The Center for the Study of East European Jewish History at the Faculty of History of Vilnius University has launched VILNISH, a new service dedicated to the recognition of handwritten and historical printed texts in Yiddish and Hebrew. The service builds on the Vilne-Yiddish language model developed at Vilnius University by Dr Sergii Gurbych, a researcher at the Center, whose work focuses on archival sources and digital text analysis.

The service relies on machine learning methods specifically adapted to complex historical sources. It is designed to help transform manuscripts and old printed materials into searchable digital text. By converting such materials into machine-readable form, VILNISH opens new possibilities for working with Jewish historical sources and makes them significantly easier to explore and study. It will be especially relevant for those who do not know Yiddish well enough, as the service also includes adaptation and interpretation (translation) of sources into English or Lithuanian in addition to text recognition.

The process and quality of Yiddish text recognition. A fragment of a document from the collection of Judaica Research Centre at Martynas Mažvydas National Library of Lithuania.

Who Can Benefit from the Service

• Archives and memory institutions

Archives often hold large collections of diaries, personal and business correspondence, synagogue records, and historical manuscripts that have only brief annotations or no detailed descriptions. Text recognition allows institutions to identify document content more precisely and to integrate materials into electronic databases with full-text search, making collections easier to manage, explore, and reuse.

• Researchers and research projects

For scholars working with Jewish history, converting handwritten documents into digital text can significantly reduce the time required to prepare and analyse sources. It also enables new forms of Digital Humanities research based on large corpora of historical texts.

• Libraries and special collections

University libraries and specialised collections can use text recognition to create searchable versions of historical materials, facilitating cataloguing, scholarly description, and teaching.

• Private individuals researching family history

For private individuals interested in family history, the service makes it possible to access letters, diaries, and documents written several generations ago in Yiddish or Hebrew. Text recognition, combined with the subsequent adaptation and interpretation (translation) in English and Lithuanian, makes it possible to trace and reconstruct unknown family histories and gain a deeper understanding of personal and cultural heritage.

• Legal and governmental institutions

VILNISH may also help in the work with archival documents when preparing materials to confirm eligibility for repatriation or citizenship, where synagogue records, internal documentation of Jewish communities, correspondence, and other historical documents serve as supporting evidence.

The service is provided by specialists at the Center for the Study of East European Jewish History at Vilnius University, who work directly with the materials and adapt the processing to the specific characteristics of each collection.

More detailed descriptions of the services are available here:

• Recognition of handwritten and printed text in Yiddish
• Interpretation and adaptation of texts in Yiddish into English or Lithuanian

The VILNISH project reflects the Center’s broader mission to combine humanities research with advanced digital technologies and to strengthen engagement with society. By developing and sharing digital tools for historical research, the Center aims to contribute to international academic collaboration and to support education by making complex sources more accessible to researchers, students, and cultural institutions.

The tools used by the Center are continuously being improved in terms of accuracy, adaptability to different handwriting styles, and processing efficiency. The Center plans to further develop its technological capabilities and expand the range of supported materials and languages.

For information about the VILNISH service and collaboration opportunities, please contact Dr Sergii Gurbych by email.

The project is implemented under the Development Programme for 2022–2030 of the Ministry of Education, Science and Sport of the Republic of Lithuania (Measure No. 12-001-01-02-01 “Strengthening Innovation Ecosystems in Science Centres”) and funded by the Recovery and Resilience Plan New Generation Lithuania (Agreement No. 10-036-T-0005).

Are you a student or researcher working with historical manuscripts in Western European languages? Join us for a seminar dedicated to eScriptorium, a powerful open-source platform for Handwritten Text Recognition (HTR) and OCR of rare fonts.

Why eScriptorium?

While similar to Transkribus, eScriptorium stands out as a non-commercial, community-driven alternative. It is completely free to use and operates on a decentralized model, where research communities host their own instances to maintain control over their data and workflows.

In 2025, the Center for East European Jewish Studies (Faculty of History, VU) launched its own dedicated instance of eScriptorium for research and educational purposes. This workshop is your gateway to utilizing this infrastructure.

What to Expect:

During this session, we will explore the core principles of the platform using high-quality open-source models available for:

• Languages: French, Latin, Spanish, English, German, Italian, and Occitan.
• Special Feature: A specialized model for rare German historical fonts.

