Polin: Studies in Polish Jewry Volume 8 : Jews in Independent Poland, 1918-1939

This volume examines the issues faced by Poland's Jewish community between the two world wars. It covers the debate on the character and strength of antisemitism in Poland at that time, and the extent to which the experience of the Jews aided the Nazis in carrying out their genocidal plans. Frontmatter Note on Transliteration, Names, and Place Names (page xii) Abbreviations (page xiii) Introduction (ANTONY POLONSKY, page xv) PART I: JEWS IN INDEPENDENT POLAND, 1918-1939 Jewish Historiography on Polish Jewry in the Interwar Period (EZRA MENDELSOHN, page 3) Britain, a British Jew, and Jewish Relations with the New Poland: The Making of the Polish Minorities Treaty of 1919 (Mark Levene, page 14) The Social Consciousness of Young Jews in Interwar Poland (ALINA CALA, page 42) Polish-Jewish Relations as Reflected in Memoirs of the Interwar Period (SZYJA BRONSZTEJN, page 66) Shtetl Communities: Another Image (ANNAMARIA ORLA-BUKOWSKA, page 89) The Civil Rights of Jews in Poland 1918-1939 (JERZY TOMASZEWSKI, page 115) The Jewish Question in Polish Religious Periodicals in the Second Republic: The Case of the Przegląd katolicki (FRANCISZEK ADAMSKI, page 129) The Image of the Jew in the Catholic Press during the Second Republic (ANNA LANDAU-CZAJKA, page 146) The Jewish Press in the Political Life of the Second Republic (ANDRZEJ PACZKOWSKI, page 176) Polish Political Parties and Antisemitism (JERZY HOLZER, page 194) The Polish Kehillah Elections of 1936: A Revolution Re-examined (ROBERT MOSES SHAPIRO, page 206) Jewish Artisans (ZBIGNIEW LANDAU, page 227) Some Aspects of the Life of the Jewish Proletariat in Poland during the Interwar Period (B. GARNCARSKA-KADARY, page 238) The Expulsion of Polish Jews from the Third Reich in 1939 (Karol Jonca, page 255) The Jewish Boycott Campaign against Nazi Germany and its Culmination in the Halbersztadt Trial (ALFRED WIŚLICKI, page 282) What Shall We Tell Miriam? A Tale for the Present (RAFAEL F. SCHARF, page 290) Polyn: Land of Sages and Tsadikim (YEHIEL YESHAIA TRUNK, page 299) PART II: REVIEWS REVIEW ESSAYS Why Did the Assimilation Fail in the Kingdom of Poland between 1864 and 1897? (STANISLAUS A. BLEJWAS, page 325) In the Shadow of the Facts (DARIUSZ STOLA, page 330) Readings and Misreadings: A Reply to Dariusz Stola (DAVID ENGEL, page 345) BOOK REVIEWS Gershon David Hundert, The Jews in a Polish Private Town (MAGDALENA M. OPALSKI, page 382) Walentyna Najdus, Ignacy Daszyński, 1866-1936 (ADAM A. HETNAL, page 384) Stephen D. Corrsin, Warsaw before the First World War (STEFAN KIENIEWICZ, page 388) Józef Wróbel, Tematy żydowskie w prozie polskiej 1939-1987 (LAURA QUERCIOLI, page 392) Jan T. Gross, Revolution from Abroad (DAVID ENGEL, page 396) Wolfgang Wipperman, Der konsequente Wahn (MICHAEL BURLEIGH, page 398) Yury Boshyk (ed.), Ukraine during World War II (SHIMON REDLICH, page 401) Halina Nelken, Images of a Lost World (RICHARD L. COHEN, page 404) Vivian B. Mann (ed.), Gardens and Ghettos (TADEUSZ CHRZANOWSKI, page 407) Polska Sztuka Ludowa, special issue (1989) (TADEUSZ CHRZANOWKSI, page 410) Jerzy Malinowski, Grupa 'Jung Idysz' i żydowskie środowisko 'Nowej Sztuki' w Polsce (SERGIUSZ MICHALSKI, page 413) Janet Hadda, Passionate Women, Passive Men (LAURA QUERCIOLI, page 415) OBITUARIES Stefan Kieniewicz (1907-1992) (page 421) Artur Eisenbach (1906-1992) (page 423) 'A Small Memorial Candle' for Adolf Rudnicki (1912-1990) (page 427) Editor's Notes (page 430) Notes on Contributors and Translators (page 431) Glossary (page 436) Index (page 443) In the period between the two world wars, Poland's Jewish community was second only in size to that of the United States, and was the laboratory in which the ideological orientations which dominated the Jewish world - Zionism, Bundism, Neo-Orthodoxy, Assimilation - were tested. There has been much disagreement as to the character and strength of anitsemitism in Poland at that time, and the extent to which the experience of the Jews aided the Nazis in carrying out their genocidal plans. This latest volume of Polin includes contributions from Poland, western Europe, Israel, and North America, which together provide a clearer understanding of the issues which have in the past proved so divisive. It also includes a number of personal testimonies from people who experienced the interwar period at first hand. The result is a book that will be essential reading for all those interested in modern Jewish history and in the problems of ethnic minorities in post-Versailles Europe.