Common memory and individual impression on Jewish assimilation processes in Poland before World War Two. Oral testimonies vs memoirs.

• In Event: Graduate Student Lightning Session: Modern Jewish History in Europe and Israel

Abstract

The purpose of this presentation is to show how written memoirs and oral testimonies differ as historical sources when it comes to reconstructing the Jewish assimilation processes in Poland before WW2.

Written relations are systematic, they strictly divide the time line into “before” and “after” the war. The narrative concerning “before” is mild, often idealizes the integration into the Polish society, emphasizes on group experience, and focuses on the common memory. While the oral testimonies, based on direct contact with the interviewee, are dynamic and detailed, showing individual experiences, and as a result drawing a complex and honest picture of exclusion and group isolation.

The frequent image of assimilated Jews in Poland before the war is genuinely one-dimensional. The combination of written and oral sources shed new light on the topic of Jewish assimilation, showing how inexact the common characteristics are and how much there is still left to uncover.

Author

• Aga Cyjak, Bar-Ilan University