‘A CONTEMPORARY LOOK AT THE JEWISH PAST IN POLAND’? TRACES OF MEMORY AND THE GALICIA JEWISH MUSEUM, KRAKÓW (2004-2011) by KATHERINE GERRARD A thesis submitted to the University of Birmingham for the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY Department of Theology and Religion School of Philosophy, Theology and Religion College of Arts and Law University of Birmingham October 2012 University of Birmingham Research Archive e-theses repository This unpublished thesis/dissertation is copyright of the author and/or third parties. The intellectual property rights of the author or third parties in respect of this work are as defined by The Copyright Designs and Patents Act 1988 or as modified by any successor legislation. Any use made of information contained in this thesis/dissertation must be in accordance with that legislation and must be properly acknowledged. Further distribution or reproduction in any format is prohibited without the permission of the copyright holder. Abstract This thesis is a rigorous academic study of a museum which has previously not been subject to theoretical examination: that is, the Galicia Jewish Museum in Kraków, Poland. It analyses the relationship between the museum’s permanent exhibition, Traces of Memory, and the broader museum from its establishment in 2004 until the end of the research period for the thesis, 2011. Through a case study methodology and detailed analysis of the resulting observations, conducted by the ultimate participant observer – a former director of the museum – and informed by extensive bibliographic research, the thesis provides a unique contribution to knowledge in the fields of museum studies, Polish-Jewish relations and Jewish cultural studies. Through a close, micro-level reading of Traces of Memory and the Galicia Jewish Museum, and with a concluding that chapter draws together the threads of the thesis – considering them in relation to the broader contexts of the Kazimierz Jewish quarter in Kraków and the European Jewish Space – the thesis provides a Jewish museum contribution to the discipline of ‘new museology’, and finds that the Galicia Jewish Museum can be seen as the embodiment of what a ‘new museum’ might be within the defined context of an east European, Jewish framework. Contents Page Abstract Contents List of figures Introduction 1 1. Key terms in the thesis 5 2. Further background to the central case study 14 3. The mission and purpose of the Galicia Jewish Museum 32 4. Ethical considerations 39 5. Methodology 42 6. Thesis structure 57 7. Acknowledgements 58 Chapter 1: The context for Traces of Memory and the Galicia Jewish Museum 61 1. Jewish museums – a historical overview 61 2. Traces of Memory and the Galicia Jewish Museum – 78 establishing a narrative history 3. Traces of Memory – a ‘permanent’ exhibition? 92 Chapter 2: Phase 1 of Traces of Memory (2004-2006) 118 1. The context – the traditional significance of objects in 120 creating museum narratives 2. The new narrativisation – moving away from objects 125 3. Constructing the Traces of Memory narrative – Phase 1 129 4. Alternative ways of accessing the Phase 1 narrative 163 Chapter 3: Phase 2 of Traces of Memory (2006-2009) 168 1. Into phase 2 – moving beyond Traces of Memory 169 2. Phase 2 and cultural programming at the Galicia Jewish 175 Museum 3. The ‘who’ of the Galicia Jewish Museum 196 4. Changes at the Galicia Jewish Museum and the impact on 200 Traces of Memory Chapter 4: Phase 3 of Traces of Memory (2009-2011) 202 1. Moving into phase 3 of Traces of Memory 203 2. A new publication for the Galicia Jewish Museum: 224 Rediscovering Traces of Memory 3. The creation of a Traces of Memory travelling exhibition 237 4. A changing look at the Jewish past in Poland? The significance 243 of the textual 5. The Galicia Jewish Museum by the end of 2011 249 Concluding chapter: A Contemporary Look at the Jewish Past in Poland? 252 1. The internal museum narrative 253 2. The local Kazimierz context 258 3. The European Jewish cultural context 280 4. Traces of Memory and the Galicia Jewish Museum: A 297 Contemporary Look at the Jewish Past in Poland? Appendixes Appendix 1: Traces of Memory section introductory texts 305 Appendix 2: Phase 1 Traces of Memory captions 315 Appendix 3: Phase 2 Traces of Memory captions 332 Appendix 4: Phase 3 Traces of Memory captions 349 Appendix 5: Consent form, Galicia Jewish Museum 398 Appendix 6: Consent form, Jonathan Webber 401 Appendix 7: Interview questions, Jonathan Webber 403 Bibliography 405 List of figures Page Chapter 1: The context for Traces of Memory and the Galicia Jewish Museum 1.1 Photograph: Promotional image, museum interior 90 (reception area) 1.2 Photograph: Promotional image, museum interior 91 (reception area) 1.3 Photograph: Promotional image, museum interior 91 (bookshop) 1.4 Photograph: Promotional