Żydzi Wschodniej Polski. Seria VI, Żydzi białostoccy: od początków do 1939 roku

Abstract

The conferences held in Białystok which make the series "Jews of Eastern Poland" have permanently become a part of the landscape of activities of the scientific community in Białystok. We were, by the way, celebrating their 5th anniversary. Five years is a lot when it comes to cyclical organization of a scientific event of such a specialized nature: devoted to the Jewish community from the Eastern territories of the Republic of Poland. Session VI began a research cycle in the common formula "Jews of Eastern Poland. Part II: Jews of Central and Eastern Europe." The organizers, giving in to requests, decided on the one hand to expand the research field to the whole Eastern Europe, while on the other hand, they suggested what seems to be an inconsistency, that the theme of the meeting in 2017 would be "Jews in Białystok: From the beginning to 1939. Central European context." After some time, in the intention of the organizers, this research cycle should be closed by a session dedicated to Jews from Białystok, their fate during the Holocaust and after the Second World War. For the conference in 2017 (12-13.06), Felicja Raszkin-Nowak (1924-2015) was chosen as a patron. She was an eminent journalist and poet, whose biography combines the pre-1939 era and the times of the Holocaust, with the history of the 2nd half of the 20th and the beginning of the 21st century. The daughter of the writer, Mrs. Beata Ruben (Copenhagen, Denmark) was a special guest of the conference. In her extensive speech (12/06, 9:30 am) she presented the Life and Works of Felicja Raszkin-Nowak – an example of a Polish-Jewish symbiosis. Also on Monday, June 12, in Łukasz Górnicki's Library, at 9.00 a.m., an exhibition devoted to the life and fate of Felicja Raszkin-Nowak was opened. It was preceded by the words of Beata Ruben, Lucy Lisowska and Barbara Olech. The conference, as in previous years, was accompanied by the events of the 10th Jewish Culture Festival „Zachor – Kolor i Dźwięk” ("Zachor – Colour and Sound") organized by Centrum Edukacji Obywatelskiej Polska-Izrael (Centre for Civic Education: Poland – Israel) and the City of Białystok. Let us first present the issues taken up during the session: − The life, history, and culture of Jews from Białystok. − Jews from Podlasie and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. − Migrations of the Jewish population from Białystok. − Jews from Podlasie in Western and Eastern Europe. − Jewish literature, language, art, and press. − Relations between the Jewish population and the national and religious minorities. − The memory of the Jewish community in Białystok and Podlasie in the modern world. − The life and work of Felicja Raszkin-Nowak. The conference was organised by the following institutions: the Department of Philological Studies "East – West" at the University of Białystok, Centre for Civic Education: Poland – Israel, Łukasz Górnicki's Library in Podlasie, and personally: Prof. Jarosław Ławski (UofB, Chairman of the Organizing Committee), Ms. Lucy Lisowska (CEO Poland – Israel, Vice-President), Dr. Łukasz Zabielski (Łukasz Górnicki's Library, Secretary), Dr. Michał Siedlecki (Łukasz Górnicki's Library) and a team of PhD students from the Faculty of Philology UofB, among whom we should mention: Ewelina Feldman-Kołodziejuk, MA; Anna Wildowicz, MA; Bożena Bolesta, MA; Kamil K. Pilichiewicz, MA; and Monika Sobolewska, MA. The Scientific Committee was the patron of the conference, which started the next research cycle. There were also foreign guests: Prof. Heidi M. Szpek from the Central Washington University (USA) and Dr Olga Tsivkach from Ivano Frankivsk (Ukraine). Among the listeners of the sessions there were, among others, Prof. Jerzy Nikitorowicz (UofB) and a representative of the Catholic Association "Civitas Christiana". On the first and second day of the conference, 23 papers were presented. This volume gathers the vast majority of the papers presented at the session, as well as a record of the panel, entitled "The Memory of the Jewish Community in the Regional Space: Social Awareness – Science – Culture – School", conducted jointly by Dr habil. Anna Janicka (UofB) and Dr Magdalena Tarnowska (UKSW, Warsaw). The conference was accompanied by performances of the participants of the "Zachor – Kolor i Dźwięk" Festival, including Gerard Edery from the USA performing a Sephardic song recital and Yaron Gershorsky, also from the USA, performing for the second time in Białystok. Contrary to initial fears, the Białystok theme of the session aroused great interest among the speakers, PhD students and the public. The session was held on the 6th floor of the Łukasz Górnicki's library (at ul. Skłodowskiej-Curie 14A, and the room was full all the time), and with the participation of students from Białystok schools and the interest of the Polish Radio Białystok. On the occasion of the session, Dr. Barbara Olech and Lucy Lisowska from the Centre for Civic Education: Poland – Israel prepared a special brochure entitled Felicja Raszkin-Nowak (1924–2015). The heroine of the 10th Festival of Jewish Culture "Zachor – Kolor i Dźwięk" (Białystok, June 9-13, 2017), Białystok 2017. The next, seventh conference from the series "Żydzi wschodniej Polski" ("Jews of Eastern Poland") will be held in May 2018. It will focus on the theme: "Between Odessa, Kiev and Vilnius. Zionist ideas in Central and Eastern Europe. Creators – literary echoes – language", and a writer and a promoter of Zionism, Zeev Zhabotinsky (1880–1940) will be its patron.