EHRI Conference “Research and Preservation of the Secret Archive of the Warsaw Ghetto”, Warsaw, 8 December 2018

The Emanuel Ringelblum Jewish Historical Institute in Warsaw recently organized the international conference Research and Preservation of the Secret Archive of the Warsaw Ghetto, within the framework of European Holocaust Research Infrastructure project. The one-day conference, which took place on 8 December 2018, aimed to bring together scholars dealing with the history of the Warsaw Ghetto and working on the Secret Archive (also known as the Emanuel Ringelblum’s Archive) created by the Oneg Shabbat, a team of Jews lead by Emanuel Ringelblum, who documented daily life in the Jewish district of Warsaw.

The conference attracted the attention of scholars from many facilities based in United Kingdom, USA, Canada, Italy, and Poland. The participants, among which there were professors, PhD holders, and PhD candidates, shared their current projects, presented research methodology, analysis techniques, and debated the status of the Secret Archive as a primary historical source. Professor Andrzej Żbikowski opened the conference briefly welcoming the participants and guests. He presented the programme and elaborated on the meaning of EHRI and the Jewish Historical Institute’s involvement in the project.

The panels

The conference was divided into three panels, all of which focused on a different approach towards the researched subject. The documents of the Secret Archive contain much valuable information and provides the possibility of encouraging research on various topics. The spectrum of presented papers was such that the division of the conference panels accordingly to the specifics of the subject or technique of the research was required.

The conference was divided into three panels, all of which focused on a different approach towards the researched subject. The documents of the Secret Archive contain much valuable information and provides the possibility of encouraging research on various topics. The spectrum of presented papers was such that the division of the conference panels accordingly to the specifics of the subject or technique of the research was required.

The first panel aimed to discuss the detailed information on chosen issues found in the Secret Archive. Stefania Zezza (an independent researcher collaborating with the Roma Tre University and a tutor on the Holocaust Studies MA course) presented how testimonies from the Oneg Shabbat depicted the Mikvehs. She spoke about the limitations Jews faced, problems solving techniques and the importance of access to the Mikvehs. Next it was Judith Vöcker (M.A. from the Stanley Burton Centre for Holocaust and Genocide Studies, University of Leicester) whose paper, The crime and criminality as a part of everyday life in the Warsaw Ghetto, gave an insight not only into the criminal life of the Jewish district, but also into what was considered ‘criminal’ and how historical documents help shed light on this subject. The third paper was given by Agnieszka Żółkiewska (PhD from the Jewish Historical Institute) who spoke about the Secret Archive as a primary source which enables research into the intergroup conflicts which existed inside of the Warsaw Ghetto. Her presentation included information on the character of the groups mentioned in the documents, and showed different aspects of the conflicts, and their aftermaths.

The second panel was devoted to the analysis of the documents themselves, rather than the information they contain, as well as issues relating to Holocaust education today. The first paper, given by Dominic Williams (PhD, University of Leeds) presented a comparative analysis of the Oneg Shabbat and Auschwitz Sonderkommando manuscripts dealing with the region of Ciachanów. Next was Joanna Nalewajko-Kulikov (Professor at the Tadeusz Manteuffel Institute of History, Polish Academy of Science) who spoke about the Emanuel Ringelblum’s ghetto notes as a writing practise, and gave inspiring remarks on the critical editions of historical primary sources. The third paper was given by Bożena Karwowska (Professor at the University of British Columbia) and dealt with educational matters, together with the differences between “remembering” and “witnessing” the Shoah, as seen by the students. The role of the Secret Archive in teaching was well discussed and both the participants and attendees agreed that the documents play a vital role in teaching, and should be used in schools as an example of “the silent witnesses of the terror”.

Finally, the third panel began with a paper by Julia Riegel (PhD candidate, Indiana University Bloomington) who elaborated on the role of music in child welfare in the Warsaw Ghetto. The last papers all spoke about the new Jewish Historical Institute’s project – the Encyclopedia of the Warsaw Ghetto. Maria Ferenc Piotrowska presented the case for a new scientific approach towards the subject. Justyna Majewska spoke on the social science in the methodology of the Oneg Shabbat, and Zofia Trębacz devoted her paper to the Secret Archive as the silent witness of the Holocaust.

The lecture

The conference ended with a lecture on the new digital programmes currently being developed at the Emanuel Ringelblum Jewish Historical Institute. Marta Wojas and Krzysztof Czajka-Kalinowski presented two of them – DELET and the Central Jewish Library. 

DELET portal primarily focuses on the researchers, educators and students interested in the Secret Archive. It contains high quality scans of the entire collection of the Oneg Shabbat and brings the possibility of graphical modification for its users. It contains two major sections – “collections” and “lessons”. The first is divided into six sections: Oneg Shabbat collections, Oneg Shabbat art, Oneg Shabbat photography, general photography, museum objects and collections of the users. The later project features a series of lessons which allow the user to become more familiar with a chosen subject. Each lesson consists of pictures and descriptions focusing on one topic at the time. Topics include children in the Warsaw Ghetto, biographies of the chosen collaborators of the Oneg Shabbat, Jewish police in the Warsaw Ghetto or old portrait photography on glass negatives.

The Central Jewish Library is a database of archival records held by the Jewish Historical Institute’s Archive. It contains various materials including high quality scans of copies of archival documentation, together with a multi-volume book edition of the Secret Archive materials with commentary. It has been presented with an emphasis on the richness of the resources and provides extra insight and knowledge to supplement the Secret Archive’s records. The lecture included a presentation of the portal together with a new feature – fully researchable, digital, hypertextual versions of the full edition of the Ringelblum’s Archive.

The exhibitions 

Due to the fact that the Emanuel Ringelblum Jewish Historical Institute is not only a facility dealing with research, but also with art collections and exhibitions, both the participants and the listeners of the conference were invited to participate in two guided tours.First they had a chance to visit the new permanent exhibition fully devoted to the Secret Archive and Oneg Shabbat entitled What we’ve been unable to shout out to the world. The title evokes the last will of 19-year old David Graber, one of three people who hid the first part of the Secret Archive in the basement of the house at Nowolipki Street 68. The main subject of the exhibition is on the activities of Oneg Shabbat. It contains some original documents from the Secret Archive (on display for the first time), as well as one of two authentic containers used to hide the documents. There are also letters and testaments left by those who knew there was no rescue for them.The second exhibition – The Free Bird. Der Frayer Foygel. Caricature from the Jewish Press in Independent Poland – is temporary and commemorates the 100^th anniversary of Polish independence. It is designed as a journey into an unknown dimension of the interwar period – Jewish life as represented in caricatures and illustrations from the Jewish press. The exhibition is divided into several sections focusing on the social life, religious affairs, international affairs and the rise of the nationalism.

Images: Grzegorz Kwolek