In Search of Polin ─ Chasing Jewish Ghosts in Today's Poland

Volume two in Washington College studies in religion, politics, and culture, this book investigates the history of Polish Jewry. Author Gary S. Schiff (history, Washington College, Chestertown, MD) identifies himself as the child of Polish-Jewish Holocaust survivors who went to Poland searching for his roots, and hopes to combine here the genres of travel guide and scholarly history. In practice this is a history book, largely in the impersonal voice, targeted to American Jewish readers with little knowledge of European history. Occasionally Shiff brings in his own history as a useful example; his family names, for instance, form a springboard for explaining the movement of Jewish identities and professions through multiple languages and cultures. His central point is a valuable one: for more than two centuries, most of the world's Jews lived in Poland. Because this culture was exterminated in the Holocaust, most Jews have refused to return to it consciously. But rediscovering Polish history creates a much clearer understanding of contemporary Jewish life and politics. As Poland re-emerges in the eyes of the West, readers may find the same lesson applies to many peoples. Shiff surveys the country, giving readers capsule descriptions of local Jewish history and contemporary developments, such as the rise of Polish gentiles performing as Jews for historical reenactment and tourism. Annotation c2012 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

Gary S. Schiff is currently Adjunct Professor of History at Washington College in Chestertown, Maryland, where he has taught both graduate and undergraduate courses in Jewish and Middle Eastern history for over a decade. Previously he served for fourteen years as President and Professor of Middle East Studies at Gratz College in Philadelphia, the nation's oldest non-denominational college of Jewish studies, and also taught at the City University of New York and at Yeshiva University. Holder of a Ph.D. from Columbia University and Fulbright, Ford Foundation and other prestigious fellowships, his previous books include Tradition and Politics: The Religious Parties of Israel. A leader in Jewish life in America, he has traveled extensively to Jewish communities around the world and has lectured and written widely on subjects of Jewish interest in both scholarly and popular publications.