Remembering the Farhud

In the spring of 1941, the Iraqi Prime Minister, Rashid Ali, declared independence from the British Empire and announced his allegiance to Hitler. After a month and a half of fighting, British forces regained control and the Iraqi government surrendered, fleeing to Germany. However, the British Army did not immediately reclaim Baghdad.

​

For 48 hours, British forces remained on the outskirts of the city, encamped by the Al Khurr Bridge, leaving Baghdad without a government. During those 48 hours, on June 1st 1941 - the first night of the Jewish festival of Shavuot - a pogrom broke out in the city. This pogrom is known as the Farhud.

Official figures state that 2,500 homes and businesses were looted, 600 people were injured and 179 people were killed. The true figures are likely to be far higher.

​

In this video, four of our interviewees share their experiences of the Farhud.

Exploring Identity

We ask our interviewees a difficult question: How would you describe your identity?

​

It's deeply personal and often hard to answer. We are honoured to share some of our interviewee's responses.

Messages to the Future

At the end of every interview we ask our interviewees a question: If they could send a message to the future, what would it be?

​

This video features five answers.

Memories of Pesach

Discover Passover through the eyes of our interviewees. In this film learn explore how some of our interviewees and their families prepared and celebrated Pesach in Egypt, Iraq, Lebanon, Tunisia, Morocco, Algeria, and Iran.

Seven Stories

Our 'Seven Stories' film includes extracts from seven interviewees. and gives you a flavour of our interview content.