Abstract
World War II and the subsequent period of communist rule severely diminished the amount of historic Jewish architecture in Poland. It is estimated that in the mid-1990s there were about 321 synagogues and prayer houses in the country, all in various states of preservation. This article examines two case studies of synagogues that were salvaged by being transformed into Judaica museums. The first of these is the synagogue in Łańcut and the second concerns the complex of two synagogues and one prayer house in Włodawa. The article contains an analysis of both examples from the perspective of the following factors: the circumstances under which the institution was established, the place that the history and culture of Jews took in the Museum’s activity, the way that Judaica collections and exhibitions were constructed, the substantive, educational, and research activities that were undertaken, as well as the issue of what place these monuments occupy in the town’s landscape.
Highlights
From the second half of the 1980s, a growing interest in the heritage of Polish Jews was noticeable both within the country and abroad
In the context of the growing interest in Jewish culture and history over the past 30 years, an interesting issue is the level of this interest in and the attitude towards Jewish heritage before the fall of the communist regime
In 1992, the organization changed its name to the Association of Jewish Religious Communities in Poland, and in the middle of the 1990s, it owned 47 cemeteries and 27 synagogues and prayer houses (Bergman 1996, pp. 135–36)
Summary
From the second half of the 1980s, a growing interest in the heritage of Polish Jews was noticeable both within the country and abroad. It contains an analysis of both examples from the perspective of the following factors: the circumstances under which the institution was established, the place that the history and culture of Jews took in the Museum’s activity, the way that Judaica collections and exhibitions were constructed, the substantive, educational, and research activities that. Over the past 30 years, a number of books and articles have been published on the social and socio-economic aspects related to the material and immaterial heritage of Polish Jews Most of these publications focus on processes that have occurred during and after the fall of communism in Poland. Based on the data available in this regard, it is impossible to draw consistent conclusions
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