We will cover the essential workflow steps:

1. Segmentation: How the AI identifies layouts and lines.
2. Transcription: Automatic conversion of handwriting into digital text.
3. Correction: Best practices for refining and exporting results.

Who Should Attend?

This workshop is primarily designed for students and researchers dealing with Western European manuscript traditions. At the end of the session, we will discuss how interested researchers can join and utilize the VU instance of eScriptorium for their own projects.

Event Details:

• Time: 15.00 on March 2, 2026
• Registration: https://forms.gle/HY53vovUhMGx33Ur5
• Venue: A4 computer class in the VU Faculty of Philology  (see https://www.flf.vu.lt/zemelapis)
• Language: English

Discover a free, community-driven path to digital paleography!

We welcome you to the Nordic Archaeobotany Group (NAG) meeting 2026. This time we are pleased to hold the meeting in Vilnius, Lithuania, on 28-30th of June. Traditionally, the meeting will include two days of oral presentations, a conference dinner, and an excursion.

The meeting will be organized by the Department of Archaeology of the Faculty of History at Vilnius University in collaboration with National Museum – Palace of the Grand Dukes of Lithuania. 

We invite you to submit an abstract (between 200 and 300 words) to the conference following email address: . The deadline for proposing contributions to the conference is set to 15^th of April (2026). The organisers will contact you to announce the acceptance of your contribution. Please ensure your oral presentation does not exceed 20 minutes (including discussion).

On 17–18 November 2025 Vilnius University will hold the conference 'Beyond Digital Awe. European Jewish Studies and the challenge of Digital Humanities'.

This two-day in-person event will explore the evolving relationship between Jewish Studies and Digital Humanities, focusing on three key aspects of digital research. Experimenting: development of new methods and application of methods borrowed from other disciplines; sharing: connecting researchers, data and methodologies; and engaging: the role of digital humanities in engaging citizens and history consumers. While the conference focuses is European Jewish history and linguistics, it also covers broader perspectives and comparative cases involving other religious or cultural communities.

The full conference programme is available to download here.

One of the conference's goals is to promote networking and information sharing. A Data Forum has been established to enable participants to share samples of their data and facilitate discussion and cooperation before and during the conference. For more information, please contact Tomasz M. Jankowski ().

The conference is organised by the Centre for Eastern European Jewish History Research at the Faculty of History, Vilnius University, in cooperation with the Taube Center for Jewish Studies at University of Wrocław, Poland, and financial support from the European Association of Jewish Studies.

Over the past century, economic and diplomatic sanctions have become key instruments of international pressure. From the League of Nations' response to the Second Italo-Ethiopian War in 1935 to the sanctions regimes imposed after Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022, the Baltic and Scandinavian regions have played various roles as actors, arenas, and observers in global sanctions regimes. However, the longue durée of sanctions in this geopolitical space remains understudied, and this seminar will seek to examine the history, implementation, impact, and perception of sanctions in the Mediterranean, Baltic, and Scandinavian regions from the interwar period to the present day. We invite proposals for papers that examine sanctions as instruments of foreign policy, ideological expression, or economic strategy, taking into account their intended and unintended consequences in political, social, and cultural terms.

The seminar will be held in English, 4 December 2025. Please send abstracts with academic CVs to  by September 30, 2025. The final program for the remote seminar will be announced in October–November 2025.

More information there

PAScapes invites to a public lecture by Johannes Neurath (Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Museo Nacional de Antropología) titled "Wixárika Walking in the Footsteps of the Ancestors as Ecology“.

On 11 June, at 17:00, we invite you to a lecture by dr. Johannes Neurath (Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Museo Nacional de Antropología), organised by PAScapes, on the topic "Wixárika Walking in the Footsteps of the Ancestors as Ecology“. The lecture will take place at the Faculty of Philosophy, Vilnius University, Room 209 (Universiteto str. 9, Vilnius).

