealed through stories and anecdotes by Daumantas Todesas.
D. Todes is the Chairman of the Council of National Communities, the founder of the Jewish community “Vilnius – the Jerusalem of Lithuania”, and the initiator of numerous art projects.
5.00 p.m.
Klaipėda County Ieva Simonaitytė Public Library
H. Manto St. 25
Duration: 2 hours 30 min
An Evening in Memory of Aleksandras Štromas
Film Screening and Discussion: The Remarkable 20th-Century Thinker Aleksandras Štromas
We warmly invite you to an event dedicated to the distinguished political scientist, thinker, and dissident Aleksandras Štromas (1931–1999). During the evening, we will watch the film “Aleksandras Štromas: Horizons of Freedom” (film directed by O. Bivenienė, I. Bereznickas, and S. Sondeckis Jr.) and reflect on his significance in the intellectual history of Lithuania and Europe.
The film feels like an ongoing conversation with A. Štromas himself, as his life and ideas are illuminated through the voices of his companions, family members, politicians, and cultural figures — including President Valdas Adamkus, Tomas Venclova, Leonidas Donskis, Irena Veisaitė, and others.
Through these authentic testimonies, the trajectory of his extraordinary life unfolds: from childhood in interwar Kaunas, and studies at a Catholic gymnasium alongside Vytautas Kavolis and Julius Šmulkštis, to his recognition as a world-renowned political scientist and expert in peace studies.
From 1974 until 1999, A.Štromas worked at the University of Bradford’s Department of Peace Studies as a Senior Research Fellow, and later taught political science at the University of Salford (1978–1983). In 1989, he moved to the United States, where he held a permanent professorship in political science at Hillsdale College in Michigan.
Aleksandras Štromas is regarded as one of the most important Lithuanian political philosophers of the 20th century, his name often mentioned alongside such thinkers as Hannah Arendt, Karl R. Popper, and Leszek Kołakowski.
Evening guests — one of the film’s creators, Saulius Sondeckis Jr., and Prof. Habil. Dr. Egidijus Aleksandravičius.
5.30 p.m.
Klaipeda City Municipality I.Kant Public Library Pempininkai department
Taikos ave. 81A
Duration 90 min.
Movie
„The Art of Waiting“
2019 | Israel | director Erez Tadmor | comedy
Liran and Tali are a loving Israeli couple desperate to start a family, but are told they will have to undergo fertility treatments to realize their dream of having a child together. What seems simple at first turns out to be a very long, difficult journey as they encounter obstacles and face up to the reality of their chances. A dream that should have brought them together, instead, after too much failure, starts to tear them apart. Will their love last?
We thank the Embassy of Israel in Vilnius
for their support in organizing the screening of the film.
4.00 p.m.
Salantai Cultural Center
A.Salio st.4, Salantai
The exhibition will run until 31th of October
Exibition
“Talits, Kapotes, Parišales: A Story of Polish Jewish Clothing from the Middle Ages to the 20th Century”
Discover 10 beautifully reconstructed historical costumes, inspired by stories, written sources, and rare scrap materials from Polish Jewish heritage. Some garments are made from original pre-war fabrics found in an old Jewish house in Stary Sącz.
Don’t miss it – open until October 31!
Big thanks to the Polish Institute in Vilnius for making this exhibition possible!
3.00 p.m.
Church of St. Francis of Assisi Monastery, Klaipėda
Savanoriu st.4
Duration 1,5 hour
The concert is in two parts with an intermission
“Sofia’s Journey: Yiddish Voices from the Past”
Don’t miss this unique journey through Yiddish musical history!
Step back in time and let the hauntingly beautiful Yiddish melodies collected by Sofija Magid (1892–1954) transport you. This Soviet-Jewish ethnologist raced against time to preserve a vanishing musical heritage, traveling villages with her phonographs and wax records to capture songs for future generations.
