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The Publications of the Central Jewish Historical Commission in Poland

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The Publications of the Central Jewish Historical Commission in Poland HOLOCAUST HISTORY BETWEEN LIBERATION AND SOVIETIZATION: THE PUBLICATIONS OF THE CENTRAL JEWISH HISTORICAL COMMISSION IN POLAND 1945-1947 By Olga Kartashova Submitted to Central European University Department of History In partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts Supervisor: Professor Carsten Wilke Second reader: Professor Constantin Iordachi CEU eTD Collection Budapest, Hungary 2017 Copyright in the text of this thesis rests with the Author. Copies by any process, either in full or part, may be made only in accordance with the instructions given by the Author and lodged in the Central European Library. Details may be obtained from the librarian. This page must form a part of any such copies made. Further copies made in accordance with such instructions may not be made without the written permission of the Author. CEU eTD Collection i Abstract This thesis deals with the Central Jewish Historical Commission (Centralna Żydówska Komisja Historyczna, CŻKH) in Poland (1944-1947) – one of the first centers of the collection and publication of testimonies in postwar Eastern Europe. The achievement of the “survived historians” was underestimated for many years. I elaborate on the main features of their approach to Holocaust writing arguing on the originality and timeliness of their work in contemporary Holocaust historiography, as well as the important role they played in the establishment of the Holocaust scholarship. A specific place among other Historical Commissions in postwar Europe was occupied by the Commission due to their non-precedent activeness and interdisciplinary research in the circumstances of the transition from Nazi occupation towards the Soviet political domination in Poland. I demonstrate the ideological and political background by drawing institutional connections and network ties to the institutions, schools, and political movements, which had an impact on the Commission’s work, which resulted in the series of publications. I analyze the selected examples from the Commission’s publications and methodological statements, using Polish-language published sources and archival material. In these materials I trace the preserved dilemmas and issues characterizing early postwar Jewish Holocaust documentation and memory creation and provide a detailed insight on how they were realized in the actual publications. As a result, I contribute to the field with an overview of how Jews in Poland pioneered historical writing about the Holocaust. In addition, the analysis of the ideological context of how Holocaust memory was created in Poland during its transition into CEU eTD Collection Soviet satellite will show tendencies which left their mark on the Holocaust historiography globally. ii Acknowledgements This thesis could not have been completed without the great support that I have received from so many people during these two years. I wish to offer my most heartfelt thanks to the following people. To my advisors, Professor Carsten Wilke and Professor Constantin Iordachi. Thank you for your advice, support, and willingness that allowed me to pursue research on topics for which I am truly passionate. I see the same drive and passion in your own research efforts, and I thank you for letting me do the same. To CEU History Department, especially to the wonderful coordinators, Aniko Molnar and Agnes Bendik, for always having kind words of support and always having my back in all difficult situations. I also appreciate all generous research grants that I received from the Department and from CEU that allowed me to spend sufficient time in archives and libraries and ensure the quality of my research. To Sefer Center for University Teaching of Jewish Civilization for the grant for MA thesis development from Genesis Philanthropy Group grant in Charities Aid Foundation Jewish community. To the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum for inviting me to the Dissertation and Thesis Development Workshop in Washington DC, USA. I appreciate the valuable comments and suggestions of Dr. Elana Jakel and Professor Jeffrey Veidlinger, as well as the kind support of CEU eTD Collection the USHMM’s librarians and archivists. To the librarians of the Jewish Historical Institute in Warsaw and the director of archives, Agnieszka Reszka, for letting use the material and giving me a kind advice for Polish sources. iii To Professor Natalia Aleksiun, Dr. Edyta Gawron and Dr. Stephan Stach for sharing their experience and comments on my work. To my fellow students for their great friendship: Constanze Jeitler, Anton Mudrak, Egor Sennikov, Alexandra Urman, Yan Mazitov, Tatiana Telegina, Yuliia Kazmina, and Lev Shadrin. Finally, to my family for providing me with unfailing support and continuous encouragement throughout my years of study and through the process of researching and writing this thesis. CEU eTD Collection iv Table of Contents Abstract ....................................................................................................................................................... ii Acknowledgements .................................................................................................................................... iii Introduction ............................................................................................................................................... 1 List of Abbreviations ................................................................................................................................... 8 Chapter 1. Jews under the Transition in Poland, 1944-1947 ..................................................................... 9 1.1 Repatriation, Sovietization, Emigration ........................................................................................... 9 1.1.1 Life after Death? ........................................................................................................................ 9 1.1.2 Poland between the War and Sovietization ............................................................................ 10 1.1.2 Repatriation, Emigration, and the Attempt to Restore the Community................................. 12 1.2 The Central Committee of Polish Jews ........................................................................................... 15 1.2.1 Ideology and Political Composition ......................................................................................... 16 1.2.2 Structure and Aims .................................................................................................................. 18 1.3 The Short History of the Central Jewish Historical Commission .................................................... 21 1.3 The Role of the CŻKH in the Investigation of Nazi Crimes.............................................................. 23 1.4 The Conclusion of Jewish Institutional Life in Poland .................................................................... 27 Chapter 2. The Central Jewish Historical Commission – Provenance, People, Legacy. ........................... 30 2.1 The Place of the Commission in Holocaust Historiography and Methodology .............................. 30 2.1.1 The myth of silence ................................................................................................................. 30 2.1.2 “Judeo-centric” approach ....................................................................................................... 31 2.1.3 Social history and Opposition to lachrymosity ........................................................................ 32 2.1.4 The East European Models of Jewish Historiography ............................................................. 33 2.1.5 The Jewish history school of Warsaw ..................................................................................... 34 2.1.6 YIVO ......................................................................................................................................... 35 2.1.7 Ringelblum archive .................................................................................................................. 36 2.1.8 Khurbn-forshung ..................................................................................................................... 36 2.2 Placing the Commission in its East Central European context ....................................................... 38 2.3 Who were the „historians”? Philip Friedman and his team ........................................................... 42 2.4 Collection of documents and testimonies. Methodological instructions. ..................................... 50 CEU eTD Collection 2.5 The Holocaust research network and the Commission’s legacy .................................................... 55 Chapter 3. The publications of the CŻKH ................................................................................................. 58 3.1 Characteristics of the publications. ................................................................................................ 60 3.2 Key motives of the publications ..................................................................................................... 66 v 3.2.1 Matter of Numbers ................................................................................................................. 67 3.2.2 Collaboration and Betrayal ...................................................................................................... 68 3.2.3 Resistance and Fight or Silence and Passivity ........................................................................
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