Abstract:

Over the past few decades, the Wixaritari or Huichol people of western Mexico have been protagonists of important ecological conflicts, some of which have received extensive media coverage. Even though the semi-authoritarian neoliberal political system that domineted Mexico during most of that time has not been favourable of Indigenous rights, the Wixárika have usually achieved their objectives, like stopping the construction of highways, hydroelectric dams, and hotels. In 2012 they even prevented the opening of silver mines run by transnational companies.

Ukrainian historian Dr Tetiana Boriak came to Lithuania with her two children, fleeing the war. She has been working on modern history topics in her home country, mainly related to Ukrainian history from the early 20th century. After the war broke out and she started working at the Faculty of History of Vilnius University (VU), she expanded her research field. It has also been announced that Dr Boriak's project is among the finalists in the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions for Ukraine (MSCA4U) competition. More about her historical research at the Faculty of History of Vilnius University, the challenges in Lithuania, and the future research project was shared by the Ukrainian historian Dr. T. Boriak herself.

Research field - Holodomor

The scholar specializes in the history of Modern Times. Her postdoctoral thesis, the second she completed in Lithuania, focused on the oral history of the Holodomor. The Holodomor was the Stalin-induced famine of 1932-1933 that killed at least 3.9 million Ukrainians (around 13% of the population).

"The Soviet Union denied the famine and punished any mention of the Holodomor, which is why people's historical recollections, including so-called oral histories, are very valuable research sources. My research focused on the oral history of the Holodomor, its development, and specific features. I also looked at sources from the Soviet (Russian) state on the mechanism of genocide, on how information warfare is being waged in the denial of the famine, of the memory about it etc." - concludes the historian.

Dr Boriak says that the outbreak of the war broadened her research interests: 'With the outbreak of the Russo-Ukrainian war, I expanded my interests to the politics of Russian memory. I began to study how Russia uses historical memory and the humanities in its internal and external policies to justify its imperialism."

In spring 1925 the Yidisher visnshaftlekher institut (Yiddish Scientific Institute), known as YIVO, was established in Vilnius. At this time Yiddish was the native language of approximately 11 million people, and Jewish Vilna was world renowned as a center of Yiddish culture. In Eastern Europe, secular Jewish Diaspora Nationalists promoted their own national life in the countries of their residence, creating a new movement that gave rise to a network of innovative cultural institutions. These culminated in the creation of YIVO, which became the center of a global network of scholars and support groups. The efforts to rescue a portion of the institute’s collections during the Holocaust and transfer them to New York was no less of a monumental achievement. While YIVO continues its work today in New York, it remains a symbol of the rich heritage of the Vilna Jewish community.

The year 2025 been recognized by the Parliament of the Republic of Lithuania as the jubilee year of YIVO's establishment. In celebration of YIVO’s 100th anniversary, this conference invites scholars at all stages of their academic careers to explore the significant contributions of YIVO to Jewish scholarship, culture, education, and heritage; the role of YIVO’s scholars and supporters in local, regional, national, and international social and cultural networks; and their relationship with non-Jewish academic and government institutions. We welcome discussion of YIVO’s symbolic role both historically and in present-day Vilnius. Finally, we seek papers reflecting on YIVO's historical impact, its legacy in contemporary Jewish studies, and its possible role as a model for innovative approaches to preserving and promoting Jewish heritage globally.

More information here. 

The Centre for the Study of East European Jewish History at the Vilnius University Department of History, together with The Emil A. and Jenny Fish Center for Holocaust & Genocide Studies at Yeshiva University, Department of Jewish Studies at Wroclaw University, Department of Russian and Slavic Studies at Hebrew University of Jerusalem, and Lviv Catholic University invites to the series of Graduate and PhD students’ online Seminars dedicated to Jewish history, culture, heritage and memory in Eastern Europe.

A discussion and the presentation of archival sources from YIVO will follow each seminar.

PROGRAM

The development of Digital Humanities (DH) is a key trend in modern research. Recognizing its importance, the Faculties of Philology and History at Vilnius University (VU) have submitted a joint project to the LMT competition to upgrade research infrastructure in near future establish a DH laboratory for the two faculties. As a result, new DH tools have been introduced at VU, allowing scholars to analyze historical sources and other materials using modern methods.

