The Museum of the History of Jews in Grodno was founded in 2012 Its creation coincided with the beginning of the restoration of the Great Choral Synagogue, where the museum is located. The museum has become a center for collecting information about the Jews-natives from Grodno region: industrialists, statesmen and public figures, such cultural figures as poets, artists and writers. The museum exhibition stands reflect the life history of the first and third presidents of Israel, Lev Bakst, the artist, Liza Chapnik, the hero of the Resistance during the war, Felix Zandman who was a great scientist, and many others. The permanent exposition includes the theme of the Catastrophe of European and Grodno Jewry during the war. A special section of the permanent exhibition is dedicated to the Righteous of the World, who saved Grodno children from Nazi persecution. The museum’s collections include stories of prisoners of Grodno ghetto and fascist concentration camps, books of memoirs, audio and video stories of witnesses of those tragic days. In the museum, lessons for students of the city’s schools are held in memory of the Holocaust.
The museum is located in two rooms. Gradually, artifacts that must be found and must not be forgotten have been collected. Memories and objects related to the life of Grigory Khosid take pride of place in the museum. The last prisoner of the ghetto, who lived in Grodno, died in 2013, and his unique video interviews have been preserved for posterity for many years. Currently, work is underway in the National Historical Archives to create a block of materials dedicated to the religious life of the Jewish people in the 19th and 20th centuries.
