Rediscovering Traces of Memory: The Jewish Heritage of Polish Galicia

by Jonathan Webber, Chris Schwarz (Photographer), Jason Francisco (Photographer)

Overview

This much-updated edition of a ground-breaking book expands the broad coverage of its stimulating approach. With forty-five new photographs and accompanying essays, it convincingly demonstrates the complexity of the Jewish past in Polish Galicia and the attempts to memorialize its heritage, as well as the unexpected revival of Jewish life.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781786940872
Publisher:	The Littman Library of Jewish Civilization in association with Liverpool University Press
Publication date:	09/01/2018
Series:	Littman Library of Jewish Civilization
Edition description:	2nd ed.
Pages:	216
Product dimensions:	8.80(w) x 8.20(h) x 0.60(d)

About the Author

Jonathan Webber is a social anthropologist. He is Emeritus Unesco Professor of the University of Birmingham (UK) and, before his retirement in 2016, was a professor at the Jagiellonian University, Kraków.

Chris Schwarz, who died in 2007, was a British photojournalist and founder of the Galicia Jewish Museum in Kraków.

Jason Francisco is an acclaimed photographer and essayist, many of whose books and installations deal with Jewish memory. He teaches in the department of Film and Media Studies at Emory University, Atlanta.

Table of Contents

Prologue
Map ofGalicia
Introduction
1. Jewish Life in Ruins
2. Jewish Culture as It Once Was
3. The Holocaust: Sites of Massacre and Destruction
4. How the Past is Being Remembered
5. People Making Memory Today
Epilogue
A Note on Galicia, Place Names, and Sources
Background Notes
Bibliography
Index

Editorial Reviews

"This is a story in photographs - lush, beautiful, and haunted . . . Webber is doing a great service to those looking for a more sophisticated approach to contemporary Jewish Poland and the uncomfortable co-existence of past and present in the landscape." - David Shneer, East European Jewish Affairs

"Interaction between image and analysis often tells a different story than the photograph alone would . . . Even more than written documents, perhaps, photographs underscore the challenges of accessing history beyond memory. Webber's analysis and Schwarz's photographs accomplish more than finding traces. Rediscovering Traces of Memory tries to reach beyond a Jewish memory of Poland that is at once nostalgic and skewed by the Holocaust's shadow. They trace the shaping of memory, progress in overcoming barriers to dialogue, and the limits of remembering." - Karen Auerbach, H-Judaic

"Astonishing book . . . The photography is outstanding, adding much to the poignancy of what the images portray . . . A complex subject has been imaginatively handled by dividing the book into five sections suggesting different ways of approaching it . . . Webber, whose narrative is thoughtful and understated, deals sensitively with relations between Poles and their Jewish past, pointing out that much of the history of the war is still contested and remembered differently . . . This is a beautiful and informative book that provides an inspiring introduction to Poland's Jewish heritage." - Carla King, Irish Times

"Schwarz's photos are striking, incisive, and heartbreaking." - Robert Leiter, Jewish Exponent

"Beautifully produced . . . gives many more people access to this remarkable record of what remains of the rich history of the Jews in Poland after the devastation of the Holocaust. Most striking is the freshness of the images, and the lack of clichés. The tragedy stares directly from the pictures but not in the form we are familiar with . . . buy the book, study the images and read the text. It gives a remarkable and moving insight into what Poland - and the world - has lost." - Julia Bard, Jewish Socialist

From the Publisher

"Polish-Jewish relations have long suffered from stereotypes and false accusations on both sides, and this is a major attempt to right the wrongs of the past." —Michael Schudrich, Chief Rabbi of Poland

Michael Schudrich

"A stunning tribute to the Jewish heritage of Polish Galicia.... A treasure for future generations." —Barbara Kirshenblatt-Gimblett, author of Destination Culture: Tourism, Museums, and Heritage

Barbara Kirshenblatt-Gimblett

"A moving account of what is being done to preserve the memory of what was lost and of the people, both Poles and Jews, involved in this important undertaking." —Antony Polonsky, Polin

Polin - Antony Polonsky

"Schwarz's photos are striking, incisive and heartbreaking..." —Jewish Exponent, February 11, 2010

Jewish Exponent

"This rich, thought-provoking, and meticulously researched book will offer a good introduction to the topic of Jewish history in Galicia to students of contemporary European history, and will serve as a valuable supplement to those studying modern European Jewish culture, the history of the Holocaust, topics in East European ethnography, and the complex Polish-Jewish relations of the past and today." —Slavic and East European Journal

Slavic and East European Journal

"Webber's notes, in particular, distinguish Rediscovering Traces of Memory from other albums.... Close attention to detail, together with cooperation between photographer and anthropologist, makes the work an important contribution to scholarship." —H-Judaic, March 2011

H-Judaic

"Wonderfully detailed... highly readable... evoke[s] a rich texture of memory and tradition and loss and even hope." —Ruth Ellen Gruber, author of National Geographic Jewish Heritage Travel: A Guide to Eastern Europe

Ruth Ellen Gruber

"A moving account of what is being done to preserve the memory of what was lost and of the people, both Poles and Jews, involved in this important undertaking." —Antony Polonsky, Polin

— Antony Polonsky

Polin