Dr. Sergii Gurbych, a VU Postdoctoral Fellow funded under the Economic Recovery and Resilience Plan "New Generation Lithuania," graduated from the Heidelberg University of Jewish Studies. In his talk, he discussed Digital Humanities, its tools, their functionality, and the benefits they bring to the university. Dr. Gurbych has eight years of experience working with DH methods.

A recent study published in Nature: Scientific Reports delves into the adaptive agricultural practices of pre-industrial communities in north-eastern Europe over the past two millennia. The research highlights how significant climatic shifts, coupled with socioeconomic factors, influenced the selection and cultivation of buffer crops to mitigate the risks associated with primary staple crop failures.

“This study shows quite vividly that due to climate change the thermophilic millet crop, which was the staple food during the first millennium AD, was replaced by other, more cold-resistant crops such as buckwheat,” states the paper’s senior author and PI of the ERC-CoG project MILWAYS, Prof. Giedre Motuzaite Matuzeviciute.

The study provides insights into the resilience and ingenuity of ancient agricultural systems, emphasizing the dynamic interplay between environmental challenges and human innovation. By analyzing archaeological evidence and historical records, the researchers reconstructed past crop repertoires, shedding light on how communities diversified their agriculture to ensure food security amidst changing conditions.

Date: 31 January 2025, 3 pm.

The event will take place at Vilnius University, Faculty of History (Universiteto g. 7), Room 211.

Organised by (Post)Authoritarian Landscapes Research Centre (PAScapes) and East European Studies Centre at the University of Amsterdam.

Dr. Marius Ėmužis will give a presentation on "Gently the Nemunas flows...": Construction of the Kaunas Dam and the transformation of the Nemunas Valley landscape and Agnė Kereišiūtė "And Potatoes Will Bloom Again": the Battle Against Colorado Potato Beetle in the Soviet Lithuania.

The Centre for the Study of East European Jewish History at the Vilnius University Department of History, together with The Emil A. and Jenny Fish Center for Holocaust & Genocide Studies at Yeshiva University, Department of Jewish Studies at Wroclaw University, Department of Russian and Slavic Studies at Hebrew University of Jerusalem, and Lviv Catholic University invites MA students currently working on their theses and PhD students to apply and participate in an international online seminar in the field of East European Jewish history and culture. The seminar is open to papers on various topics, chronology, methodology, and approaches in humanities, arts, and social sciences.

On 21 November, the Faculty of History will host an International conference "New Cultural Landscape Interpretations: Perspectives from Geography and History" organised by (Post)Authoritarian Landscapes Research Centre.

Conference is dedicated to exploring innovative approaches and compelling case studies in the interdisciplinary study of cultural landscapes —including urban, agrarian, and modified natural environments. Bringing together scholars, researchers, and practitioners from the different disciplines, this event aims to delve into emerging themes and theoretical inquiries that are shaping contemporary landscape studies. Find the conference program here.

The event will take place at Vilnius University, Faculty of History (Universiteto g. 7), Room 211.

Project is funded by Research Council of Lithuania under the Programme "University Excellence Initiatives" of the Ministry of Education, Science and Sports of the Republic of Lithuania (Measure No. 12-001-01-01-01 "Improving the Research and Study Environment"). Project No.: S-A-UEI-23-12.

On 5 November, 5 pm, the Faculty of History will host a discussion with Dr. Epp Annus (Tallinn University, Ohio State University). The event invites to discuss the arrival of new Anthropocene and eco-social ideas in the field of history and other humanities and social sciences.

The discussion will take place at Vilnius University, Faculty of History (Universiteto g. 7), Room 109.

Dr. Epp Annus' research interests include culture, philology and linguistics. Using a (post)colonialist and phenomenological perspective, she studies Baltic history, politics and society, highlighting the complex ideological links between the Soviet and post-Soviet periods. She is the author of the monograph Soviet Postcolonial Studies A View from the Western Borderlands (2018). More information about the lecturer here.

Event is funded by Research Council of Lithuania under the Programme "University Excellence Initiatives" of the Ministry of Education, Science and Sports of the Republic of Lithuania (Measure No. 12-001-01-01-01 "Improving the Research and Study Environment"). Project No.: S-A-UEI-23-12.

