Documenting Missing Jewish Heritage in Upper Silesia
15
JULY
2012
by GerSig Guest Speaker – Mrs Bozena Kubit
The history of 20th century Upper Silesia is complex and discussion of these times remains difficult. Until WW2, the Jewish community in Upper Silesia was assimilated and culturally German. However, as a result of the Holocaust and changes to Poland’s borders, Jewish history in the region has faded almost without trace, apart from in cemeteries, buildings, archival documents and museum displays. In addition, in 1945 the region's national affiliation changed from German to Polish, and during the post 1945 communist regime in Poland, cultivation of the region’s German past was impossible, let alone that of the region’s Jewish community. Change only came about following political developments in 1989 and this has opened up the possibility to re-discover the region’s Jewish History.
This presentation will describe the work now being undertaken to find, preserve and document, and then to display the traces of Jewish history in Upper Silesia. It wilI examine the efforts of official institutions such as museums as well as less formal societal organisations of the region. Particular focus will be given to the work of Zikaron from Gliwice, Brama Cukermana from Bedzin and people from Rybnik, Wodzislaw, Zabrze etc. The projects they are working on include museum exhibitions, conferences and symposia which help local people to delve further into the region’s Jewish history and allows them to become more familiar with other activities such as preservation and restoration of the local Jewish cemeteries and documenting and organizing group tours of cemeteries and places of Jewish remembrance and interest.
Speaker | Location |
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Bozena KUBIT |
Ella Fitzgerald B |