Walking in the streets of Vilnius, many have regretted the absence of signs marking the famed Jewish history of the city. Except for a dwindling number of old-time residents and still fewer younger initiates, people rarely know where the world-famous Romm Hebrew printing house once stood, where the great Yiddish scholar Max Weinreich lived, where the first YIVO (at that time, the Yiddish Scientific Institute) was located, and much more.

This year will bring reason for satisfaction! The Vilnius municipality has accepted the Institute's proposal to create commemorative plaques and to integrate them into a new series of plaques dedicated to the city's cultural heritage. The municipality will fund the first 20 plaques, and we are currently working with them on the design and proposing a list of sites to be marked.

We are pleased to have the Vilnius municipality as a new partner and hope everyone will feel enriched by the plaques starting next summer!