The Centre for the Study of East European Jewish History at the Vilnius University Department of History together with The Emil A. and Jenny Fish Center for Holocaust & Genocide Studies at Yeshiva University, Department of Jewish Studies at Wroclaw University, Department of Russian and Slavic Studies at Hebrew University of Jerusalem, and Lviv Catholic University invites to the series of Graduate and PhD students’ online Seminars dedicated to Jewish history, culture, heritage and memory in Eastern Europe.

Each seminar will be followed by discussion with experienced scholars.

PROGRAM

On 23-27 September, (Post)Authoritarian Landscapes Research Centre (PAScapes) organised an international summer school "Cultural landscapes: Concrete heritage" for PhD students interested in concrete heritage.

During the intensive programme, participants delved into the situation of one of the most important materials of the 20th century - concrete - and its heritage, assessment and the possibility of its preservation in Lithuania and abroad, focusing on two case studies - Vilnius Palace of Concerts and Sports (arch. Eduardas Chlomauskas, Zigmantas Liandsbergis, Jonas Kriukelis, eng. Henrikas Karvelis, 1964) and summer vacation hotel "Žilvinas" in Palanga (arch. Algimantas Lėckas, eng. Kęstutis Augustinas, 1969).

An international team of heritage experts, architects and historians worked with PhD students on concrete heritage issues: assoc. prof. dr. Kyle Normandin (Columbia University), assoc. prof. dr. Wido Quist (TU Delft), dr. Stefania Landi (Pisa University), dr. Błażej Ciarkowski (University of Łódź), prof. dr. Marija Drėmaitė (Vilnius Uni), dr. Aušra Černauskienė (Vilnius Uni).

In the course of four days, three important objects of Lithuanian concrete heritage were visited - Vilnius Palace of Concerts and Sports, Kaunas IX Fort Memorial Museum (arch. Gediminas Baravykas, Vytautas Vielius, 1984) and its monument (sculp. Alfonsas Ambraziūnas, 1984) and summer vacation hotel "Žilvinas", six lectures on concrete heritage took place, meetings with various decision makers were organised while workshops and discussions helped to formulate guidelines on how to renovate and adapt the studied objects while preserving their uniqueness and values.

The Faculty of History at Vilnius University introduces ‘Heritage Mondays’ public lecture series initiative and is pleased to invite you to a public lecture by Prof. Dr. Yonca Erkan from the University of Antwerp on September 9th at 17:00. The lecture is titled “The Role of Management Plans: Practices and Lessons in Cultural Heritage Conservation”.

During the lecture, Professor Erkan will share insights on the role of management plans in cultural heritage conservation, emphasizing their origins, necessity, and the benefits they provide. The lecture will explore the evolution of management plans since the 1972 UNESCO World Heritage Convention, addressing contemporary challenges faced by heritage sites. Professor Erkan will highlight the importance of these plans in preserving the Outstanding Universal Value (OUV) of heritage sites and ensuring their sustainable use. She will discuss how management plans serve as frameworks for coordinating actions and decision-making among stakeholders, including local communities, governments, and international organizations, while also supporting heritage tourism and local economic development. Additionally, Professor Erkan will discuss the Historic Urban Landscape (HUL) approach and Heritage Impact Assessments (HIA), examining how these methodologies integrate cultural, social, economic, and environmental dimensions in managing urban heritage sites.

The lecture will take place on September 9th at 17:00, in Room 211. Moderator: Rugilė Puodžiūnienė; lecture series curators: prof. Marija Drėmaitė, PhD candidate Rugilė Puodžiūnienė. The event is public and free of charge. Those planning to attend are kindly requested to register by emailing .

The recent release of Season 2 of “House of the Dragon” has brought us back to the medieval fantasy realm of George Martin’s “Game of Thrones”. Although the series is based on fictional books, the author drew extensively from real medieval history, including the Hundred Years’ War, the Wars of the Roses, and the Crusades. Medieval Lithuania was also not without its share of intriguing moments, one of which was the mysterious death of Karigaila, the brother of Jogaila (Władysław II Jagiełło) and cousin to Vytautas: he was beheaded in 1390 while defending Vilnius Castle against the Crusaders. Dr Antanas Petrilionis, researcher at the Faculty of History of Vilnius University (VU), has tried to unravel the threads of this murderous story dating back over six centuries.