Not the End, Not the Beginning. Reconstructing Jewish Life in Poland and Central Europe after the Second World War

Not the End, Not the Beginning. Reconstructing Jewish Life in Poland and Central Europe after the Second World War

Veranstalter
POLIN Museum of the History of Polish Jews; Leibniz Institute for Jewish History and Culture – Simon Dubnow; Yad Vashem – The World's Holocaust Remembrance Center; The Emanuel Ringelblum Jewish Historical Institute; Taube Department of Jewish Studies, University of Wrocław; Arizona State University, Jewish Studies (POLIN Museum of the History of Polish Jews)
Ausrichter
POLIN Museum of the History of Polish Jews
PLZ
00-157
Ort
Warsaw
Land
Poland
Findet statt
In Präsenz
Vom - Bis
15.06.2025 - 17.06.2025
Deadline
01.03.2025
Von
Monika Heinemann, Leibniz-Institut für jüdische Geschichte und Kultur – Simon Dubnow

The international conference will focus on the phenomenon of revived Jewish life in Poland, comparing similar and different developments in other countries of the region during 1945–1955. Particular attention will be paid to the situation of Jewish communities in the countries that became part of the Soviet bloc, as well as in Germany, where Jewish social and political life also thrived in the DP camps.

Not the End, Not the Beginning. Reconstructing Jewish Life in Poland and Central Europe after the Second World War

"Not the End, Not the Beginning. Reconstructing Jewish Life in Poland and Central Europe after the Second World War."
International Conference
15–17 June 2025
POLIN Museum of the History of Polish Jews, Warsaw, Poland

Application deadline: 1 March 2025

Despite the catastrophe of the Holocaust, after World War II Jews in Poland managed to build a diverse network of institutions of social, political, cultural, religious, and economic life. The first post-war years were a period of flourishing Jewish life, on the one hand, and a period of tension between the favorable attitude of the new state authorities and the hostility of a significant part of society toward Jews, on the other. The end of the pluralism of Jewish institutions came with the Stalinist uniformity imposed from Moscow.

The conference will focus on the phenomenon of revived Jewish life in Poland, comparing similar and different developments in other countries of the region during 1945–1955. Particular attention will be paid to the situation of Jewish communities in the countries that became part of the Soviet bloc, as well as in Germany, where Jewish social and political life also thrived in the DP camps.

The conference and the exhibition “1945: Not the End, Not the Beginning,” presented simultaneously at the POLIN Museum, mark the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II.

Contributions may – but do not necessarily – address the following issues:
- Political, social, economic, demographic, etc. determinants of Jewish life in Poland and countries of the region after the war.
- Jewish migrations – return and flight from the homeland, repatriation from the USSR, emigration to Palestine/Eretz Israel and other countries.
- The institutional structures of Jewish life in Poland and other countries in the region.
- The prospects for the continuation of pre-war forms of individual and collective Jewish life versus the problem of the Holocaust and Communism breaking this continuity.
- Zionism, Communism, and Orthodoxy as forms of postwar Jewish political identity.
- Processes of assimilation.
- Relations of the Jewish community with Jewish communities in other countries, inside and outside the Iron Curtain.
- Relations between Jews and non-Jewish society, including anti-Semitism and anti-Jewish violence.
- National and global debates about the future of Jews in Poland and Central and Eastern Europe.

Researchers at all stages of their research career – from PhD students to full professors – are invited to apply. To submit your paper proposal, please fill the online form at: https://polin.pl/en/form/not-the-end-not-the-beginning by 1 March 2025. Papers presenting new, original research and reflection are preferred. Invited participants will be notified of their acceptance by 1 April 2025.

The conference’s language is English.

The organizers will provide meals and accommodation during the conference and partially reimburse international speakers for travel expenses to and from Warsaw (economy class tickets) as follows:
- from Europe up to 200 USD
- from Israel up to 300 USD
- from elsewhere up to 750 USD
- For participants travelling within Poland up to 75 USD.

The organizers reserve the right to record and publish conference proceedings.

For additional information please contact us at: geopconference@polin.pl

Organization committee:
- Dr Anna Cichopek-Gajraj (Arizona State University Jewish Studies)
- Dr Monika Heinemann (Leibniz Institute for Jewish History and Culture – Simon Dubnow)
- Dr Sharon Kangisser-Cohen (Yad Vashem – The World's Holocaust Remembrance Center)
- Dr Kamil Kijek (Taube Department of Jewish Studies, University of Wrocław)
- Dr Ewa Koźmińska-Frejlak (The Emanuel Ringelblum Jewish Historical Institute)
- Dr Krzysztof Persak – (POLIN Museum of the History of Polish Jews / Institute of Political Studies, Polish Academy of Sciences)

Organizers:
- POLIN Museum of the History of Polish Jews
- Leibniz Institute for Jewish History and Culture – Simon Dubnow
- Yad Vashem – The World's Holocaust Remembrance Center
- The Emanuel Ringelblum Jewish Historical Institute
- Taube Department of Jewish Studies, University of Wrocław
- Arizona State University, Jewish Studies

The conference is organized within the Global Education Outreach Program.

Kontakt

geopconference@polin.pl

https://polin.pl/en/call-for-papers-international-conference-not-end-not-beginning