JW3, London · 1 to 11 November 2026
Litvak LifeStories of Jewish Lithuania
Before the war, there was a world. Join us in exploring that world through photographs, letters and stories, brought together by the families who carried them here.
The launch is free. Please RSVP so we get the numbers right.
1Nov
The launch
Sunday, 6pm to 7.30pm. Drinks, canapés and music.
Free
1to11Nov
The exhibition
Open 10am to 10pm Sunday to Thursday, and 10am to 5pm on Friday. Closed Saturday. No booking needed.
Free
4Nov
The talk
Wednesday, 7.30pm to 9pm. Philippe Sands and Deborah Posel.
£20
The exhibition
This exhibition brings together photographs, letters and personal stories shared by members of the UK Jewish community of Lithuanian descent. It traces a vibrant and deeply rooted society, follows the largest wave of Jewish migration in modern history between 1881 and 1914, and reflects on how the Lithuanian Jewish diaspora continues to shape life in Britain today.
It is also a story about memory: how family histories are preserved, passed down and reinterpreted from one generation to the next.
Where they came from
They left from towns and shtetls like Salant, Shavl, Vorne, Zhager, Rakishok, Mariampol, Pumpyan, Kovne, Vilne and Memel. Most of the families in this exhibition can still name their families’ place of origin.
Wednesday 4 November, 7.30pm to 9pm · £20
Philippe Sands& Deborah Posel
East West Street · Darker Shade of Pale
Two writers went looking for their own grandfathers, and found themselves immersed in the story of twentieth‑century Europe.
Philippe Sands wrote East West Street, tracing his family’s Lviv and the two lawyers who gave the world the words “genocide” and “crimes against humanity”. Deborah Posel wrote Darker Shade of Pale, following her grandfather out of the Pale of Settlement and into South Africa.
They will be in conversation about the books, and about what it is to trace a family through the Pale while history is happening around it.
Booking is through JW3, which adds a £2 booking fee and a £1.50 security levy at checkout.
Visiting
Everything happens at JW3 on Finchley Road. The exhibition is free, needs no booking, and is open every day except Saturday. The launch is free but please let us know you are coming, and the talk is ticketed.
JW3
341 to 351 Finchley Road, London NW3 6ET
Finchley Road (Jubilee, Metropolitan)
Finchley Road & Frognal (Overground)
Keep in touch
Would you like to stay connected? Leave your name and email, and we’ll let you know what happens after November. If your family has photographs, letters or stories from Lithuania, tick the box below. We may contact you in the future to hear more, but there is nothing to find or send now.