A lecture by Justyna Majewska (Jewish Historical Institute, Warsaw), in the frame of the seminar on Modern Jewish History organized by the Masaryk Institute and Archives of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Charles University CEFRES and the Prague Center for Jewish Studies.

Where: CEFRES Library, Na Florenci 3, 110 00 Prague 1
When: from 5:30 pm to 7 pm
Language: English

Abstract

Jews imprisoned in the Warsaw Ghetto pondered not only how to survive the present but also in the days to come. The day of liberation was calculated on the basis of rumours, interpretations of wartime developments and Kabbalistic prophecies. In this paper, among different notions of the future expressed by the inhabitants of the Warsaw Ghetto, I especially focus on the perspective of Jews active in various parties and youth movements. I approach the question of what Jews thought about the future, when it would start and what would lead to it within the broader context of the sociology of time. The primary source used in this paper is the Jewish underground press published in the Warsaw Ghetto.