|
Poland and the
Holocaust:
A new view on history
by Leah Goldstein
At the end of
October 2003, the International Institute for Holocaust Research
at Yad Vashem hosted a four-day workshop entitled: “Re-examining
the Past: New Interpretations on Jewish Life in Poland During the
Holocaust.” Six researchers from Poland were invited to
participate: Dariusz Libionka Ph.D.,
Andrzej Zbikowski Ph.D.
and Marcin Urynowicz, from the Institute of National Memory in
Warsaw; Jolanta Zyndul Ph.D.
and Jakub Petelewicz from the Mordechai Anielewicz Center for the
Study and Teaching of the History and Culture of Jews in Poland,
Warsaw University; and Anna Ziebinska Ph.D.
from the Maria Curie-Sklodowska University of Lublin.
After the workshop,
Jolanta Zyndul
reflected on what she had gained from
her visit, as well as the current
position of Polish historiography and
research on the
Holocaust:
Dr. Jolanta Zyndul |
Poland’s attitude
toward the Holocaust
“Coming to Yad
Vashem gave us the chance to compare our studies with those of our
Israeli counterparts. We were also able to use the archives
at Yad Vashem in between workshop sessions, which gave a
real boost to my personal research on Poland’s Jewish community in
the interwar period.
“The
lectures of the Polish participants—as
well the discussions held during
the workshop—were, for the first time, dominated by
the topic of the Polish-Jewish
relations during World War II. This corresponds with today’s
Holocaust research in Poland. Two years ago, the debate in Poland
over Jedwabne—instigated by Jan T. Gross’s Neighbors—facilitated
a new critical approach to the subject. Until then, Polish
research had focused mainly on assistance to Jews in hiding during
the war. Today, we are also researching other, less admirable
actions of Poles during the Holocaust—blackmailing Jews, informing
on them to the German occupants,
and even murdering them.
Obviously, the attitude of
different societies towards the
extermination is one of the most crucial
questions in Holocaust historiography. However, in Poland
it overshadows all other issues, such as
the uniqueness of the Holocaust or its interdependence with
modernity. It also lacks—in my opinion as a historian—an approach
that portrays it as a universal phenomenon where people face
situations of extreme choice.”
Holocaust Researchat
Warsaw University
“The Mordechai
Anielewicz
Center
was established in 1990 as part of the Institute of History
at Warsaw University, with the cooperation of the Jack Fliderbaum
Foundation. It is one of a few academic centers which focuses on
Jewish history in Poland. Three historians—Professor Jerzy
Tomaszewski, Anna Michałowska Ph.D., and myself—work at the
Center, and scholars from home and abroad are invited to give
occasional lectures. Professor Israel Gutman, former Head of the
International Institute for Holocaust Research and current
Academic Advisor to Yad Vashem, was one of our guest lecturers.
“The Center leads
academic activity in many fields, but concentrates on teaching the
history of Jews in Poland, including the Holocaust. Many history
and humanities students attend our courses and seminars: Polish
students are generally interested in information about Jews in
Poland before WWII; Jewish students want to discover more about
their heritage. Study options range from the popular Hebrew and
Yiddish courses to doctoral research on Polish Jewry.
“On May 8,
2003—the 60th anniversary of Mordechai Anielewicz’s
death—the Center organized a Jewish Day at Warsaw University open
to the public. Approximately three thousand people attended
lectures, film presentations, exhibitions, theater performances
and a concert of Jewish music during that remarkable day. I hope
the next Jewish Day will raise similar interest, thus ensuring
that Polish Jewish history remains at the forefront of discussion
and research in our country.”
Copyright ©2004 Yad Vashem The Holocaust
Martyrs' and Heroes' Remembrance Authority |
