Description
This volume is made up of essays first presented as papers at the conference held in May 2015 at POLIN Museum of the History of Polish Jews in Warsaw. It is divided into two sections. The first deals with museological questions-the voices of the curators, comments on the POLIN museum exhibitions and projects, and discussions on Jewish museums and education. The second examines the current state of the historiography of the Jews on the Polish lands from the first Jewish settlement to the present day.Making use of the leading scholars in the field from Poland, Eastern and Western Europe, North America, and Israel, the volume provides a definitive overview of the history and culture of one of the most important communities in the long history of the Jewish people.
About the Author
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 Wegrzynek 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" Zydow: procesy mordy rytualne w dawnej Polsce (The Jewish "Black Legend": Blood Libel Trials in Old Poland, Warsaw, 1995) and Historia i kultury Zydow polskich: slownik (History and Culture of Polish Jews: A Reference Book), in cooperation with Alina Cala and Gabriela Zalewska (Warsaw, 2000). Andrzej Zbikowski has worked at the Jewish Historical Institute since 1985. Among his books are an illustrated history entitled Zydzi (Jews) in the series A to Polska wlasnie and U genezy Jedwabnego: Zydzi na Kresach Polnocno-Wschodnich II Rzeczypospolitej : wrzesien 1939-lipiec 1941 (The Origins of Jedwabne. Jews in the North-eastern Borderlands of the Second Republic: September 1939-July 1941, Warsaw, 2006).
Reviews
"This publication was inspired by the founding of POLIN - Museum of the History of Polish Jews. ... The book is divided into two main parts: 'museological questions' and 'historiographic questions.' The first part contains both articles written by the curators of the main exhibition and by scholars commenting on particular issues related to the Museum. The curators' articles complement the important essays on the POLIN Museum... and explain the key idea behind the main exhibitions... The book is very valuable as it was created at a very specific and significant time in Polish-Jewish history following the opening of the Polin Museum's main exhibition. It was an opportune moment to summarize all the achievements hitherto in researching and debating Polish-Jewish history. The editors succeeded in this sense..." - Adam Stepnowski, University of Wroclaw, Journal of Modern Jewish Studies 21:4 "The articles are sophisticated, self-aware and wide ranging, making them very useful for anyone trying to present the past in visual form. ... There are also some very sophisticated papers on the study of the Holocaust. This volume gives a good picture of the current state of the field. It presents differing approaches that underscore the dynamism and creativity of a new generation of scholars." - Shaul Stampfer, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Religious Studies Review (September 2020: Vol. 46, no. 3) "[New Directions in the History of the Jews in the Polish Lands] provide[s] an insightful and penetrating contextualization of the dramatic process of change in post-Communist Poland, with its desire for the Jewish presence to become a 'normalized' part of a pluralistic, modern society that is not afraid of learning about its past. More importantly, however, the [book] strongly [implies] a new future for Jews not just in Poland but also in the spaces of history, mutual understanding and greater cooperation." -Katarzyna Zechenter, UCL SSEES, Slavonic and East European Review "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
Book Information
ISBN 9788395237850
Author Antony Polonsky
Format Paperback
Page Count 570
Imprint Academic Studies Press
Publisher Academic Studies Press
About the Author
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 Wegrzynek 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" Zydow: procesy mordy rytualne w dawnej Polsce (The Jewish "Black Legend": Blood Libel Trials in Old Poland, Warsaw, 1995) and Historia i kultury Zydow polskich: slownik (History and Culture of Polish Jews: A Reference Book), in cooperation with Alina Cala and Gabriela Zalewska (Warsaw, 2000). Andrzej Zbikowski has worked at the Jewish Historical Institute since 1985. Among his books are an illustrated history entitled Zydzi (Jews) in the series A to Polska wlasnie and U genezy Jedwabnego: Zydzi na Kresach Polnocno-Wschodnich II Rzeczypospolitej : wrzesien 1939-lipiec 1941 (The Origins of Jedwabne. Jews in the North-eastern Borderlands of the Second Republic: September 1939-July 1941, Warsaw, 2006).
Reviews
"This publication was inspired by the founding of POLIN - Museum of the History of Polish Jews. ... The book is divided into two main parts: 'museological questions' and 'historiographic questions.' The first part contains both articles written by the curators of the main exhibition and by scholars commenting on particular issues related to the Museum. The curators' articles complement the important essays on the POLIN Museum... and explain the key idea behind the main exhibitions... The book is very valuable as it was created at a very specific and significant time in Polish-Jewish history following the opening of the Polin Museum's main exhibition. It was an opportune moment to summarize all the achievements hitherto in researching and debating Polish-Jewish history. The editors succeeded in this sense..." - Adam Stepnowski, University of Wroclaw, Journal of Modern Jewish Studies 21:4 "The articles are sophisticated, self-aware and wide ranging, making them very useful for anyone trying to present the past in visual form. ... There are also some very sophisticated papers on the study of the Holocaust. This volume gives a good picture of the current state of the field. It presents differing approaches that underscore the dynamism and creativity of a new generation of scholars." - Shaul Stampfer, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Religious Studies Review (September 2020: Vol. 46, no. 3) "[New Directions in the History of the Jews in the Polish Lands] provide[s] an insightful and penetrating contextualization of the dramatic process of change in post-Communist Poland, with its desire for the Jewish presence to become a 'normalized' part of a pluralistic, modern society that is not afraid of learning about its past. More importantly, however, the [book] strongly [implies] a new future for Jews not just in Poland but also in the spaces of history, mutual understanding and greater cooperation." -Katarzyna Zechenter, UCL SSEES, Slavonic and East European Review "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
Book Information
ISBN 9788395237850
Author Antony Polonsky
Format Paperback
Page Count 570
Imprint Academic Studies Press
Publisher Academic Studies Press