Discover the rich sounds of Volhynia’s shtetls (Northern Ukraine & Southern Belarus) and experience the inspiration behind the ensemble “WAKS.”
The concert performed by:
Inge Mandos– Vocals, Recitation
Hans-Christian Jaenicke – Violin
Klemens Kaatz – Piano, Accordion
More info: www.ingemandos.de
More about artists >>>
Foto Cyrille Guignard
Special thanks
5.30 p.m.
Lithuanian Artists’ Association Klaipeda departament
Bažnyčių st.6
Duration 1 hour
Lecture
„Lithuanian Jewish Art in South Africa“
Discover the fascinating world of Lithuanian Jewish art in South Africa!
Lithuanian Jewish art in South Africa reflects a unique cultural and historical heritage shaped by waves of Litvak migration during the 19th and 20th centuries. Many artists of Lithuanian Jewish descent created works that combined European modernist traditions with local themes and contexts. Their art often explored issues of identity, diaspora, and social justice—topics relevant both to their own communities and to the broader South African society.
Dr. Karina Simonson is an art historian and lecturer at the Institute of Asian and Transcultural Studies, Vilnius University. She earned her master’s degree at the University of Cape Town and completed her doctoral dissertation at the Vilnius Academy of Arts, focusing on South African Jewish photography and its socio-political context.
5.30 p.m.
Klaipeda City Municipality I.Kant Public Library Pempininkai department
Taikos ave. 81A
Duration 90 min.
Movie
„Here we are“
2020 | Israel | director Nir Bergman| drama
Aharon has devoted his life to raising his son Uri. They live together in a gentle routine, away from the real world. But Uri is autistic, and now as a young adult it might be time for him to live in a specialized home. While on their way to the institution, Aharon decides to run away with his son and hits the road, knowing that Uri is not ready for this separation. Or is it, in fact, his father who is not ready?
We thank the Embassy of Israel in Vilnius
for their support in organizing the screening of the film.
25th of September 10.30 a.m.
Gargždai Regional Museum
Sodo st.5, Gargždai
25th of September 5.30 p.m.
Klaipėda City Municipality Centre of Ethnic Culture
Daržų st. 10
Duration 1 hour
Movie
„Ver Vet Blaybn? / Who Will Remain“
The event on October 26 is canceled. We are very sorry.
Attempting to better understand her grandfather Avrom Sutzkever, Israeli actress HadasKalderon travels to Lithuania, using her grandfather’s diary to trace his early life in Vilna and hissurvival of the Holocaust. Sutzkever (1913–2010) was an acclaimed Yiddish poet—described bytheNew York Timesas the “greatest poet of the Holocaust”—whose verse drew on his youth inSiberia and Vilna, his spiritual and material resistance during World War II, and his post-war lifein the State of Israel. Kalderon, whose nativelanguage is Hebrew and must rely on translationof her grandfather’s work, is nevertheless determined to connect with what remains of the poet’sbygone world and confront the personal responsibility of preserving her grandfather’s literarylegacy. Woven into the documentary are family home videos, newly recorded interviews, andarchival recordings, including Sutzkever’s testimony at the Nuremberg Trial. Recitation of hispoetry and personal reflections on resisting Nazi forces as a partisan fighter reveal howSutzkever tried to make sense of the Holocaust and its aftermath. As Kalderon strives toreconstruct the stories told by her grandfather, the film examines the limits of language,geography, and time.
More about the film makers >>>
A production of the Yiddish Book Center’s Wexler Oral History Project.
The film will be presented by Christa Whitney. Director, Yiddish Book Center’s Wexler Oral History Project
6.30 p.m.
MS Teams
Duration 1 hour
Online meeting
„Lithuanian Jewish Art in South Africa“
Discover the fascinating world of Lithuanian Jewish art in South Africa!
