Szewach Weiss Centre for the Study of Israel and the Jewish Diaspora Prof. Szewach Weiss

The Life and Work of Jewish Refugees from Poland in New York (1939–1950). History and Sources

Project Manager: Elżbieta Kossewska
NPRH/DN/SP/0117/2023/12

The aim of the project is to prepare for print a selection of documents, materials, and correspondence concerning the life and work of Jewish refugees associated with the bi-weekly magazine “Nasza Trybuna” published in New York between 1939 and 1950. A thin but active layer of assimilated Jewish intelligentsia, after Poland regained independence, entered a phase of developing a magnificent modern secular culture, interrupted by the outbreak of World War II. This culture continued in centers of Jewish refuge, one of which was the community of Jewish refugees organized around “Nasza Trybuna” in New York.   The journal gathered prominent writers, publicists, and individuals associated with art and theater.  In terms of reach and significance, it was the central Polish-language publication issued by Polish Jews in exile. The subject of research includes the community of Jewish refugees primarily gathered around the Representation of Polish Jews in America and the Association of Jewish Refugees from Poland connected with the bi-weekly “Nasza Trybuna.” The work will demonstrate the cultural, political, and informational significance of the journal. The project will document the achievements of Jewish refugees in the fields of literature, press, and culture, as well as the cultivation of the Polish language. The project will also present the relations of Jewish refugees with major Jewish centers worldwide, relations with the Polish Government-in-Exile in London, and the representation of the Jewish community in Palestine. The work will also address issues related to cultural and national identity. The legacy of this community is proof of its attachment to Polish culture and undoubtedly a magnificent chapter in the history of Polish Jews. The research will be an attempt to document Polish-Jewish relations and shared cultural heritage.

NCN Grant: Correspondence and Journalism of Dawid Lazer from Palestine/Israel (1941-1974)

Project Manager: Elżbieta Kossewska
2013/11/B/HS2/02755

Dawid Lazer was one of Israel’s leading journalists (born 1902 in Krakow, died 1974 in Tel Aviv).  Awarded Israel’s highest distinction – the Sokolov Prize in 1960.  His correspondence concerns prominent figures of Polish and world literature and journalism (including Aleksander Wat, Stanisław Vincenz and his wife Irena, Władysław Broniewski, Shmuel Agnon).  In Israel, the figure of Dawid Lazer is widely known. In Polish literature, on the contrary, not much attention has been paid to him, although he was very well recognized in the circles of “Kultura” and London’s “Wiadomości.” He was honored by the latter with the “Wiadomości” prize for prose (1973). The aim of the project is, in its first part, to write a biography of Dawid Lazer. In the second, to collect his correspondence, scattered in many archives and previously unknown to the reader, then to describe it and prepare it for publication. A query and analysis of articles published by Dawid Lazer in the Polish press in Palestine during World War II, as well as in Hebrew and Polish-language press published in Israel, will be conducted. This will allow for the creation of a narrative parallel to Lazer’s letters, and will also serve as material for their elaboration. In this way, a study will be created that will bring closer both Lazer’s intellectual and journalistic activity, as well as
his friendships, and above all, the course of disputes conducted by intellectuals in the 20th century.
Lazer’s correspondence and journalism reveal the thoughts of well-known and respected writers and journalists on events that shook primarily generations who experienced the horrors of World War II firsthand. His correspondence also brings closer the discourse on ideologies that captivated great minds of the 20th century (e.g., communism). Letters have this unique value and at the same time the advantage of often revealing the private lives of their authors, shedding light on their work and public life, introducing the reader to a very personal, intimate world of literary life. The time frame covers the years 1941–1974, with the first demarcation point being Lazer’s arrival in Palestine, and the second – his death.

