„Nit gejn in geta”. Pierwszoosobowy protest wobec getta ławkowego

Abstract

“Nit gejn in geta”. First-person protest against ghetto benches The article deals with a unique form of protest against ghetto benches, namely protest by Jewish men and women themselves. The author provides a preliminary analysis of the forms of dissenting voices, citing specific examples and extensively quoting various sources. The subject of violence against Jews at higher education institutions, of its forms and intensity, has already been analysed by scholars. The present article is an attempt to take a close look at one of the forms of reacting to collective violence against Jewish men and women at higher education institutions in inter-war Poland: protest expressed in the first person, that is in a given person’s own name. The author not so much distinguishes this form of protest from allied protest, but enhances its status. The forms of active and passive resistance to ghetto benches varied and encompassed a wide range of responses to hatred. They took official forms, such as parliamentary questions, as well as street protests, strikes — including general strike — or occupation of a strictly defined space. There were also various letters of opposition and demands to repeal segregation ordinances.