The Polish Underground and the Jews, 1939–1945

Ruth Gay Seminar in Jewish Studies Inaugurated in 2008 thanks to a major gift from the family of Ruth Gay, the Ruth Gay Seminar in Jewish Studies was established in honor of Ruth Gay (1922-2006), the noted American Jewish historian and writer. This series is given by scholars who use the YIVO Archives and wish to share their research with the public. Watch the video

In this lecture, Joshua Zimmerman (Yeshiva University) confronts one of the central sources of contention in Polish-Jewish history: the Polish Underground’s treatment of Jews during WWII. Drawing on archival documents, testimonies, and memoirs Zimmerman’s new book The Polish Underground and the Jews, 1939–1945 (Cambridge, 2015), argues that the Polish Underground’s reaction to the Holocaust in fact varied greatly, ranging from aggressive aid to murder. Analyzing the military, civilian, and political wings of the Polish Underground and offering portraits of the organization's main leaders, this book is the first full-length scholarly monograph in any language to provide a thorough examination of the subject. Available for sale after the program.  

About the Speaker

Joshua D. Zimmerman is Professor of History and the Eli and Diana Zborowski Professorial Chair in Holocaust Studies and East European Jewish History at Yeshiva University. He is the author of Poles, Jews and the Politics of Nationality: The Bund and the Polish Socialist Party in Late Tsarist Russia (University of Wisconsin), a book based heavily on materials from YIVO’s Bund Archives, and the editor of two contributed volumes: Contested Memories: Poles and Jews during the Holocaust and its Aftermath (Rutgers University Press) and Jews in Italy under Fascist and Nazi Rule, 1922–1945 (Cambridge University Press).  His recent publications include a chapter in Warsaw: the Jewish Metropolis: Essays in Honor of the 75th Birthday of Professor Antony Polonsky (Brill).