And the year is…1981!
April 19, 1981, to be exact. Soviet Jews, long silenced by censorship and isolation, sought freedom of religious beliefs by leaving the Soviet Union. Those denied permission to emigrate were labeled as refuseniks. Many Jewish organizations, including those in Detroit, became involved in the struggle to bring Soviet Jews to the United States and other countries. Over time, thousands of Soviet Jews made a home in Metro Detroit, aided by Jewish Family Service’s Resettlement Program. Other organizations, including the Jewish Community Center, provided programs to help acclimate the newly arrived community members. This included creating program materials in both English and Russian, as we see in this image.
Want to discover more about the history of Soviet Jewry in Detroit? We’ve got you covered! Explore our digital database for photos, documents, films and more!
Image: Jewish Community Center Photograph Collection, Leonard N. Simons Jewish Community Archives, Image# JCC.80, (L to R): Nikolai Klemptner, Toli Shabashov, Sam Kaplan, Dr. Luba Berton.
