Введение Brest: In the Embrace of Memory

Brest is a city where Jewish history stretches back more than six centuries. For generations, Brest – or Brisk, as it was once known – was one of the most important centres of Jewish life in Eastern Europe. It was home to synagogues and schools, printing presses and charitable organisations, and was shaped by the work of distinguished rabbis, doctors, craftsmen, and community leaders.

According to the 1897 census, around 65% of the city's population was Jewish. On the eve of the First World War, more than 39,000 Jews lived in Brest. It was here that the future Prime Minister of Israel, Menachem Begin, was born; here that members of the famous Soloveitchik rabbinical dynasty worked; and here that the rich, diverse culture of Brest's Jewish community flourished.

But the twentieth century almost entirely destroyed this world. In the autumn of 1942, the Brest ghetto was liquidated, and tens of thousands of its prisoners were murdered. Today, the modern city stands where lost Jewish Brest once stood – and our tour will help you trace its remains: in buildings, streets, surviving inscriptions, names, and the stories of real people.