Stare grzechy rzucają długi cień. Wcielony kapitał przemocy

Author(s): Romana Kolarzowa / Language(s): Polish Issue: 6/2020

Kolarzowa explores the construction of Polish collective identity before the foundation of the Second Polish Republic in 1918. Elucidating why non-discursive means were essential in this formational work she relates some of these means – which were based on practices of anti-Semitic violence – to Pierre Bourdieu’s notion that the most significant elements of cultural capital must be embodied while their proper manifestation becomes a reflexaction. Kolarzowa also presents the effects of this strategy and its repercussions today.

Stara i nowa przestrzeń alternatywnych rzeczywistości. Syjonizm, postsyjonizm, neosyjonizm

Author(s): Jagoda Budzik / Language(s): Polish Issue: 6/2020

Budzik examines two texts representing divergent Israeli world-view trends, namely neo-Zionism and post-Zionism. These trends, which assess the assumptions of the Zionist movement, are critical of Zionism while the mechanisms of their actions are atthe same time based on that movement’s assumptions. The texts analysed here – Yair Chasdiel’s novel Tel Aviv (Tel Aviv, 2013) and the film trilogy …and Europe Will Be Stunned by Yael Bartana (2009–11) – reflect on the consequences of Zionism by drawing on the convention of alternative history and by highlighting the unique potential that Polishspaces have in this context. Budzik demonstrates that the use of this convention derivesnot only from the possibilities it offers but above all from the very nature of the Zionist narrative, which is rooted in the radical vision of the act of constructing an alternative reality.

(Od)czytywanie losów żydowskich

Author(s): Natalia Aleksiun / Language(s): Polish Issue: 1/2020

This text introduces a collection of articles which seek to interpret Jewish ego documents and testimonies, broadly defined. Reading these documents facilitates a process of uncovering intimate threads and problematizing Jewish biographies.

Po wykładzie wysłuchanym na stojąco. Strategie uciszania głosów żydowskich studentek wobec getta ławkowego

Author(s): Natalia Judzińska / Language(s): Polish Issue: 1/2020

In my article I propose an outline of a comparative analysis of two disciplinary proceedings initiated against students of the Mathematics and Natural Science Faculty of Stefan Batory University in Vilnius, Rywka Profitkier and Estera Tajc, before the introduction of the so-called ghetto benches. Two female students refused to subordinate to the student practice at that time, and did not take a seat on the left side of the lecture hall. Hence, they both listened to the lecture standing between the benches. I will situate my analysis in the context of the events of the entire 1936/1937 academic year, in which the university was closed for almost three months due to the anti-Jewish violence. The sources consist of the documents of two disciplinary proceedings based on events that occurred only one day apart, but most importantly, they took a similar course. However, due to the different strategies chosen by the female students, the sanctions imposed on them for not subordinating to the practice of taking seats assigned to Jews at the time were significantly different.

Book review

Author(s): Anastasiya Fiadotava / Language(s): English Issue: 4/2019

Emigrarea evreilor prin portul Galați, la sfârșitul secolului al XIX-lea și începutul secolului următor, reflectată în documentele Arhivei Diplomatice a Ministerului Afacerilor Externe

Author(s): Mariana-Delia Pohrib / Language(s): Romanian Issue: 1/2020

The Ministry of External Affairs owns an important fund of diplomatic documents (more than 8,000 linear meters of archives), issued by the central administration, by diplomatic missions and by Romanian consulates from abroad. The files are organized according to the problem they deal with (from 1 to 105), as they were classified in the Archives Nomenclatory created in 1909, according to the Austrian pattern. This system is in use even today, for classifying most of the archival funds. According to this system, we pay a special attention to Problem no. 33 – Jews Related Issues (1900-1948).The study aims at analysing the documents pertaining to this problem, which deal with the emigration of the Romanian Jews, at the end of the XIX-th century and the beginning of the next one.

