Sharhorod hosts the exhibition "A Journey Through the Ukrainian-Jewish Encounter: From Antiquity to 1939"
In the summer of 2024, the exhibition "A Journey Through the Ukrainian-Jewish Encounter: From Antiquity to 1939" started touring Vinnytsia Oblast. Since July, it has been shown in Vinnytsia, Lityn, Diakivtsi, Khmilnyk, and Zhmerynka. After the successful presentation in the Zhmerynka Town Historical Museum, it moved to Sharhorod, a town on the Murashka and Kovbasna rivers known for its historical and cultural monuments, outstanding people, and wonderful Podolian nature.
On 25 February, the Sharhorod Museum of Fine Arts hosted the grand opening of the exhibition. The organizers invited local cultural activists, high-school students, Jewish community members, representatives of the local authorities, and everyone interested in history, culture, and interethnic relations.
Oksana Vykhrystiuk, director of the Sharhorod Museum of Fine Arts, introduced this unique exhibition to the audience and spoke about its theme. She noted that the exhibition raised topical social issues and promoted awareness and dialogue, thus playing a key role in shaping a tolerant and diverse society.
Yurii Burdynsky, a local historian and teacher at Sharhorod Lyceum No. 2, discussed the multifaceted relations between Ukrainians and Jews over the centuries, particularly in Sharhorod, which had one of Podolia's largest Jewish communities in the 17th century.
Vasyl Pavelsky, an honorary Sharhorod resident who was also invited to the exhibition's opening, shared his grandmother's memories about the Sharhorod ghetto during World War II.
Tetiana Yanchurska, head of the Culture and Tourism Department of the Shargorod Town Administration, and Nadiia Bratslavska, history and law teacher at Sharhorod Lyceum No. 2, were also in the audience.
The event ended with a reception featuring the Jewish Fluden strudel and honey cake made according to the Sharhorod Jews' recipe personally by Vykhrystiuk and Yulia Mykhalko, the keeper of the Sharhorod museum's collections.
Each visitor to the exhibition's opening was presented with a copy of the catalog A Journey Through the Ukrainian-Jewish Encounter: From Antiquity to 1914. The district and school libraries of Sharhorod also received this publication as a gift.
The exhibition was open in the Sharhorod Museum of Fine Arts until 25 March, after which it traveled to Mohyliv-Podilsky in Vinnytsia Oblast.
Vladyslav Hrynevych, Jr.,
Regional Manager,
UJE, Ukraine
