New Directions in the History of the Jews in the Polish Lands

Antony Polonsky is Emeritus Professor of Holocaust Studies at Brandeis University and Chief Historian of POLIN Museum of the History of Polish Jews, Warsaw. Until 1991, he was Professor of International History at the London School of Economics and Political Science. He is co-chair of the editorial board of Polin: Studies in Polish Jewry. His most recent work is The Jews in Poland and Russia, Volume 1, 1350 to 1881; Volume 2, 1881 to 1914; Volume 3, 1914 to 2008 (Oxford, 2010, 2012), published in 2013 in an abridged version, The Jews in Poland and Russia: A Short History.Hanna Węgrzynek is a chief specialist for research and historical projects at POLIN Museum of the History of Polish Jews in Warsaw. Among her books are “Czarna legenda” Żydów: procesy mordy rytualne w dawnej Polsce (The Jewish “Black Legend”: Blood Libel Trials in Old Poland, Warsaw, 1995) and Historia i kultury Żydów polskich: słownik (History and Culture of Polish Jews: A Reference Book), in cooperation with Alina Cała and Gabriela Zalewska (Warsaw, 2000).Andrzej Żbikowski has worked at the Jewish Historical Institute since 1985. Among his books are an illustrated history entitled Żydzi (Jews) in the series A to Polska właśnie and U genezy Jedwabnego: Żydzi na Kresach Północno-Wschodnich II Rzeczypospolitej : wrzesień 1939-lipiec 1941 (The Origins of Jedwabne. Jews in the North-eastern Borderlands of the Second Republic: September 1939-July 1941, Warsaw, 2006).

• Introduction Antony Polonsky, Hanna Węgrzynek, Andrzej ŻbikowskiPart I Museological Questions The Voice of the Curators Something Old, Something New: Creating the Narrative for the Early Modern Galleries Adam TellerThe Nineteenth-Century Gallery Sam KassowThe Interwar Gallery Sam KassowCuratorial and Educational Challenges in Creating the Holocaust Gallery Maria Ferenc Piotrowska, Kamila Radecka-Mikulicz, Justyna MajewskaAssumptions behind the Postwar Section of the Core Exhibition at POLIN Stanisław KrajewskiComments on the Museum Polish-Jewish Historiography 1970–2015: Construction, Consensus, Controversy Moshe Rosman POLIN, The Medieval and Early Modern Galleries: A Comment Kenneth Stow Modernism and Identity. Polish Jews Facing Change in the Nineteenth Century Tomasz KizwalterHasidism in the Museum, from a Social History Perspective David AssafWhat's in, What's out: A Critique of the Interwar Gallery Michael SteinlaufThe Truth and Nothing But: The Holocaust Gallery of the Warsaw POLIN Museum in Context Omer BartovPerspectives: A Lithuanian Visit to the POLIN Museum Holocaust Gallery Saulius Suziedelis Polin: A Bildungsroman Marci Shore A Historian's ResponseComments on the Gallery "After the War" Andrzej PaczkowskiMuseums and Education Jewish Tourism to Poland: The Opportunities for New Museum Narratives to Recontextualize Jewish Histories Jonathan WebberJewish Museums in Moscow Vika MochalovaThe Challenges of New Work in History and Education about the Holocaust in Poland Jolanta Ambrosewicz-JacobsPart II Historiographic Questions Premodern Poland–Lithuania Did the Polish Nobility Take Seriously the Teaching of the Catholic Church? Reflections on the Relations between the Nobility, the Church, and the Jews Adam KaźmierczykRelations between Jews and Non-Jews in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth: Perceptions and Practices Jurgen HeydeAgreements between Towns and Kahals and Their Impact on the Legal Status of Polish Jews Hanna WęgrzynekThe Role and Significance of Jews in the Economy of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth: The State of Research and Research Directions Jacek WijaczkaA Reassessment of the Jewish Poll-Tax Assessment Lists in Eighteenth-Century Crown Poland Judith KalikFrankism: The History of Jacob Frank or of the Frankists Jan DoktórThe Nineteenth Century Modern Times Polish Style? Orthodoxy, Enlightenment, and Patriotism Israel Bartal Jew-Hatred and Anti-Jewish Violence in the Former Lands of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth during the Long Nineteenth Century Darius StaliūnasThose Who Stayed: Women and Jewish Traditionalism in East Central Europe Glenn DynnerPauline Wengeroff: Between Tradition and Modernity, East and West Shulamit MagnusThe Interwar Years One Jewish Street? Reflections on Unity and Disunity in Interwar Polish Jewry Gershon BaconNot Just Mały Przegląd: The Ideals and Educational Values Expressed in Jewish Polish-Language Journals for Children and Young Adults Anna Landau-CzajkaLegitimizing the Revolution: Sarah Schenirer and the Rhetoric of Torah Study for Girls Naomi SeidmanContested Jewish Polishness: Language and Health as Markers for the Position of Jews in Polish Culture and Society in the Interwar Period Katrin SteffenThe Holocaust Historiography on the Holocaust in Poland: An Outsider's View of Its Place within Recent General Developments in Holocaust Historiography Dan Michman The Dispute over the Status of a Witness to the Holocaust: Some Observations on How Research into the Destruction of the Polish Jews and into Polish–Jewish Relations during the Years of Nazi Occupation Have Changed since 1989 Andrzej ŻbikowskiBeyond National Identities: New Challenges in Writing the History of the Holocaust in Poland and Israel Daniel BlatmanThe Postwar Period Violence against Jews in Poland, 1944–47: The State of Research and Its Presentation Grzegorz BerendtThe Jews and the "Disavowed Soldiers" August GrabskiIn or Out? Identities and Images of Poland among Polish Jews in the Postwar Years Audrey Kichelewski

"This collection of articles is based on a 2015 conference at the new POLIN Museum of the History of Polish Jews in Warsaw. … The overall quality of the articles is excellent, and this reviewer was delighted to learn a lot about what goes into planning a museum. … This fine volume belongs in any academic library that collects on Jewish history." —Jim Rosenbloom, Brandeis University, AJL Reviews