Raisins and Almonds: A Yiddish Song as a Metaphor of Yiddish Folk Culture in the 21st Century

Author(s): Gila Flam / Language(s): English Issue: 1/2021

In this paper, I will try to explain the construction of songs as cultural artefacts possessing an aura that transcends their musical-poetic structure to make them survive as traditional folk-songs in the perplexing contemporary world. I chose the well-known Yiddish lullaby, Rozhinkes mit mandlen (Raisins and Almonds) which was created by Abraham Goldfaden for the first Yiddish Operetta Shulamith. This popular song is based on a Yiddish folk song which was forgotten, and instead the popular theatre song became the folksong. I analysed several published and recorded versions of the song in order to see the song’s place as a metaphor for Yiddish folk culture. I followed the song’s progress for over 100 years and showed how it combines past present and future, reality, myth, beliefs and identities. I conclude with discovery of the song’s melody as an international instrumental piece called Raisins and Almonds.

„Oddzielić fakty od zapisów zachowanych w społecznej pamięci”, czyli próba zmierzenia się z mitem Janusza Korczaka

Author(s): Agnieszka Trześniewska-Nowak / Language(s): Polish Issue: 1/2021

This review article discusses the book Mniej strachu. Ostatnie chwile z Januszem Korczakiem [Less Fear: The Last Moments with Janusz Korczak] by Agnieszka Witkowska-Krych (2019) in which the author takes apart the phenomenon of the Orphans’ Home, looking for a specific atmosphere that accompanied the pupils continuously until their last days. A broad approach to the problem is a new con­tribution to the discussion on the institution that Janusz Korczak and Stefania Wilczyńska run in the Warsaw Ghetto. The photos attached to the individual chap­ters illustrate the text in an interesting way. An additional advantage is the map of the march of the wards of the Orphans’ Home with its route marked, which is a great summary of the chapter Ostatnia droga [The Last Path], but not only, be­cause the graphic material prepared in this way is valuable in itself.

Pan Doktor z getta. Wizerunki Janusza Korczaka w książkach dla dzieci

Author(s): Agnieszka Witkowska-Krych / Language(s): Polish Issue: 1/2021

Henryk Goldszmit – a writer, doctor, and educator, publicly known as Janusz Korczak, and in the 1930s also as the ‘Old Doctor’ speaking to children on the radio – for the sake of his rich professional life, his work to protect children’s rights, as well as his death in the Treblinka death camp, became an unquestionable symbol of the faithful orphan caretaker, determined to accompany his charges to the end despite the possibility of personal rescue. The paper, on one hand, is an attempt to present this tragic story and, on the other, to critically discuss Korczak’s images emerging from children’s books. Publications analysed here are books released in Poland in the last decade: Po drugiej stronie okna. Opowieść o Januszu Korczaku [The Other Side of the Window: A Tale about Janusz Korczak] by Anna Czerwińska-Rydel (2012), Jest taka historia. Opowieść o Januszu Korczaku [There is This Story: A Tale of Janusz Korczak] by Beata Ostrowicka (2012), Pamiętnik Blumki [Blumka’s Diary] by Iwona Chmielewska (2011), Ostatnie przedstawienie panny Esterki. Opowieść z getta warszawskiego [Miss Esterka’s Last Show: A Tale from the Warsaw Ghetto] by Adam Jaromir and Gabriela Cichowska (2014), and a work for older children, The Book of Aron by Jim Shepard, recently translated into Polish.

O ПРОНАЂЕНОМ И ИЗГУБЉЕНОМ СЕЋАЊУ И ИДЕНТИТЕТУ У РОМАНУ „АУСТЕРЛИЦ“ ВИНФРИДА ГЕОРГА ЗЕБАЛДА

Author(s): Emilija P. Mančić / Language(s): Serbian Issue: 75/2021

Der Zusammenhang von Erinnerung und Identität ist ein zentrales Thema in den zeitgenössischen literatur- und kulturwissenschaftlichen Diskussionen. In An- lehnung an theoretische und methodische Ansätze, die vor allem Astrid Erll, Marion Gymnich und Ansgar Nünning im deutschsprachigen Raum vertreten, ist das Ziel dieser Arbeit, am Beispiel von W. G. Sebalds Roman Austerlitz (2001) die Möglichkeit der Literatur aufzuzeigen, die unterschiedlichen (Erinnerungs-) Medien zusammenführt. Literatur generiert Erinnerungsräume die auf komplexe Weise lesbar werden und plädiert somit für eine vielseitige Erinnerungspraxis. Dabei wird die Unzulänglichkeit der Möglichkeiten einer Nacherinnerung im Roman eine zentrale Rolle zukommen. Die Untersuchung verweist auf verschiedene Verfahrensweise des Textes, in dem kein Medium für sich allein steht und in dem Formen der Zeugenschaft thematisch und problematisch werden. Auf dieser Weise werden die begrenzten Möglichkeiten der narrativen Übertragung der traumatischen Vergangenheit aufgezeigt

