Jewish Historical Institute
The Jewish Historical Institute (Zydowski Instytut Historyczny, ZIH) is an academic institution specializing in research on the history and culture of the Jews in Poland. The Institute's origins reach back to the library that was founded in 1881 alongside the Great Synagogue and to the Judaic Studies Library and the Institute of Judaic Studies, founded in 1936.
When the Second World War began, these were closed. In November and December 1939, the Germans removed the library's collections. During the war, the building was located within the Warsaw Ghetto-were several Jewish organizations were housed there, including Jewish Social Self-Help, and cultural activities were organized, such as theater productions, literary events and concerts. Underground activities also took place inside the building. In March 1942, the library's building was excluded from the ghetto and served as an assembly point for German Jews before their deportation to the death camp at Treblinka. When the liquidation of the Warsaw Ghetto began, the Germans made the building into a warehouse for furniture that had been looted from the ghetto.
On August 29, 1944, in Lublin, a decision was made to form the Central Committee of Polish Jews. On December 28, 1944, this committee founded an organization called the Central Jewish Historical Commission, which had branches in many Polish cities. After the war, it was announced that the prewar building of the Main Library of Judaic Studies and the Institute of Judaic Studies would be rebuilt. At a meeting on May 3, 1947, the board of the Central Committee of Jews in Poland decided to move the Central Jewish Historical Commission, and all of its branch offices, to Warsaw, and to form a new institution there, the Jewish Historical Institute, which would have "its permanent seat in its own building at 5 Tlomackie Street in Warsaw".
The Institute functioned as an academic society. In 1993, a decision was made to specify that it is an academic and research institute (decision of the Minister of Culture and Art, 18 April 1994). The ZIH Association is still the owner of the building and its collections, and the ZIH Academic and Research Institute manages and maintains them, as well as conducting inventories and educational activities.
Organizational structure: Archives, Library, Museum, Documentation of Jewish Heritage Department, Academic Department, Section for the "Righteous Among the Nations of the World" medals, Section for the Documentation of Victims of the Holocaust, Section for Genealogical Research, and labs for microfilming and the preservation of paper documents.
In 1947, publication began of the Yiddish-language periodical Bleter far Geshichte (Historical Journal). In 1949, the Polish-language Biuletyn Informacyjny ZIH began publication (from 1951 on it was known as Biuletyn ZIH). This publication is still published today. Since 2000, it has been known by the title Kwartalnik Historii Zydow (Jewish History Quarterly).
Many well-respected historians have worked for the Jewish Historical Institute, including J. Kermisz, R. Geber, A. Eisenbach and S. Trunk. Stalinization meant most Jewish institutions were closed in Poland; as a result, many Jewish scholars left for Israel. Another wave of emigration came during the anti-Zionist campaign of 1967-1968 also affected ZIH's employees. At that time, attempts were made by party authorities to liquidate the Institute.
In the 1970's and 1980's, ZIH strove to increase its activities by developing contacts with other academic institutions, particularly with the Historical Institute of the Polish Academy of Sciences. The subject matter of historical research became more varied, having concentrated up to that point primarily on the Holocaust. At present, ZIH is comprised of a research division, archive, library, museum and division for the documentation of historical monuments and artifacts.
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The research division is devoted to research on the history and culture of Polish Jews, under the direction of Dr. Jurgen Hensel. At first, the research efforts were concentrated primarily on the period of the Second World War. Activities began with the publication of primary sources (regularly published in Biuletyn ZIH and Bleter far Geshichte), and volumes such as Emmanuel Ringelblum's letters from the ghetto, a diary from the Lodz ghetto, several volumes and documents about the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising, diaries, memoirs, collections of literary works created in the ghettos and camps, an album of photographs depicting the tragedy and heroism of the Jews in Poland. These publications became the basis for further more detailed studies. In particular, ZIH researchers studied the Jewish resistance, including its cooperation with the Polish underground and the rescuing of Jews by Poles. In 1949-1963, ZIH organized several sessions and conferences about the role of the Judenrats, the genesis of the Warsaw ghetto uprising, the history of the Jewish resistance, and Hebrew sources for the study of the Slavic world in the Middle Ages. Later, research included the history of the Polish Jews, and their participation in the country’s social, economic and political life during the interwar period, and earlier.
The archive, having about 600 linear meters of documents, organized in three sections: I - documents of the former Jewish Communities (1672-1939), II - documents from the Second World War (1939-1945), III - documents of the Central Committee of Polish Jews and its 18 branches, and works by ZIH's former employees. The archive also contains works by rabbinical school graduates and other institutions of higher learning in the fields of history, religious studies and philosophy, as well as documentation regarding organizations such as Joint and ORT. Documents from the period of the Second World War make up the largest and most valuable portion of the collection (60%). These include the archive of the Warsaw Ghetto (known as the Ringelblum Archive); memoirs written in ghettos, labor camps and death camps; the Judenrat documents from many cities; underground press; and accounts by Holocaust survivors.
The library contains about 70,000 volumes, of which half are books in Yiddish and Hebrew; periodicals, primarily in Hebrew and Yiddish, including many from the nineteenth century. Over a thousand manuscripts are also housed there (the oldest dates back to the late ninth or early tenth century) and nearly 2,500 old prints dating back to the period 1501-1800. It is one of the largest Judaic studies libraries in Europe and the only such institution in Poland. The history of the library began in 1860, when Dr. Ludwik Natanson announced that a library of religious works would be established at the synagogue. Urszula Grygier is the library's current director.
The ZIH museum has the largest Judaica collection in Poland, including artistic items related to religious practices (made of fabric and silver) and a representative collection of paintings and sculptures, including works by the following artists: M. Gottlieb, A. Markowicz, M. Trebacz, E. Kanarek, R. Kramsztyk, H. Kuna and A. Szapocznikow. The museum also contains items from the ghettos and death camps. In addition to its publishing activities, the museum sponsors exhibitions and educational activities for school children and students from the Art Academy. The museum’s current director is Magdalena Sieramska
The documentation section houses approximately 40,000 photographs illustrating the lives of Jews in from the mid-nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, the Holocaust, and the current condition of surviving historical religious buildings, as well as sites related to the Holocaust. Jan Jagielski is currently the section’s director.
Since 1993, ZIH has fallen under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage. Its activities are financed by the state budget, as well as from grants from American, German and Polish foundations, and funds from private donors. The Institute cooperates with many other institutions both in Poland and abroad, including the Goethe Institut, German Historical Institute, National In-Service Teacher Training Center, Institute of National Remembrance, Simon Dubnov Institute of Leipzig (Germany), and Florida Atlantic University (USA). The director of ZIH's research institute is Professor Feliks Tych. Its deputy directors are Dr. Eleonora Bergman and Dr. Jozef Chajn.
ZIH's research institute runs special lessons and conferences for students of all ages. More information can be requested from the museum section at the following address: secretary@jewishinstitute.org.pl. Since 2000, the institute has also been engaged in a project titled "Knowledge about the Polish Jews", a series of monthly lectures (from September to June) that are open to the public. These are geared for general audiences and cover various subjects related to the history and culture of the Polish Jews.
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Jewish Historical Institute
ul. Tlomackie 3/5
00-090 Warsaw
Poland
Tel: (+48 22) 827 92 21
Fax: (+48 22) 827 83 72
Email: secretary@jewishinstitute.org.pl
Website: www.jewishinstitute.org.pl
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