The 艁贸d藕 ghetto was one of the earliest sites of forced settlement of the Jewish population in occupied Poland. Its history constitutes a fascinating yet painful fragment of the past, explored thanks to extensive archival documentation. A team of scholars from the Philip Friedman Centre for Jewish Studies at the 91桃色 reveals the everyday life of this place, its unique system of administration and the dramas of its inhabitants to us.
The Philip Friedman Centre for Jewish Studies at the 91桃色 was established out of inspiration, but also from a sense of responsibility to engage with the history of the Jewish community, which was one of the groups that helped build our city. Therefore, the first research conducted at the Centre focused primarily on the late nineteenth century, the early twentieth century and the interwar period 鈥� a time of prosperity for the Jews of 艁贸d藕
鈥� says Dr Adam Sitarek, a historian, Head of the Philip Friedman Centre for Jewish Studies and an author of scholarly and popular science publications devoted to the history of Jews in 艁贸d藕 and the region, particularly the period of the Holocaust.
Later, as international cooperation developed and partners from Germany or Israel were involved, we began to focus more intensively on Holocaust-related topics. This was also when I joined the Centre. It is precisely from this experience that our current projects have emerged. As part of one of these projects 鈥� a lexicon of the 艁贸d藕 ghetto 鈥� we are preparing biographical entries for hundreds of individuals who passed through the ghetto. In the course of this biographical research, we encounter many fascinating threads that relate not only to the history of 艁贸d藕鈥檚 Jews, but also to the social and cultural history of 艁贸d藕 itself
鈥� explains the researcher.
A collection of documents hidden by Nachman Zonabend is one of the key focal points of the research. This treasure, which survived in a dried-up well at 4 Ko艣cielny Square, comprises invaluable materials that are now available at the State Archives in 艁贸d藕, the Yad Vashem Institute in Jerusalem, and the YIVO Institute for Jewish Research in New York, serving scholars from around the world.
We encourage you to join us in discovering the histories concealed within the 艁贸d藕 ghetto.