EAJS Conference Grant Program in Jewish Studies
Report
“International Conference III: Jews in Galicia”
Jagiellonian University, Kraków, Poland
Event rationale and reflection
The conference on “Jews in Galicia” that took place at the Galicia Jewish Museum in Kraków on October 10-11.2023 has been the third in a series of the conferences on Jewish heritage in Galicia. The first took place in 2017 in Rzeszów, the second in 2019 in Kraków. Due to the pandemic we are returning to organizing this conference only now. One of the main goals of the conferences was to create a cohort of scholars and researchers dealing with any aspects of Jewish presence in Galicia and its aftermath. With a special attention to unite researchers specializing in Eastern and Western Galicia, that was from Poland and Ukraine. Another goal was to create a platform for cooperation for young and experienced scholars from various countries, and direct research to a new fields of Jewish heritage in Galicia. All those goals have been achieved although in various level. (Due to the war in Ukraine and Israel, not so many scholars from these countries could participate in the conference).
Initiators of the conferences Prof. Wacław Wierzbieniec from University of Rzeszów and Prof. Michał Galas from Jagiellonian University invited as co-organizing institutions Ukrainian Catholic University that has already well developed Jewish Studies Program and Dr Vladislava Moskalets represented this University in the organizing committee. Also this year the Galicia Jewish Museum became a partner of the conference, as co-organizer and the host. This combination of these four institutions representing the academic world and a museum specializing in the field of Jewish heritage in Galicia worked very well in organizing this conference and is a good base for continued cooperation in the future. The members of organizing committee were:
- Prof. Michał Galas – Jagiellonian University
- Prof. Wacław Wierzbieniec – University of Rzeszów
- Mr. Jakub Nowakowski – Galicia Jewish Museum
- Dr. Vladyslava Moskalets – Ukrainian Catholic University
- Mrs. Karolina Koprowska – Jagiellonian University – coordinator
- Dr. Katarzyna Suszkiewicz – Galicia Jewish Museum – coordinator
Compared to our original plans, we shortened the duration of the conference from three to two days. Which made the conference costs slightly lower. The unexpected Hamas terrorist attack on Israel just before the start of the conference meant that some participants, particularly from Israel were unable to arrive. To cope with this difficult situation, we decided to allow online presentations for three participants, including one from Israel. Because of that we had to do some changes in the conference program. The actual program will be described in point 2 and presented in details in point 6. In a consequence of the situation there were 20 papers presented by scholars from 9 countries (Poland, Ukraine, Israel, UK, Germany, USA, Canada, France and Japan).
With the conference were involved also Dr Tony Kahane from Gesher Galicia Organization, Dr Edyta Gawron (Jagiellonian University and Galicia Jewish Museum), Dr Katarzyna Suszkiewicz (Galicia Jewish Museum) and Prof. Michał Galas (Jagiellonian University) who were chairing and moderating the panels. Dean of the Faculty of History UJ Prof. Sławomir Sprawski, Director of the Institute of Jewish Studies UJ Prof. Adam Kaźmierczyk and faculties and students of the Jewish studies program at the Jagiellonian University were present at the conference as well as staff of the Galicia Jewish Museum.
An overview of the sections and papers presented during the event
Due to the sudden death of Irene Pipes (1924-2023), the person so deeply involved in development of Polish-Jewish studies, the organizes of the conference decided to dedicate the conference in memory of her. Prof. Antony Polonsky had an opening speech on: “Irene Pipes (1924-2023) and Polish-Jewish Studies”. Prof. Yaroslav Hrytsak (UCU, Lviv) delivered keynote lecture: “Toward Genesis of the Jewish Ukrainian Identity: Cases of Ivan Franko and Ivan L. Rudnytsky”. Prof. Hrytsak could not come in person, that was why he delivered his lecture online.
After that two lectures regular sessions had started. The first one chaired by Prof. Michał Galas, opened Dr Ewa Herbst, independent scholars from the US and emigree of 1968. She spoke about his ancestor Maurycy Lazarus, the founder of Jewish Hospital in Lviv. The next speaker was Prof. Alesander Łupienko from Institute of History of Polish Academy of Science who presented his new research project called: “Jews as Actors of the Spatial Development of Lviv before 1918”.
The second session was moderated by Dr Edyta Gawron (Jagiellonian University) and was dedicated to Jewish elites in Kraków, Podgórze and Lviv. Dr Przemysław Zarubin (Jagiellonian University) presented his research on: “Working conditions in Jewish industrial plants in Krakow and its vicinity in the years 1867–1918”, Dr Hanna Kozińska-Witt (independent scholar from Germany) spoke about: “An impossible portrait: a Jewish entrepreneur in Podgórze”, and Dr Vladyslava Moskalets (UCU, Lviv), delivered paper on: “Modern Elites in Urban Space: The Case of Habsburg Lviv”.
