Wednesday, May 01, 2024

The Charleston County Public Library joins the nation in celebrating Jewish American Heritage Month 2024 throughout the month of May. CCPL has resources and opportunities to learn about the contributions of Jewish Americans.  According to the Charleston Jewish Federation, Charleston's Jewish community is one of the oldest communities in North America. 

The Jerry and Anita Zucker Holocaust Collection at the Main Library is an educational component of the Charleston Holocaust Memorial in Marion Square. The focus of the reference collection is the Nazi persecution and destruction of European Jewry and other minorities. 
 

In 2006, President George W. Bush proclaimed May would be Jewish American Heritage Month and the announcement was the crowning achievement in an effort by the Jewish Museum of Florida and South Florida Jewish community leaders, according to the Library of Congress. Representatives also called on the president to proclaim a month that would recognize the more than 350-year history of Jewish contributions to American culture. The resolution passed unanimously. 

School for Documentary Filmmaking  

Saturdays in May from 11am - 1pm. at the Wando Mt. Pleasant LIbrary 

Documentary filmmaking is one of the most important art forms for preserving heritage, history and truth. In today's digital age, anyone can produce high quality productions. In this month-long series, you will learn storytelling, composition, lighting, audio, editing and media tools used today. Class size is limited. To Registration email: [email protected]  

Virtual Programming 

Celebrate the life and legacy of Margot Freudenberg. Learn about some of her notebooks, that are housed at the South Carolina Room located at the Main Library.    

Learn from the late Joe Engel, a survivor of Auschwitz concentration camp and member of the Charleston Jewish Federation, who shares stories of survival and hope. Engel's story begins in the small, close-knit town of Zakroczym. On Sept.1, 1939, the day the Germans invaded Poland, the town was destroyed. Joe was packed into a cattle car on a transport train to Auschwitz, and he stood up for two and a half days without food or water. During the Death March, Joe escaped from a transport train to Czechoslovakia, where he joined the resistance and went on missions to explode German ammunition. 

Jewish Federation of Charleston 

The Charleston Jewish Federation is a CCPL partner. View their events calendar here.