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View No. 5 (2024)

No. 5 (2024)

ISSN:
2719-4086
eISSN:
2957-1413

Publication date:
2024-12-18

Cover

Sections

Studies

Źródła

Reviews/Polemics

Chronicles

No. 5 (2024)

Bilingual annual journal in English and Polish that discusses the Polish-Jewish relations and the history of the Jewish community in Poland in the 20th century. The aim is also to present national and local research and activity to preserve the memory of the Polish Jews. The journal is planned by its editors as a forum for the exchange of current research findings in Jewish studies for researchers from various scientific establishments.

The main theme of the fifth issue of the journal is the issue of aid provided to Jews during World War II, both in occupied Poland and in other areas of Europe. The “Studies” section contains texts on the consequences of providing aid to Jews in selected countries occupied by or collaborating with the German Reich, approaches and research models of the aid phenomenon, the psychological costs of hiding Jews, and various forms of aid activities. In addition, the reader will find articles on the life of Jews imprisoned in the ghettos and their survival strategies. We also encourage you to read the texts posted in the sections: “Sources”, “Reviews/Polemics” and “Chronicle”.

  • Introduction

    Roman Gieroń

    Polish-Jewish Studies, No. 5 (2024), pages: 9-13 (9-12)

    Abstract

    This year marks the 80th anniversary of the murder in Markowa (Podkarpacie region) of the Ulma Family and the Jews they sheltered from the Goldman, Didner and Grünfeld families. Because of this family’s heroism and extraordinary acts, the Sejm of the Republic of Poland, by a resolution of 28 July 2023, established 2024 the Year of the Ulma Family. The resolution stated that “in Poland and beyond its borders they (i.e. Ulmas) are a symbol of all those who gave their lives for helping Jews persecuted by the Germans”. The fifth volume of Polish-Jewish Studies primarily focuses on the aid provided to the Jews during World War II in occupied Poland as well as in other parts of Europe. The volume is divided in four sections: “Studies,” “Sources,” “Reviews Polemics,” and “Chronicles.”


Studies

  • Types of Penalties for Helping Jews between 1939 and 1945. Typology and Overview: German Regulations in Force in Selected Areas of Occupied Europe. A Research Reconnaissance

    Martyna Grądzka-Rejak, Aleksandra Namysło

    Polish-Jewish Studies, No. 5 (2024), pages: 17-86 (15-87)

    Abstract

    Help given to the Jews in various European countries occupied by the Third Reich has been a subject of interest to historians and researchers in other academic fields for many years now. This particularly concerns the local researchers. An analysis of the studies shows that most of them deal with the attitudes of local non-Jewish societies towards the Holocaust and highlight mainly praiseworthy attitudes and their heroes, whose deeds were sometimes inscribed in the historical context and the reality of the occupation of the specific country. An issue that remains on the periphery of this research is the subject of criminal and civil liability for helping Jews introduced by the Nazi authorities or governments collaborating with the Third Reich. This article aims to put together and present the current state of knowledge on the consequences faced by citizens for providing various types of aid to the Jews in selected countries in Western Europe and the Balkan Peninsula, where the problem was most prominent and thus has been most thoroughly studied by historians. The cases analysed are: Serbia, the Independent State of Croatia, Albania, Greece, France (the occupied zone and the Vichy State), Belgium and the Netherlands. An important part of the article is also taken up by a discussion of the legal grounds for repression for aid in the General Government.

  • The Phenomenon of Aid Given to Jews by Poles in the Occupied Polish Territories: Approaches and Research Models. A Survey of Positions Taken by Polish and Polish-Jewish Historians

    Tomasz Domański, Alicja Gontarek

    Polish-Jewish Studies, No. 5 (2024), pages: 87-134 (88-138)

    Abstract

    The aid provided to Jews by Poles during World War II was for many post-war decades an issue addressed by a small group of researchers. As a rule, these were people who had themselves given help to the Jews during World War II or had been recipients. At the same time, the topic was subject to political pressure from the communist authorities. In this outline, the authors explore the place of aid-related research within the broader context of issues arising from the terms of the German occupation. The authors examine how the phenomenon of aid has been perceived and documented in historical writings. The authors assert that the cumulative approach of showcasing individual rescuers’ stories has been crucial. Nevertheless, they emphasize the necessity for a thorough examination and deeper analysis of aid-related research.

  • Was it Trauma? Insights into the Psychological Costs of Hiding Jews During World War II

    Wiesława Sotwin

    Polish-Jewish Studies, No. 5 (2024), pages: 135-160 (139-165)

    Abstract

    This article discusses the problem of applying the category of trauma to people who provided shelter to Jews during World War II. The Holocaust-related trauma suffered by Jews is well described in the literature and present in the public consciousness. The trauma of those who rescued Jews, however, is absent from the public sphere. This brief study outlines how trauma is addressed in Holocaust studies, then presents psychological research on those who rescued Jews during World War II. Finally, in the light of the research-based knowledge on trauma and the psychological portrait of those who rescued Jews, an attempt is made to analyse the problem by means of the case study of the Grocholski family, who hid a large group of Jews. The study revealed that hiding Jews was a highly traumatic experience for those involved, particularly when the entire host family faced the threat of death. This conclusion follows directly from the classification of traumatic events contained in both DSM-V and ICD-10. Due to the lack of systemic research, the question of how giving shelter to Jews often led to the emergence of disorders caused by traumatic stress cannot be answered equally clearly. Finally, the article highlights some of the reasons why this trauma has been overlooked in the literature and in the public consciousness.

