Nadeslala Katka Reszke
“RETURN OF THE JEW: Identity Narratives of the Third Post-Holocaust
Generation of Jews in Poland” by Katka Reszke
is now published (Boston: Academic Studies Press)
Return of the Jew examines the appearance of a new generation of Jews in Poland following
the fall of the communist regime.
In this newly liberal climate, more and more Poles are
discovering and exploring their Jewish heritage. Reszke analyzes this new generation,
addressing the question of whether there can be authentic Jewish life in Poland after fifty
years of oppression. Based on a series of interviews with Jewish Poles between
the ages of 18 and 35, her study provides an illuminating window into the experience
of being, and – for many – becoming Jewish in these unique circumstances.
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For more information about Katka Reszke and “Return of the Jew” go to: www.katkareszke.com
“Uniquely positioned as both an insider and an acute outside observer, Katka Reszke provides an insightful analysis of a controversial and still developing phenomenon that has bemused, perplexed and sometimes enraged the outside Jewish world. In doing so, she gives rare – and welcome — voice to the actual protagonists, Poland’s “new Jews,” and sets in complex context their unprecedented, and often poignant, quest for place, identity and selfhood amid the brave new Jewish realities of post-communist Poland.”
— Ruth Ellen Gruber, Writer, Researcher, Journalist, Author of “Virtually Jewish: Reinventing Jewish Culture in Europe”“Most Jews think there are no more Jews in Poland. This is not true even though in comparison with the millions of Jews before World War II the present number seems like nothing. The Jews who were born in Poland after the war and have lived there come mostly from assimilated and mixed families. Their search for roots and their readoption, or reconstruction, of some sort of Jewish identity provides for a fascinating story. Katka Reszke has been able to tell the story, building on her own involvement in it and on many interviews
— Ruth Ellen Gruber, Writer, Researcher, Journalist, Author of “Virtually Jewish: Reinventing Jewish Culture in Europe”“Most Jews think there are no more Jews in Poland. This is not true even though in comparison with the millions of Jews before World War II the present number seems like nothing. The Jews who were born in Poland after the war and have lived there come mostly from assimilated and mixed families. Their search for roots and their readoption, or reconstruction, of some sort of Jewish identity provides for a fascinating story. Katka Reszke has been able to tell the story, building on her own involvement in it and on many interviews
with young adults. The book gives an insight into their identity search and the expansion of Jewish presence
in present day Poland — an unexpected bonus of the demise of Communism in 1989.”
— Professor Stanislaw Krajewski, the University of Warsaw, Poland,
Author of “Poland and the Jews. Reflections of a Polish Polish Jew”
“What does it mean to be young and Jewish in Poland today? Katka Reszke explores the phenomenon of the revival of
“What does it mean to be young and Jewish in Poland today? Katka Reszke explores the phenomenon of the revival of
Jewish life in contemporary Poland through a series of interviews with her contemporaries and gives voice to
a generation whose search for its Jewish identity resonates throughout the Jewish world. She provides unique
insight into one of the most meaningful, most uplifting stories in the Jewish world today: the reemergence of a
Jewish community decimated by the Holocaust and largely driven underground by post war communist oppression.”
— Jonathan Ornstein, Executive Director of the Jewish Community Center of Krakow
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