NCN Grant: Polish Emigration in Palestine (1939-1948)

1. Aim of the research/research hypothesis
The aim of the project is to describe the fate of Polish emigration in Palestine between 1939 and 1948 against the backdrop of local and global political events and global migration movements during and after World War II. During World War II, Palestine was one of the largest and most important centers of civilian and military life for Polish emigration in the Middle East. Polish refugees, together with Jews who emigrated from Poland before and during the war, created a unique community there. The worlds of established residents of Palestine, especially those of Polish origin, and Polish-Jewish refugees intertwined in political, cultural, and social spaces, creating a shared history. Given that the problem of the state (in the case of Jews – creating a state, in the case of Poles – regaining it) constantly accompanied Polish emigration, the project poses the leading question of how the state (or its absence) influences the shaping of refugee identity and the fate of ethnic communities, as well as the constitution of values by which they live.
2. Research methodology/methods used
The historical method will be applied in this work. I adopt a type of inquisitive narrative that requires asking questions about the motives of human action, transcending the narrative form of results and entering into anthropology. Turning from history towards anthropology offers an opportunity to expand the area explored by historians, allowing for the functioning of communities and individuals to be shown by focusing attention on emotions and experiences (fears, hopes, motivations for action). Combining historical and anthropological methods is indispensable to show the expectations, customs, and beliefs of refugees, which largely determined their coexistence in a multi-ethnic environment. Historical statistics (extraction and standardization of data through categorization) will also be applied in the work. The analysis of research material will serve to build cause-and-effect chains, which will ultimately lead me to create a theory. By combining material and theoretical research, I intend to transfer historical knowledge into the field of social sciences and cultural anthropology. I want to interpret the deep meaning of human actions, simultaneously revealing the laws and mechanisms governing individuals and society.
3. Impact of expected results on the development of science, civilization, society
The project fills a gap in history concerning one of the important centers of Polish emigration during and after World War II. It also touches upon significant social issues – building community and state. The location, Palestine, imposes a strong context of religious matters and provides an exceptionally interesting panorama of ethnic and religious problems (Christianity, Judaism, and Islam). This approach to the topic allows for addressing important issues of identity, transformations, and tensions caused, for example, by the national question, which are important for the development of (also contemporary) societies. The value of the project is enhanced by its interdisciplinary nature, and its results can be applied in various fields of
humanities, especially since the issue of refugees is a socially important topic, occupying an increasing place in local and international politics.

MNiSW Grant: Universalia 2.1, (21H 17 0276 85)

Project Manager: Elżbieta Kossewska

“She still speaks Polish, but laughs in Hebrew. Polish-language press and cultural integration of Polish Jews in Israel.” The aim of the project (no. 21H 17 0276 85), financed by the Ministry of Science and Higher Education, is to translate Elżbieta Kossewska’s book, published by the University of Warsaw Press, from Polish to English: “She still speaks Polish, but laughs in Hebrew. Polish-language press and cultural integration of Polish Jews in Israel,” Warsaw 2015. In the English version, the book’s title will be: “Polish Jews in Israel: Polish-Language Press, Culture and Politics.” The work characterizes the journalistic and readership communities of Polish Jews organized around the partisan Polish-language press in Israel. It examines the significance and role of this press in the adaptation process of Jews who arrived in Israel from Poland between 1948 and 1970. During this time, the press documented the course of the adaptation process, various states of identity, and intercultural tensions, especially when the new olim [Jews arriving in Eretz Israel/Israel] were still suspended between the heritage of their country of origin and the values of the Jewish state, and only joining the Hebrew-speaking majority concluded their “cultural journey.”

The research direction adopted in the work also allowed for describing the history of Polish Jews in Israel, broadening the perspective with previously unknown fragments of their activity, in particular drawing the reader’s attention to their political and publishing activities. The work consists of seven chapters, and each of them, apart from the introductory chapter, is dedicated to six Polish-language publications of Israeli parties. The first chapter describes political and ideological issues related to the spread of the Hebrew language ethos and the quantitative growth of titles in the foreign-language press sector. Subsequent chapters, in chronological order, concern the Progressive Party and General Zionists, Mapai, Mapam, Maki, and Bund.

The work is interdisciplinary, covering problems in history, political science, cultural studies, and sociology. The methodology presented in the work can be used for research on ethnic groups, refugees, and multicultural societies.