Tuesday 16 January, 9:30am-5:30pm
Embassy of the Republic of Poland
47 Portland Place
London W1B 1JH
Tickets: £11.35–£16.73
Book online
An emphasis on education has long been a salient feature of the Jewish experience, yet the majority of historians of east European Jewish society treat educational institutions and pursuits as merely a reflection of the surrounding culture. The presentations at this conference seek to address this gap by presenting education as an active and potent force for change, highlighting the interrelationship between Jewish educational endeavours, the Jewish community, and external economic, political, and social forces.
Organised by the Institute for Polish-Jewish Studies and the Institute of Jewish Studies, UCL. Co-organised and supported by the Embassy of the Republic of Poland and the Polish Cultural Institute, London.
Tuesday 16th January 2018, 9.30am-5pm
The conference marks the launch of Studies in Polish Jewry: POLIN VOLUME 30 –
Jewish Education in Eastern Europe, edited by Eliyana R Adler and Antony Polonsky.
The Institute for Polish-Jewish Studies wishes to thank the Embassy of the Republic of Poland and the Polish Cultural Institute, London for their generous support of this event.
All enquiries: Sara Ben-Isaac, Institute of Jewish Studies, University College London.
Email: ijs@ucl.ac.uk
CONFERENCE PROGRAMME
9.30am
Registration
10am
Welcome
H.E. Arkady Rzegocki, Ambassador of the Republic of Poland
Vivian Wineman, President of the Institute for Polish-Jewish Studies
Ben Helfgot, Chairman of the Institute for Polish-Jewish Studies
10:15am
Session 1: Jewish Education in Eastern Europe: an Introduction to the Volume
Eliyana Adler (Pennsylvania State University), in conversation with Antony Polonsky (London).
10:45am
Coffee break
11:15am
Session 2: Jewish Education in the Interwar Period and during the Holocaust
Chair: Eliyana Adler
Sean Martin (Western Reserve Historical Society, Cleveland, Ohio), Between Church and State: Religious Instruction in Polish Public Schools
Jordana de Bloeme (York University, Toronto), Forming Identities: The Vilna Educational Society in Interwar Vilna
Katarzyna Person (Jewish Historical Institute, Warsaw), ‘The children ceased to be children’. Day-Care Centres at Refugee Shelters in the Warsaw Ghetto
1 pm
Lunch break
2.15pm
Session 3: Round Table: Education in Times of Political Transformation: Comparative Perspectives
Chair: François Guesnet (UCL)
Eliyana Adler, (Pennsylvania State University)
David Brown (Chief Executive Director, UJS)
Tali Loewenthal (University College, London)
Elaine Unterhalter (Institute of Education, University College, London)
3.30 pm
Tea break
4.00 pm
Session 4: Screening of Janusz Korczak, King of the Children
Documentary (Poland/France/Israel, 2000, 52 min, dir. Agnieszka Ziarek)
This documentary was triggered by the publication in 1998 of the diaries of the physician, author, and pioneer of childrens’ education, Janusz Korczak (1878-1942), who died alongside the children in the Warsaw Ghetto's orphanage in Treblinka. It is based on interviews with people in different parts of the world who had been educated in institutions headed by Korczak, and who preserved a unique attachment to ‘the old doctor’ - as Korczak was known in the interwar period.
5 pm
End of conference
Organised by the Institute for Polish-Jewish Studies and the Institute of Jewish Studies, UCL. Co-organised and supported by the Embassy of the Republic of Poland and the Polish Cultural Institute in London.