Judaica in Poland
Origin, Fate, Status
Deutsche Fassung
Abstract
At the end of the 19th century Polish-Jewish collectors began to bring together valuable Judaica from former synagogues and private households. The first Jewish museums came into being. During the Second World War, the German occupiers systematically plundered the assets of Jewish communities and private households and killed about 90 percent of the Jews living on Polish territory. Similarly comprehensive was the destruction of the Jews’ material cultural heritage. Only a fraction of the former inventories survived. Some Jewish cultural assets are today located in Polish public museums. Questions of provenance and ownership of these assets are raised too seldom.
(Osteuropa 4/2011, pp. 85–183)