  • “At Home, We Called Her Hanka.” The Issue of Poles Sheltering Jewish Children on the Aryan Side in the Distrikt Krakau (Cracow Province)

    Roman Gieroń

    Polish-Jewish Studies, No. 5 (2024), pages: 161-201 (166-208)

    Abstract

    The article explores various aspects of providing shelter to Jewish children by Poles on the so-called Aryan side in the Cracow province (Distrikt Krakau) during the German occupation. It delves into the experiences of several dozen Jewish children, highlighting the nature of the aid received within a broader context of the events. The article also describes how these children found their new guardians and briefly characterises their lives on the “Aryan” side. The experiences of the children illustrate that the decision to help depended on various circumstances. However, taking Jewish children into care invariably brought new challenges and dangers due to the harsh terms imposed by the German occupiers in Poland during the World War II.

  • Individual Aid Provided to Jews in Ghettos in the German Occupation: The Pre-War Stanisławów Voivodeship (1941–1943)

    Tomasz Gonet

    Polish-Jewish Studies, No. 5 (2024), pages: 202-238 (209-246)

    Abstract

    The article examines the aid provided to Jews in ghettos established between 1941 and 1943 within the territory of the pre-war Stanisławów Voivodeship. It outlines the Jewish quarters established by the German occupiers and focuses on the conditions and forms of support offered by non-Jews. Drawing on numerous testimonies from both recipients and providers of aid, the article presents various instances of this support and concludes with a statistical overview of the phenomenon.

  • Pre-War Łomża District Inhabitants Helping Jews During the German Occupation. A Contribution to Research

    Paweł Kornacki

    Polish-Jewish Studies, No. 5 (2024), pages: 239-275 (247-287)

    Abstract

    The pre-war Łomża District under the German occupation was part of the Białystok Province (Bezirk Bialystok). When the Germans started the deportation of Jews to extermination camps on 2 November 1942, many of them escaped in an attempt to survive. Despite the issues left over from the times of the Soviet occupation, there were Poles who provided them with aid. In the Łomża District, almost all the rescuers were peasants, and the help they provided was of an individual nature. In total, the study covers several dozen rescue cases in this area. The author describes the motivations of the rescuers and the repressions they faced, as well as the relationships between them and the rescued.

  • Resistance and Struggle for the Survival of Garbatka Jews Under the German Occupation

    Ryszard Śmietanka-Kruszelnicki

    Polish-Jewish Studies, No. 5 (2024), pages: 276-336 (288-352)

    Abstract

    The article aims to present the attitudes and behaviour of the Jewish inhabitants of Garbatka towards the German occupier, particularly the attitudes of resistance. The conditions set by the occupation-era reality and Polish-Jewish relations are discussed. Jewish resistance, both of individuals and groups, took the form of a variety of ventures that broke the German occupation laws, from smuggling food (and other necessities), preparing hideouts and obtaining forged documents (e.g. baptismal etc. other church certificates) to participation in sabotage and diversion actions. Some activities, such as participating in “illegal” political actions or taking part in attacks on German trains, went beyond the priority fight for physical survival. Manifesting patriotic attitudes together with the Polish inhabitants of Garbatka was an expression of great civil courage. Even greater courage was required for participation, even indirectly, in sabotage actions on the railways (robbery of German army property). These latter activities distinguish the attitude of the Jews of Garbatka from other known forms of resistance of the Jews in the Radom District during the German occupation. The current state of research does not enable determining the exact scale of the involvement of Jews of Garbatka in various forms of anti-German resistance. However, it can be assumed that several dozen Jews took part in resistance consciously and actively. They do not seem to have formed a local survival group, but the participation of individuals in the Polish partisan movement cannot be ruled out. The records researched allows us to hypothesise the existence in Garbatka before the pacification of the village on 12 July 1942 of a community of Jewish secret activists with left-wing (communist?) views, who collaborated with local Poles with similar views. Pre-war contacts and political sympathies probably played a major role. After the pacification and killing of the most active individuals, the majority of the Jews in the ghetto adopted a passive attitude towards the German plans. During this time, adaptation was the primary tactic to follow in the hope of survival. By showing the relationship between Jews and Poles in the context of the dramatic experiences of World War II, this article seeks to broaden the knowledge of Garbatka’s recent history and thereby contribute to the development of research on the history of local communities under the German occupation.

  • Everyday Life and Living Conditions of Jews in the Nowy Sącz Ghetto 1940–1942

    Łukasz Połomski

    Polish-Jewish Studies, No. 5 (2024), pages: 337-365 (353-384)

    Abstract

    The article focuses on the daily life and living conditions of the Jews in the Nowy Sącz ghetto from 1940 to 1942. The establishment of the so-called Jewish quarter is outlined here, as well as the matters of housing and sanitary conditions in the ghetto, food and way of obtaining it, the terms of Jewish labour, and religious and social life. A crucial aspect of the daily existence of Jews imprisoned in the ghetto was the omnipresent German terror, whether organised or spontaneous.


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Evaluation points allocated by MInistry of Education and Science
40 (2023) (20 - in the list in force in 2021) 

Fields: history, archival studies
Disciplines: history, security studies,  political and administration studies, international studies 

Editor-in-Chief: Grzegorz Berendt PhD habil.

Editorial Team

Licencja CC BY-NC-ND

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