Rabbi Stephen Menashe Kliment of Brno, Czech Republic, will share an incredible story behind the 13,000 prayer and religious books confiscated from Jews during World War II throughout the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia.

Left at the confiscation points and the Theresienstadt ghetto, the books were collected by the Jewish community of Brno. Inscriptions, notes, stamps, ex libris, and other traces of memory contained in the books reveal stories of people they belonged to and their personal destinies. The collection speaks about the time and circumstances of its creation.

The Library of Stolen Hopes aims to preserve the collection, research the books, and process the information in order to present the objects and their stories while, most importantly, returning the books to their rightful owners.

This event is part of the 2023 Rehearsal for Truth Theater Festival: Anew. For more information, visit rehearsalfortruth.org.

Free and open to the public. Suggested donation $10. Seats are limited, on first-come, first-served basis. Online registration through Eventbrite is required.

The 2023 Rehearsal for Truth Theater Festival: Anew, organized by the Vaclav Havel Library Foundation and the Bohemian Benevolent and Literary Association in partnership with the Polish Cultural Institute New York, GOH Productions, Trap Door Theatre, Centre of Jewish Culture ŠTETL, Jan Mocek, Martin E. Segal Theatre Center, Palissimo Company, and Romanian Cultural Institute.

The program is made possible by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature. The festival is supported, in part, by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council, Arts and Theatre Institute in Prague, and Ministry of Culture of the Czech Republic.