INTRODUCTION: ABOUT THE PURPOSE OF THIS VOLUME

Author(s): Albena Taneva / Language(s): English Issue: 4/2021

The purpose of this volume of PUBLIC POLICY.bg is to draw attention to a topic that is usually considered primarily a matter of history. Thus, Holocaust remembrance is usually debated by historians. The study of this past is often in narrowly specialized academic units of Jewish studies or in Holocaust Studies Centers. Such academic structures exist in many universities around the world. They have long developed an extremely high level of expertise on this historical heritage. Conferences are held, exclusive publications appear in many languages. This autonomous scientific space is being reproduced and developed further. The problem, however, is that it remains relatively encapsulated and isolated within the narrow boundaries of experts on the subject. It can be said that the first problem that caused us to dedicate this issue of the Holocaust Remembrance Policy journal was the need to draw attention to the interdisciplinary nature of these studies and highlight the importance of horizontal links between different scientific fields in them.

THE IMPERATIVE OF HOLOCAUST EDUCATION

Author(s): Daniel Mariaschin / Language(s): English Issue: 4/2021

When I began my career almost 50 years ago, I emphasized in my speeches that one day there would be no Holocaust survivors to say, “I was there,” or to show their concentration camp tattoos, or to recount their first-hand testimony of being the victims of the worst brutality known to humankind. Sadly, we are almost at that point.

EVALUATING HOLOCAUST EDUCATION: HITTING THE TARGET?

Author(s): Richelle Budd Caplan / Language(s): English Issue: 4/2021

According to recent studies of the Claims Conference, millennials in various countries believe that the Holocaust is an important subject that should be taught in schools. This topic is often included in national or state curricula, but educators do not necessarily receive accredited professional development opportunities about how to approach teaching this subject matter in their respective classrooms. Moreover, many Holocaust-related institutions around the world offer workshops and seminars geared for teachers, however, their programming is not always externally evaluated. This article will explore the results of a number of external studies of Yad Vashem's teacher-training efforts on an international scale, reflecting on aims and outcomes. Based on this data, there appears to be an added value to professional development training. However, additional research should be undertaken as these findings could support decisions made by policy makers.

PERCEPTIONS OF THE RESCUE OF THE JEWS AND THE HOLOCAUST IN BULGARIA TODAY

Author(s): Lea Cohen / Language(s): English Issue: 4/2021

Over the last 20 years the perception of the Holocaust in Bulgarian society, including by various historians, is perhaps one of the most complex subjects in the national public space, and even beyond. The lack of consensus regarding the assessment and perception, as well as in the presentation and interpretation of historical facts, i.e. of the stories about what happened and what did NOT happen, prevents a structured history of the events from 1940 to 1944 in the Kingdom of Bulgaria. In various versions, that are often diametrically opposed, the persecution of Jews is presented using a hybrid mixture of facts from Bulgarian history of the same period (political, military, economic relations with Germany and Italy, the partisan resistance movement and relations with Soviet Russia, the specifics of political parties and political life in Bulgaria, actions of the Royal Palace and the Parliament), which either have nothing to do with the so-called ‘Jewish question’ or are only indirectly related to it. False theories of the ‘salvation of the Jews’ continue to be fabricated from this hybrid mixture of facts into an amalgam, which has many followers who believe these historical legends and myths over the past two decades. In this article I will look at some of these recent theories and discuss the reasons for their spread and, possible motives for the persistent desire within certain circles to impose on society these “alternate” interpretations of the salvation of the Jews.