The third session chaired by Dr Marek Tuszewicki (Jagiellonian University) was dedicated to Jewish culture in Galicia. Papers were presented by: Prof. Nathan Cohen (Bar Ilan University), “Gershom Bader’s Yudisher folks-kaleder (1896–1912) as an Ideological and Cultural Agent” – this lecture was delivered online; Dr Natasza Styrna (Pontifical University of John Paul II in Krakow), “Sasza Blonder and his ancestors. The difficult history of the artist’s family in Austrian Podolia”; and by Karolina Koprowska (Jagiellonian University), “Return to the village. Creating a Jewish utopia in the cycle of poems „Dorf” [Village] by Rachel Korn”.
The final session of the first day of the conference was moderated by Dr Katarzyna Suszkiewicz (Galicia Jewish Museum) and was dedicated to aspects of Zionism in Galicia. The speakers were: Jacek Stawiski (KL Płaszów Memorial Museum in Kraków and a new director of the Galicia Jewish Museum), “The Land of Israel/Palestine: how it was reported and described in early Zionist press in Galicia” and Dr Arkadiusz Sołtysik (Institute of National Remembrance), “The process institutionalization of Zionism in Eastern Galicia until 1914 in the light of “Chwila”’
The second day was open by the session led by Dr Vladyslava Moskalets (UCU, Lviv). That session consisted of fours presentations by: Dr Agata Rybińska (Maria Curie-Sklodowska University in Lublin), “Rachel Mayer (1870–1952) – from Stanislau to Palestine. The exploration of the herstory of unknown translator of Jewish prayer books”; Atsuto Anzai (University of Tokyo), “Minorities helping State-(re)building: Jewish peri-urban agriculture and foreign financial aids in interwar Galicia”; Dr Marek Tuszewicki (Jagiellonian University), “Central or Eastern Europe? A case of Jewish homes for the aged in autonomous Galicia”; and Janina Naskalska-Babik (Jagiellonian University), “First attempt to determine the number of burials in Podgórze Jewish Cemeteries”.
The next session was moderated by Dr Tony Kahane (Gesher Galicia, UK) and the speakers were: Sydney Shiller (University of Toronto, Canada), “Interethnic Political Relations in Pre-World War I Austrian Galicia” and Prof. Gideon Kouts (University of Paris), “Shura- A Testimony of War and Jewish-Ukrainian-Polish Common Battle and Relations in Western Ukraine (1939-1944)”.
Prof. Michał Galas summed up the conference and invited participants for sending their papers for publication in the post-conference volume.
After finishing the scholarly part of the conference the participants were invited by the director of the Galicia Jewish Museum for pre-premiere tour of the exhibition “Kroke. Orthodox Jews in Krakow” guided by the author Agnieszka … and the exhibition curator Tomasz Strug.
A summary of the most significant and productive threads in the papers and discussions
In recent years, research on Jewish heritage in Galicia has been developed in many countries – Poland, Ukraine, Israel, Austria, but what we could observed during this conference on “Jews in Galicia” that there were still new researchers from other countries as well as new approaches to the subject. Another very important issue that one could observe during the conference is a fact that new topics and areas of research have been presented. Many scholars shared at this conference their recent projects at even a preliminary stage. For example such papers were presented by Aleksander Łupienko, Sydney Shiller, Janina Naskalska- Babik and Atsuto Anzai. Przemysław Zarubin and Hanna Kozińska-Witt presented research from their NCN grant. This situation allows us to assume that our conference already has prestige and trust among researchers presenting their initial research. New researches also bode well for future conferences and their originality.
Engagement with the pubic or Jewish communal impact
One of the reasons why the conference took place in the Galician Jewish Museum was to promote studies on Jewish heritage in Galicia not only among scholars but also among specialists in the field of culture and education who were present among the audience. This cooperation with the Museum is very fruitful and will be continued. Very unique engagement with the public was also participation of the speakers and audience of the conference in the pre-premiere tour of the exhibition “Kroke. Orthodox Jews in Krakow”
A statement about planned outcomes and outputs
Planned outcome of the conference is a post-conference volume. Such publication had been published also after the conferences of 2017 and 2019. The organizers agreed that the next conference on Jews in Galicia will be organized in two year time also at the Jewish Museum Galicia in Kraków.