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Polin: Studies in Polish Jewry Volume 23 - Jews in Krakow (Paperback)
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Polin: Studies in Polish Jewry Volume 23 - Jews in Krakow (Paperback)
Series: Polin: Studies in Polish Jewry, 23
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Few Polish cities have evoked more affection from their Jewish
inhabitants than Krakow, and this volume brings together the work
of leading historians from Israel, Poland, Great Britain, and the
United States to explore how this relationship evolved. It takes as
its starting point 1772, when Poland was partitioned between the
Great Powers and Krakow came under Austrian rule, and examines the
relationship between the Jewish minority and the Polish majority in
the city in the different stages of its history down to the period
of German occupation in the Second World War. An additional
perspective is provided by a consideration of how Jewish life in
Krakow has been remembered by Holocaust survivors, and how it is
portrayed in post-war Polish literature. The main explanation for
the specific nature of relations between Poles and Jews in Krakow
as it emerges from these studies seems to be that Jewish
acculturation to Polish culture was more pronounced in Krakow than
anywhere else in Poland. The Jewish community as a whole opened
itself up to contemporary currents and participated in the life of
the city, above all in its cultural dimension, while nevertheless
retaining a highly articulated sense of Jewish identity and unity.
This meant that they were able both to defend their interests
effectively and to establish links with the rest of the population
from a position of strength. An additional important factor appears
to have been the more tolerant atmosphere which prevailed in the
Austro-Hungarian empire, which meant that ethnic tensions were less
acute than elsewhere on the Polish lands. Furthermore, the fact
that the city was largely pre-industrial and conservative, and was
a spiritual and intellectual centre for both Catholics and Jews,
may paradoxically have mitigated ethnic conflict, as did the fact
that the two societies-Polish and Jewish-were largely socially
separate. While the increase in antisemitism after 1935 and the
consequences of the Holocaust are still etched in the minds of
many, the city nevertheless has a special place in Jewish hearts
and will continue to be remembered as one of the great centres of
Jewish culture in east-central Europe. As in other volumes of
Polin, the New Views section examines a number of important topics.
These include a general investigation of the situation of the Jews
in Galicia; an analysis of the position of Jewish slave labourers
in the Kielce area under Nazi rule; an investigation into the
resurgence after 1944 of the myth of ritual murder; and a
discussion of the history of the Jewish settlement in Lower Silesia
after the Second World War.
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