Two movies on Jewish life in CEE

Below you will find the video material expanding the topics raised in the theoretical background for the module.

The film “The Jews in Poland-Lithuania and Russia: 1350 to the Present Day” is a recording of a lecture by Professor Antony Polonsky (Brandeis University) on the history of Jews in Poland and Russia from the middle of the 14th Century until contemporary times. The film duration is 71 minutes.

The film “Jewish life in Poland” presents the life of the Jewish community in Poland today and the renewal of Jewish life in Poland. The film duration is 42 minutes.

It is advised to watch first the Antony Polonsky’s lecture and just then the documentary film. Alternatively, the second film can be used as extension of the theoretical background as it refers in greater detail to the facts briefly touched upon in the final sentences of the introduction.Please remember that there are significant differences between various historical sources on history of Jews in Europe and Poland. In particular, the data regarding the times during and straight after the World War II are to large extend estimations or calculations based on the sources available to each organization or person. If that resonates with the aims of your course, ask the students to look for the common points and differences between the sources in this module (both films, theoretical background, and the knowledge in the field they had before from other sources) and discuss how presentation of the topic influences its perception among recipients.