New Directions in the History of the Jews in the Polish Lands

“This publication was inspired by the founding of POLIN – Museum of the History of Polish Jews. … The book is divided into two main parts: ‘museological questions’ and ‘historiographic questions.’ The first part contains both articles written by the curators of the main exhibition and by scholars commenting on particular issues related to the Museum. The curators’ articles complement the important essays on the POLIN Museum… and explain the key idea behind the main exhibitions… The book is very valuable as it was created at a very specific and significant time in Polish-Jewish history following the opening of the Polin Museum’s main exhibition. It was an opportune moment to summarize all the achievements hitherto in researching and debating Polish-Jewish history. The editors succeeded in this sense…”

— Adam Stepnowski, University of Wroclaw, Journal of Modern Jewish Studies 21:4

“The articles are sophisticated, self-aware and wide ranging, making them very useful for anyone trying to present the past in visual form. … There are also some very sophisticated papers on the study of the Holocaust. This volume gives a good picture of the current state of the field. It presents differing approaches that underscore the dynamism and creativity of a new generation of scholars.”

— Shaul Stampfer, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Religious Studies Review (September 2020: Vol. 46, no. 3)

“[New Directions in the History of the Jews in the Polish Lands] provide[s] an insightful and penetrating contextualization of the dramatic process of change in post-Communist Poland, with its desire for the Jewish presence to become a ‘normalized’ part of a pluralistic, modern society that is not afraid of learning about its past. More importantly, however, the [book] strongly [implies] a new future for Jews not just in Poland but also in the spaces of history, mutual understanding and greater cooperation.”

—Katarzyna Zechenter, UCL SSEES, Slavonic and East European Review

“This collection of articles is based on a 2015 conference at the new POLIN Museum of the History of Polish Jews in Warsaw. … The overall quality of the articles is excellent, and this reviewer was delighted to learn a lot about what goes into planning a museum. … This fine volume belongs in any academic library that collects on Jewish history.”

— Jim Rosenbloom, Brandeis University, AJL Reviews