ThoughtGallery.org > Adam Michnik Discusses Antisemitism in 20th Century Poland

Adam Michnik Discusses Antisemitism in 20th Century Poland

In this talk, Adam Michnik offers his interpretation of the history of anti-Semitism efforts to resist it in twentieth-century Poland. Introducing Michnik is Andrzej Rojek, Chairman of the Board for the Jan Karski Educational Foundation.

Polish-Jewish relations have once again become an important topic. In February this year, the Polish parliament passed a law making it an offence, with up to three years imprisonment or a fine, for anyone who accuses the Polish state or people of participating in the Holocaust or other Nazi crimes. This attempt to re-write history and criminalize historical discourse caused the greatest diplomatic crisis between Poland and Israel in decades and the law has been widely criticized by Jewish communities around the world. In Poland, it triggered both expressions of antisemitism and protests against it, ultimately leading to a revision of the law that removed the prison sentence.

We are yet again faced with questions about the sources of antisemitism in Poland: at the turn of the twentieth century, in the interwar years, and after the war, especially during the 1946 Kielce Pogrom and in March 1968. The need to better understand this history motivated Adam Michnik and Agnieszka Marczyk to co-edit Against Anti-Semitism: An Anthology of Twentieth-Century Polish Writings (Oxford University Press, 2017). In this current climate, a look at the history of antisemitism in Poland is more relevant than ever.











When: Thu., Sep. 6, 2018 at 7:00 pm
Where: YIVO Institute for Jewish Research
15 W. 16th St.
212-294-8330
Price: Admission $10; Members $5
Buy tickets/get more info now
See other events in these categories:

In this talk, Adam Michnik offers his interpretation of the history of anti-Semitism efforts to resist it in twentieth-century Poland. Introducing Michnik is Andrzej Rojek, Chairman of the Board for the Jan Karski Educational Foundation.

Polish-Jewish relations have once again become an important topic. In February this year, the Polish parliament passed a law making it an offence, with up to three years imprisonment or a fine, for anyone who accuses the Polish state or people of participating in the Holocaust or other Nazi crimes. This attempt to re-write history and criminalize historical discourse caused the greatest diplomatic crisis between Poland and Israel in decades and the law has been widely criticized by Jewish communities around the world. In Poland, it triggered both expressions of antisemitism and protests against it, ultimately leading to a revision of the law that removed the prison sentence.

We are yet again faced with questions about the sources of antisemitism in Poland: at the turn of the twentieth century, in the interwar years, and after the war, especially during the 1946 Kielce Pogrom and in March 1968. The need to better understand this history motivated Adam Michnik and Agnieszka Marczyk to co-edit Against Anti-Semitism: An Anthology of Twentieth-Century Polish Writings (Oxford University Press, 2017). In this current climate, a look at the history of antisemitism in Poland is more relevant than ever.

Buy tickets/get more info now