The history of "Tkuma" Ukrainian Institute for Holocaust Studies creation goes back to 1999. It was the first national center for studying and teaching the history of Ukrainian Jews and the Holocaust. "Tkuma" is widely known in Ukraine and abroad due to publishing scientific monographs and textbooks, conducting scientific conferences and educational seminars, devotion to Jewish history in Ukraine and to the issue of international relations.

The most important "Tkuma" research topic is the phenomenon of Righteous Among the Nations, who were saving Jews from Nazi genocide, risking their own lives and the lives of their families. Studying the mechanism of the Nazi "final solution of Jewish question" in occupied Ukraine, problems of international relations during the World War II, resistance against the Nazi genocide also hold important places in "Tkuma"'s research work.

The program opened with the lecture of the academical director of the Yiddish Center at the World Jewish Congress, Dr. Mordehay Yushkovsky "Why we need Yiddish in the 21st century", followed by the study tour about Jewish Vilnius by Ilya Lempert. This historian is already doing study tours during our common work with Jewish Public Library. Then Dr. Lara Lempert spoke about models of Jewish education in mid-war Lithuania. The day was ended with a lecture-concert "Songs in Yiddish – songs of Jewish soul".

The second day started with Dr. Yushkovsky's lecture "Mendele Moycher-Sforim, Sholem-Aleychem, I.L. Peretz – similarities and differences in their literature". It continued with a wider study tour around Vilnius Jewish objects including Ponar Holocaust memorial with Ilya Lempert. After a lunch break the participants returned to Dr. Yushkovsky's lecture about family dilemmas in Yiddish literature.

The third day began with Dr. Yushkovsky's lecture about Yiddish literature in Jewish emigration and continued with two Ilya Lempert's lectures: "Cultural activity in Vilnius ghetto" and "Jewish culture in pre-war Vilnius".

Here is one of the feedbacks. Oksana Ilyina, the expert from National Pedagogical University, wrote:

The seminar enhanced our knowledge about the Jewish history, raised questions of preservation of the language and culture. Harmonic combination of science and folklore, description of domestic routine and characteristic specialties of the Jewry from the 15th century till nowadays were very well put together by Dr. M Yushkovsky and I. Lempert.