THE ROLE OF INSTITUTIONAL CAPACITY FOR THE HOLOCAUST REMEMBRANCE: THE BULGARIAN CASE

Author(s): Albena Taneva / Language(s): English Issue: 4/2021

THE ROLE OF INSTITUTIONAL CAPACITY FOR THE HOLOCAUST REMEMBRANCE: THE BULGARIAN CASEThe article examines the concept of memory policies in different perspectives. A central category of analysis is Holocaust remembrance policies and the role of the institutional approach for achieving sustainable results and developing values in the social environment. The reasons for the deficits in the memory of the Holocaust, the periodization in the stories about the Holocaust in Bulgaria and the importance of the factors of the political environment for the dynamics in the interpretations of the past are analyzed. The importance of reflection on the historical past, and in particular that of the Holocaust is considered in regard to the social and generational transfer of memory and attitudes.

HOLOCAUST MEMORY IN MODERN RUSSIA

Author(s): Ilya Altman / Language(s): English Issue: 4/2021

The main tendencies and features of the Holocaust memory policy in modern Russia are analysed in this article. Positive and negative factors in preserving the memory of the Holocaust are extracted that lie in the context of the memory of the Nazi occupation on USSR territory.

THE FATE OF THE BULGARIAN JEWS DURING THE SECOND WORLD WAR

Author(s): Rumyana Marinova-Christidi / Language(s): English Issue: 4/2021

The basic aim of the present article is to provide a historical overview of the Bulgarian state policy towards Jews in the country during the Second World War. The paper analyzes the variety of factors that played role in this specific case - such as the positive historical legacy of Bulgarian-Jewish relations that contributed to the salvation of Bulgarian Jews but also the negative factors that led to the deportation of the Jews from the occupied and controlled by Bulgaria territories.

LOOTED JUDAICA AND EUROPEAN CULTURAL HISTORICAL HERITAGE

Author(s): Mina Tasseva Bencheva / Language(s): English Issue: 4/2021

During the Holocaust, the physical persecution of the Jews in Europe was conducted along with a series of policies aimed at the appropriation of Jewish religious art as well as objects related to the Jewish cultural heritage. These objects are known as Judaica and their systematic appropriation by the Nazi regime, in Germany and throughout Europe, is referred to as “the looting of Judaica”. The paper examines the relation between these objects and the European cultural historical heritage while discussing potential paths of interdisciplinary study of the looted Judaica.

ANTISEMITISM AS AN INADMISSIBLE SOCIAL PHENOMENON

Author(s): Nikolai Mihailov / Language(s): English Issue: 4/2021

Antisemitism is a dangerous and destructive ideology based on incitement to hatred of the Jewish people and is associated with their persecution, discrimination, and in the variation of Nazi antisemitism - with their physical destruction and extermination. Despite the destructive and absurd ideas of this stereotype of national and racial hatred, it is very persistent and people still sometimes experience its consequences. Apart from rumors, conspiracy theories and outdated and denied notions of "world Jewry", these ideas, which are detrimental to humanism and freedom, are sometimes disseminated in the form of "science" or "journalism", "opinion", very often using the power of contemporary media. The word antisemitism always means hatred against Jews in the context of modernity. An important element of contemporary antisemitism is the identification of Jews with finance, urbanization, and especially capitalism. Different "scientific" explanations about “interiorness” of the Jews have had a strong influence on German society since the first decades of the 20th century, an influence that underlies the ideology that led to the brutal policy of the "final decision". The danger of spreading such misanthropic ideas in the form of some kind of "education" and under the guise of "scientifically-based" antisemitism has not passed today. That is why the emphasis on education of students, doctoral students, etc. is extremely important: they should learn not only about the tragic events of the Holocaust, but also to build a critical view of all those preconditions - historical, social, cultural, intellectual – that led to the emergence of racial theories, "explaining" social processes and leading to catastrophic and horrific cruelty events.

ESTABLISHMENT AND OPERATION OF THE COMMISSARIAT FOR JEWISH AFFAIRS

Author(s): Ivanka Gezenko / Language(s): English Issue: 4/2021

An old Jewish piece of wisdom runs: Not a single sheet of a book or document should remain unread and lost for the generations. This article presents the role of the institution of the Commissariat for Jewish Affairs in Bulgaria in its role of executing the policy of persecution of Jews. It tries to take a look and reconsider the past. To this day, however, there are unknown (or less familiar) documents patiently waiting their time to throw light on the facts revealing what happened. Once again, we have to face the ‘platitude of evil’, which was set as a whole and separately long before. The analysis is done in the context of more general picture of anti-Semitic laws in the Balkans and more generally in the European countries.