Never-before-published; luminous photographs of Polish Jewish life in the 1920s by an undiscovered master.In 1921; photographer Alter Kacyzne was commissioned by the New York Yiddish daily; the Forverts; to document images of Jewish life in "the old country." Kacyzne's assignment became a ten-year journey across Poyln (as Poland's three million Yiddish-speaking Jews called their home); from the crowded ghettos of Warsaw and Krakow to the remote villages of Ostrog and Brisk. His candid and intimate views of teeming village squares and rustic workshops; cattle markets and spinning wheels give us a privileged view of a world that is no more.For more than sixty years; Alter Kacyzne's Forverts photographs-the sole fragment of his vast archive to survive World War II-lay unseen. Now; for the first time; the work of this lost master is restored to the world in a volume of extraordinary poetic force. At once ter and humorous; Poyln tells the story of a way of life and recalls the warmth and spirit of a community on the edge of destruction.Poyln is sure to stand with Roman Vishniac's A Vanished World as a rare treasure; an indispensable portrait of a people.
#911476 in Books Ivan Jablonka 2016-05-11Original language:EnglishPDF # 1 9.00 x 1.20 x 6.00l; .0 #File Name: 0804795444352 pagesA History of the Grandparents I Never Had Stanford Studies in Jewish History and Culture
Review
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful. A picture of lost grandparents.By Jill MeyerMemoirs of the Holocaust are now being written by the second generation from the survivors or victims as that generation has been dying off. In his astounding book; "A History of the Grandparents I Never Had" French historian; Ivan Jablonka examines the lives...and deaths; of his paternal grandparents. He is the son of their baby son; who along with his toddler sister; were hidden and saved when the parents were arrested in February 1943; in Paris; and sent to their deaths at Auschwitz.Ivan Jablonka writes movingly about his Polish-born grandparents; Mates Jablonka and Idesa Korembaum. Born into large families in the Polish shtetl of Parczew; both were early believers in the Communist movement in the Soviet Union. While others in their families and the shtetl were more interested in Zionism; Mates and Idesa fought to bring Communism to 1920's and 30's Poland. They were part of a movement of young people who could not see a future in Poland. Mates was arrested several times; Idesa once. In the mid-1930's; many members of the family were able to emigrate to Israel and Argentina; while Mates fled to Paris in 1937. Idesa soon followed and the two eked out a precarious existence in Paris as undocumented immigrants; while continuing their political activities The two bounced around Paris as they hid from the French authorities who seemed overwhelmed by the number of the undocumented in their city. In 1940; however; the Germans invaded France and Mates joined the French Foreign Legion and fought in western France at the Battle of Soissons. Before reading this book; I had no idea that a number of Jewish refugees in France fought the Germans.Ivan Jablonka finishes his grandparents' story by telling of their arrests and incarceration at Drancy camp and their removal to Auschwitz with 1000 other French Jews. He doesn't know exactly when his grandfather died; but assumes his grandmother was gassed upon arrival. But what of Mates and Idesa's two babies; Suzanne and Marcel? How were they saved? We know they were saved and Marcel's son; Ivan; gives the story of love and sacrifice on many people's parts. Ivan Jablonka's book is not the easiest book to read. The lives...and deaths are complicated to follow but Jablonka gives his grandparents the accounting they were denied in life. This is a beautifully written book; using historical documentation and personal interviews.0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. Excellent Family History Research and StorytellingBy Walter S. EliasA sensitive well-written family history combining genealogical research and detective work of the highest order. Highly recommended.
