Beyond the Ivory Tower

Abstract

This chapter looks at the tensions between popular and scholarly writing on Polish Jewish history. The chapter follows the channels through which Polish Jewish historical scholarship reached a broader public in Poland. Although ideologically animated, this historical discourse often served practical political purposes. Polish Jewish historians worked in close relationship with Jewish communities, and they believed that by pursuing a scholarly course they were fulfilling an important social, cultural, and political mission. It further discusses a new generation of university-educated rabbis who delivered sermons for Jewish schoolchildren and soldiers and participated in public ceremonies commemorating events of Polish Jewish history. The chapter reflects how private and state schools for Jewish children commemorated national Polish holidays, taught Polish and Polish Jewish history, and took students on historical tours. Time and again, Jewish representatives at both the local and national level referred to history to strengthen their political claims.