On September 26, 1943 about 240 Jews accomplished a daring escape from the Novogrudok (Navardok) labour camp in Belarus (White Russia) via an underground tunnel dug by the inmates over a period of several months. In this programme, we will focus on this little-known escape, which, according to research carried out by Dr. Betty Cohen, was the greatest prisoner escape of Jews during the Holocaust.

We are honoured to have Lady Gilbert give the opening remarks.  Afterwards, Dr. Silberklang will present the broader picture of Jewish resistance in the ghettos.  Dr. Betty Cohen, whose mother, Fania Dunetz Brodsky, was one of the escapees, will examine the survivors’ choice to rebuild their lives, where they did so, the legacies they left behind, and the families they created. She will also discuss her newly released book:  Tunnel of Hope:  Escape from the Novogrudok Forced Labour Camp, with a Forward by Prof. Yehuda Bauer. Tamara Vershitskaya, founder of the Jewish Resistance Museum in Novogrudok, will take us on a virtual tour of the exhibition. Our final speaker, Debra Brunner, CEO of the Together Plan, will discuss the organisation’s work in Belarus, including the “Making History Together” project that promotes Holocaust commemoration.

This programme is in partnership with The Together Plan, the Jewish Genealogical Society of Great Britain, Jewish Small Communities Network, Qesher, the Jewish Tapestry Project, DIALOG International Charitable Organisation, Jewish Religious Union (Belarus), Classrooms Without Borders, Rabin Chair Forum George Washington University, and the Johannesburg Holocaust & Genocide Centre.

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