Tsemakh Shabad Exhibition at the Lithuanian Parliament

Oct 2, 2014

An exhibition honoring doctor and Jewish communal leader Tsemakh Shabad (Szabad; 1864-1935) opened at the Lithuanian Parliament (Seimas) on September 21, 2014. Based on photographs and artifacts from YIVO’s Archives and Library and curated by Edward Portnoy, it explores the life and legacy of a man celebrated not only for his life’s work as a physician but for his activism in a wide variety of Jewish movements and organizations, including YIVO, which he played a leading role in establishing. Dr. Shabad was also prominent in public health projects and served as a member of the Polish Parliament in the late 1920s.

The opening of the exhibition, organized by the Jewish Community of Lithuania and YIVO, took place in the framework of a one-day conference on Jewish doctors in Vilna, and was accompanied by the unveiling of a Lithuanian, English, and Yiddish plaque honoring Shabad at the site of the former Jewish hospital in Vilnius. YIVO Executive Director Jonathan Brent delivered a talk at the conference.