National Jewish Book Award Finalist: “A fresh and delightful portrait of Jewish renewal in Poland . . . Highly recommended.” —Choice Since the end of Communism, Jews from around the world have visited Poland to tour Holocaust-related sites. A few venture further, seeking to learn about their own Polish roots and connect with contemporary Poles. For their part, a growing number of Poles are fascinated by all things Jewish. In this book, Erica T. Lehrer explores the intersection of Polish and Jewish memory projects in the historically Jewish neighborhood of Kazimierz in Krakow. Her own journey becomes part of the story as she demonstrates that Jews and Poles use spaces, institutions, interpersonal exchanges, and cultural representations to make sense of their historical inheritances.
Rabbi Moshe Weiss' journey to post-Auschwitz Poland is a stirring personal document. Read it and you will learn about Jewish dreams, hopes and prayers that turned into ashes in Oswiecim, Majdanek and Treblinka. You will hear unknown stories about Hasidic miracles and Jewish faith, as well as some shocking accounts about a Jew, Monik Marion, who allegedly worked for Himmler. Above all, you will accompany the author on his pilgrimage, looking for Jews but finding antisemites. Warsaw, Krakow, Lodz, Lublin, Prezemysl: what remained of a community of three million soul? Some cemeteries, a handful of survivors, many memories and infinite sadness.
This exploration of the texture of contemporary Polish-Jewish relations has its origins in the author's haunting experience of growing up Polish and Jewish in Warsaw in the 1960s. It began with questions about silence: the silence of Jewish parents and the silence of once-Jewish towns, the silence in Auschwitz and the silence about anti-Semitism. But when the author went to Europe in 1983 to work on the project that resulted in this book, Poland was in the midst of preparation for a grand commemoration of the Warsaw Ghetto uprising. From all parts of the political spectrum came calls to remember and to honor Polish Jews, to reexamine and to reassess the past. In effect, Poland was inviting the Jew into its household of memories. What did such an invitation mean? And what accounted for the timing? This vividly written account of the people, the politics, the goals, and the obstacles behind words of remembrance in Poland is an example of cultural sociology at its best. The author draws on a combination of textual readings, interviews, and historical analyses. The book's main strength, is its continuous dialogue between analyst and insider, between knowledge and experience. Into a field where cognitive and emotional imprints make all the difference, the author brings unique appreciation of the power they hold; she has shared them. Into a field where partisanship -so often passes for objectivity, she brings openly stated commitment. And into a field where particularism of concerns so often deadlocks understanding, she brings much-needed broadening of vision. Students of modern Jewish history will find this volume an informative analysis of the past and present roles assigned to the Jew in Poland. Students of contemporary Poland will find new perspectives on its struggles for a democratic society. And for those concerned with how one reconciles one's self and one's history, Neutralizing Memory offers an empirically based reflection on the construction and deconstruction of remembrance.
From fleeing the Warsaw Ghetto and living underground to fighting for social justice in 1960s’ Seattle and helping smash the communist system in 1980s’ Poland, this is a narrative that erupts into critical moments in Jewish, Polish, and American history. It is also a story of the hidden anguish that accompanies and courses through that history, of the living haunted by the dead. The story is told through a conversation, often contentious, between Michael Steinlauf, historian of Polish-Jewish culture and child of Holocaust survivors, and the anthropologist and artist Elżbieta Janicka. It is illustrated with scores of photographs and documents.
This volume reflects the discussions during the Princeton University Conference on Polish-Jewish Studies (April 2015). It focuses on the meaning of the POLIN Museum of the History of Polish Jews, on Polish politics of memory, and on the developments in researching and teaching Polish-Jewish subjects.
Winner of the 2022 PIASA Anna M. Cienciala Award for the Best Edited Book in Polish StudiesThe majority of Poland’s prewar Jewish population who fled to the interior of the Soviet Union managed to survive World War II and the Holocaust. This collection of original essays tells the story of more than 200,000 Polish Jews who came to a foreign country as war refugees, forced laborers, or political prisoners. This diverse set of experiences is covered by historians, literary and memory scholars, and sociologists who specialize in the field of East European Jewish history and culture.
Imaginary Neighbors offers a unique and significant contribution to the contemporary debate concerning Holocaust memory by exploring the most important current political topic in Poland: Jewish-Polish relations during and after World War II.