image, museum interior (cafe 91 area) 1.5 Table: Summary of exhibition developments, April 2004- 93 December 2011 1.6 Map: Location of the Galicia Jewish Museum on ul. Dajwór, 99 in relation to the tourist-heavy areas of ul. Szeroka and ul. Starowiślna 1.7 Photograph: Fieldwork photograph, Traces of Memory 102 photographs on free-standing frames 1.8 Photograph: Fieldwork photograph, Traces of Memory 103 photographs suspended in front of the museum’s red brick walls 1.9 Table: Summary of exhibition sections, as taken from 114 introductory texts Chapter 2: Phase 1 of Traces of Memory (2004-2006) 2.1 Table: Sample captions in use during phase 1 of the 130 exhibition 2.2 Photograph: From Traces of Memory, reference 1.1.7 134 2.3 Photograph: From Traces of Memory, reference 1.3.24 135 2.4 Photograph: From Traces of Memory, reference 1.4.7 139 2.5 Photograph: From Traces of Memory, reference 1.3.13 140 2.6 Photograph: From Traces of Memory, reference 1.2.28 142 2.7 Photograph: From Traces of Memory, reference 1.3.18 143 2.8 Photograph: From Traces of Memory, reference 1.4.15 144 2.9 Photograph: From Traces of Memory, reference 1.2.34 150 2.10 Photograph: Roman Vishniac, Entrance to Kazimierz, the old 151 ghetto of Krakow, ca. 1935-38 ©Mara Vishniac Kohn, courtesy International Centre of Photography Chapter 3: Phase 2 of Traces of Memory (2006-2009) 3.1 Image: Floor plan of the Galicia Jewish Museum 2004-2006, 172 showing all public areas of the museum 3.2 Image: Floor plan of Traces of Memory, following its 173 reduction to make room for Polish Heroes 3.3 Image: Galicia Jewish Museum floor plan showing the phase 174 2 Traces of Memory exhibition space and the new temporary exhibition gallery 3.4 Table: Temporary exhibitions at the Galicia Jewish Museum, 176 2006-9 3.5 Photograph: From Traces of Memory, reference 2.4.7 181 3.6 Photograph: From Polish Heroes: Those Who Rescued Jews, 182 Paweł Roszkowski 3.7 Photograph: From Polish Heroes: Those Who Rescued Jews, 182 Janina Rościszewska 3.8 Photograph: From Traces of Memory, section 3 183 3.9 Photograph: Promotional image, from Fighting for Dignity: 184 Jewish Resistance in Kraków 3.10 Photograph: Promotional image, from Fighting for Dignity: 184 Jewish Resistance in Kraków 3.11 Photograph: Promotional photograph from They Called Me 185 Mayer July: Painted Memories of a Jewish Childhood in Poland before the Holocaust 3.12 Photograph: Promotional photograph from They Called Me 185 Mayer July: Painted Memories of a Jewish Childhood in Poland before the Holocaust 3.13 Table: Cultural events at the Galicia Jewish Museum, 186 September-November 2007 3.14 Table: Cultural events at the Galicia Jewish Museum, 190 September-November 2009 3.15 Table: Key museum partnerships by end 2009 195 3.16 Image: Visitor demographics at the Galicia Jewish Museum, 197 2009 3.17 Image: Organisational chart, December 2009 198 Chapter 4: Phase 3 of Traces of Memory (2009-2011) 4.1 Photograph and table: From Traces of Memory, reference 229 3.1.5 4.2 Photograph and table: From Traces of Memory, reference 231 3.4.3 4.3 Photograph: From Traces of Memory, reference 3.2.9 234 Concluding chapter: A Contemporary Look at the Jewish Past in Poland? 5.1 Table: Current usage of pre-war Jewish community 260 properties in Kazimierz 5.2 Photograph: Fieldwork photograph, view down ul. Szeroka 263 5.3 Photograph: Fieldwork photograph, Jewish-style restaurant 264 on ul. Szeroka 5.4 Photograph: Fieldwork photograph, Jewish-style restaurant 264 on ul. Szeroka 5.5 Photograph: Fieldwork photograph, the Old Synagogue 265 Museum at the end of ul. Szeroka, with a large map of Kazimierz on the forecourt 5.6 Photograph: Fieldwork photograph, a preserved mezuzah 265 indentation outside a Kazimierz guesthouse and restaurant 5.7 Table: Selected key Jewish cultural organisations in Europe 281 5.8 Table: The categories and disciplines constituting Jewish 293 cultural productions Introduction This thesis is a rigorous academic study of a museum which has previously not been subject to theoretical examination despite its growing significance in both the Polish and Jewish contexts: that is, the Galicia Jewish Museum in Kraków, Poland. It will analyse the relationship between the museum’s permanent exhibition, Traces of Memory, and the broader Galicia Jewish Museum aims, objectives and activities throughout the various stages of the museum’s operations – from its establishment in 2004 until the end of the research period for this thesis, 2011. Through a case study methodology and detailed analysis of the resulting observations, conducted by the ultimate participant observer – a former director of the museum – and informed by extensive bibliographic research, the thesis will provide a unique contribution to knowledge in the fields of museum studies, Polish-Jewish relations and Jewish cultural studies.