Lithuanian Jewish art in South Africa reflects a unique cultural and historical heritage shaped by waves of Litvak migration during the 19th and 20th centuries. Many artists of Lithuanian Jewish descent created works that combined European modernist traditions with local themes and contexts. Their art often explored issues of identity, diaspora, and social justice—topics relevant both to their own communities and to the broader South African society.
Dr. Karina Simonson is an art historian and lecturer at the Institute of Asian and Transcultural Studies, Vilnius University. She earned her master’s degree at the University of Cape Town and completed her doctoral dissertation at the Vilnius Academy of Arts, focusing on South African Jewish photography and its socio-political context.
The lecture access link: https://shorturl.at/Rcxu8
6.00 p.m.
Klaipėda City Municipality I. Kant Public Library, Melnragė department
Molo st. 60
Duration 1 hour
Online meeting
„From Yidishe dikhterins to Today: Yiddish Women’s Voices in Word and Music“
In this talk, prof habil.PhD. Urszula Ulla Chowaniec will present Yidishe dikhterins (Yiddish Women Poets), the groundbreaking 1927 anthology compiled by Ezra Korman—the first to focus entirely on women’s voices in Yiddish poetry. Blending literary history with biographical portraits of the poets, the lecture highlights the richness of Jewish women’s writing, their modernist experiments, and their place in Yiddishkeit.
The talk will also feature a unique musical experience: five Yiddish poems transformed into songs, giving new life to words that continue to resonate across time, language, and culture.
An encounter with history, memory, and music—this event celebrates the enduring voices of Yiddish women poets, from the pages of 1927 to the songs of today.
Urszula Ulla Chowaniec is a professor of literature, lecturing in Polish and Yiddish women’s writing at Lund University (Department of Languages and Literature) and at Paideia – The European Institute for Jewish Studies in Stockholm. She is the author of Melancholic Migrating Bodies in Contemporary Polish Women’s Writing (2015) and a critical overview of Irena Krzywicka, the Polish-Jewish feminist writer of the 1920s and 1930s. Her research and teaching focus on women’s voices, Jewish identity, and the intersections of literature, memory, and migration.
The lecture access link: https://zoom.us/j/94795314448
5.30 p.m.
Klaipeda City Municipality I.Kant Public Library Pempininkai department
Taikos ave. 81A
Duration 25 min.
Short movies evening
„The Boy“
Avinoam and Barak, father and son from a Kibbutz bordering the Gaza strip, are forced to deal with another round of rockets and combat, each in their own way. One night, Barak reaches a boiling point and Avinoam is forced to absorb the heat.
The filmmaker, Yahav Winner, was murdered by Hamas terrorists on the October 7th massacre
2023 | Izrael | director Yahav Winner| drama| 25 min
„Black Slide“
The film reaches out beyond the classic “courage to overcome” tale. While monster waterslides may not be the first healing choice of trauma therapists, they certainly make for dramatic cinema.
A young boy struggles to come to terms with the devastating loss of his mother. The pain, and overwhelming sense of hopelessness and helplessness, drive him to consider an irreversible option. Overcoming this dark core will take absolute proof that he has within him the courage and strength to survive almost anything. And a terrifying water slide presents just that challenge.
„Black Slide“ is a winner of the Audience award for Best Short Film at the 2022 British Animation Awards qualifies it for the 95th Academy Awards in the category Best Animated Short Film.
2021 | Izrael, UK | director Uri Lotan | animation | 11 min
„Average story“
Avi Cohen has just been informed that he is the most average man who ever lived. Overnight, he reluctantly becomes a national icon and instant celebrity. With his wife’s enthusiastic urging, they translate the situation into a business venture that goes surprisingly awry.
2015 | Izrael, UK | director Yaniv Segalovich | comedy | 17 min
Filmai – Izraelio ambasados Lietuvoje vykdomo projekto „Izraelio kinas tavo mieste“ dalis.
Dėkojame Izraelio ambasadai Vilniuje už paramą organizuojant filmų peržiūrą.