'I'm Somewhere in Between:' – The Doorstep of Identity: Jews and Catholics in Lubartów, 1942-2024

• In Event: Microhistories of the Holocaust in Occupied Poland

Abstract

This paper explores the story of a Jewish girl born in 1942 in Lubartów, Poland, who was left by her parents, fleeing deportation, on the doorstep of a childless Polish family in October 1942. The couple raised her as their own, but when her Jewish mother returned to Lubartów in 1947, the family refused to give up the child, leading to a legal battle. The child, now 82 years old, shared her reflections with me in Washington, D.C., stating, “I’m a hybrid in a lot of different things.” Employing a microhistorical approach, this study examines the notion of hybridity through a diverse array of sources, including administrative and post-war judicial records, photographs, correspondence, and testimonies from the mother (1946 in Warsaw; 1993 in the USA), alongside an interview with the daughter. By analyzing these multiple, often contradictory narratives, I seek to unravel the layered tensions and complexities that defined the interactions between Jews and Catholics in Poland both during and after the Holocaust. This paper not only deepens our understanding of Jewish-Catholic relations during this period but also explores the broader implications of memory and identity in post-war Europe.

Author

• Claire Zalc, CNRS / EHESS (France)