Polin: Memorializing the Holocaust

The reconciliation of Jewish and Polish memories of the Holocaust is a complex issue that has gained significant attention in recent years. Until 1989, Polish consciousness of the Second World War was largely focused on the destruction of Polish Jewry within a communist narrative of Polish martyrdom and heroism. In contrast, post-war Jewish memory has been concerned mostly with Jewish martyrdom and heroism, with little acknowledgement of the plight of Poles under German occupation. In recent decades, however, there has been an increasing effort to identify common ground between Jews and Poles in their memories of the Holocaust. This book provides a comprehensive examination of these divisive memories, considering topics such as Jewish memorial projects, the Polish approach to Holocaust memory under communist rule, and post-communist efforts to retrieve the Jewish dimension to Polish wartime memory. The book features an interview with acclaimed author Henryk Grynberg, who shares his personal perspective on surviving the Holocaust hidden in the Polish countryside. Additionally, it includes innovative research on other areas of Polish-Jewish studies, including a special section on the New Synagogue in Poznan, which is still standing today due to its conversion into a swimming pool.