Primary Sources: The Holocaust

"Yizkor books were written after the Holocaust as memorials to Jewish communities destroyed in the Holocaust. They were usually put together by survivors from those communities and contain descriptions and histories of the community, biographies of prominent people, lists of people who perished, etc. They are often embellished with photos, maps, and other memorabilia.

Yizkor books are valuable to genealogists, since the books may include biographies or photographs of relatives, or may include family members in a list of people who perished. Yizkor books also give important background information about the history and Jewish life in a particular community.

Yizkor books can be valuable, not only to genealogists, but to anyone wanting to learn about Jewish life and culture in the communities that vanished in the Holocaust."

"Portland State’s Middle East Studies Center (MESC) was founded in 1959 as the first federally funded undergraduate program of its kind in the country. In recognition of MESC’s national profile, College Librarian Jean Black advocated for the school’s inclusion in the federal Farmington Act’s PL-480 program to acquire library materials from abroad to augment area studies at American universities. As a result of its participation in this program, the Portland State University Library is home to a significant collection of rare publications from the Middle East, including over 136 Yizkor books. Through donor support, the Library’s Special Collections has continued to add to the collection over time, including the recent acquisition of an early Yizkor book from 1929."