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Historian to Probe Relationship between Polish Underground and the Jews in World War II

(PDF) (DOC) (JPG)February 3, 2016

MAHWAH, N.J. – Dr. Joshua D. Zimmerman, Professor of History and the Eli and Diana Zborowski Professorial Chair in Holocaust Studies at Yeshiva University in New York, will discuss his recent book “The Polish Underground and the Jews, 1939–1945” on Wednesday, March 9 at 7 p.m. in the Trustees Pavilion at Ramapo College of New Jersey. The Center for Holocaust and Genocide Studies will sponsor this event.

Dr. Zimmerman will examine one of the central problems in the history of Polish-Jewish relations: the attitude and behavior of the Polish Underground toward the Jews during World War II. Using a variety of archival documents, testimonies and memoirs, Zimmerman offers a careful, dispassionate narrative, arguing that the reaction of the Polish Underground to the catastrophe that befell European Jewry was immensely varied, ranging from aggressive aid to acts of murder.

By analyzing the military, civilian and political wings of the Polish Underground and offering portraits of the organization’s main leaders, his book is the first full-length scholarly monograph in any language to provide a thorough examination of the Polish Underground’s attitude and behavior towards the Jews during the entire period of World War II. For its readability as well as its scholarly and dispassionate approach, the book has won wide praise around the world, including in Poland.

Dr. Zimmerman received his Ph.D. in comparative history from Brandeis University. He also holds an M.A. in history from the University of California at Los Angeles and a B.A. from the University of California at Santa Cruz. His interests include East European Jewish history, modern Europe and Russia/Eastern Europe, and nationalism.

In addition to The Polish Underground and the Jews, 1939-1945, he is also the author of Poles, Jews and the Politics of Nationality: The Bund and the Polish Socialist Party in Late Tsarist Russia, and several published scholarly articles in Polin: Studies in Polish Jewry, East European Jewish Affairs, and Jewish Political Studies Review.

 

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Ramapo College of New Jersey is the state’s premier public liberal arts college and is committed to academic excellence through interdisciplinary and experiential learning, and international and intercultural understanding. The comprehensive college is situated among the beautiful Ramapo Mountains, is within commuting distance to New York City, was named one of the 50 Most Beautiful College Campuses in America by CondeNast Traveler, and boasts the best on-campus housing in New Jersey per Niche.com. Established in 1969, Ramapo College offers bachelor’s degrees in the arts, business, data science, humanities, social sciences and the sciences, as well as in professional studies, which include business, education, nursing and social work. In addition, the College offers courses leading to teacher certification at the elementary and secondary levels, and offers graduate programs leading to master’s degrees in Accounting, Applied Mathematics, Business Administration, Contemporary Instructional Design, Computer Science, Creative Music Technology, Data Science, Educational Leadership, Nursing, Social Work and Special Education, as well as a Doctor of Nursing Practice.

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