Ula Madej-Krupitski | McGill University (original) (raw)
Book Reviews by Ula Madej-Krupitski
Polin vol. 36 Jewish Childhood in Eastern Europe
Travel to diffe ff ff rent parts of the country became a favourite activity fo f f r young Jews i... more Travel to diffe ff ff rent parts of the country became a favourite activity fo f f r young Jews in interwar Poland.They have described their experiences of vacationing in a number of settings-spontaneous or organized, with family members and among their peers. Vacationing offe ff ff red Jewish children unique opportunities to experience Polish landscapes and culture, to reflect on social and gender norms, and to be socialized into various political ideologies.Among those who participated in these experiences were children and adolescents from large urban environments and middle-sized towns, those who could affo ff ff rd visits to splendid spa towns or trips to fashionable Zakopane and the Baltic coast, and those fo f f r whom a subsidized visit to nearby countryside or fo f f rest was their first chance to move out of a largely Jewish environment. My M M entire body was joyous in anticipation of the holiday a a s. S.J.,Jewish schoolboy fr f f om Wa W W rsaw a a , w w March 1928 compared with previous ones. Strikingly, y y among the adults wh w o cared fo f f r, r wrote, spoke,and worried ab a out the Jewish children of the 1920s and 1930s,regardless of their ideological and political prefe f f rences, a nationalist context seemed pervasive. The Polish language Jewish monthly Dziecko put it plainly in the summer of 1932: 'the child is the nation's fu f f ture'. 4 The fo f f cus on Jewish children in Poland was manife f f st in child-rearing manuals; 5 advice columns in Yi Y Y ddish and Polish in the daily press; 6 children's periodicals; 7 children's literature; child and youth groups; school, summer, r and winter camps; and activities provided fo f f r children across the religious and political spectrum. 8 Many n n of these initiatives should be seen, at least in part, as a consequence of the democratizing and technological changes of the time. Children were now increasingly not only the subject of books and magazines but also their consumers. 9 These wide-ranging initiatives fo f f r, r and increasingly by, y y children and adolescents epitomize the particular consideration and scrutiny n n that children began to receive. On the one hand,this attention can be viewed as a fo f f rm of child empowerment,wh w ile on the other it can be seen as a way a a of exerting control over them,their choices,and their world-views. Furthermore, wh w at clearly separates the first decades of the twentieth century fr f f om earlier periods is the unprecedented access to children's voices. Diaries,autobiographies,essay a a s and letters printed in national and local newspapers,and summer camp bulletins and newsletters all fe f f ature the largely unmediated experiences of Jewish children and adolescents, usually described and interpreted in their own voices. 10 The extent of children's agency began to grow substantially. y y Not only did they narrate their own experiences, but increasingly children were able to shape new projects and activities. In the context of the Polish Jewry of the 1920s and 1930s,one undertaking that encapsulates this fr f f esh potential particularly vividly was the 'Great Children's Beauty Contest' announced in March 1930 by the Polish-language Jewish daily Na N N sz Prz r r eg e ląd. 11 The goal of the contest was to select 'the most beautifu f f l Jewish children in Poland' out of 'the enchanting parade of stunning children's fa f f ces'. 12 Between March and June,over 800 black and wh w ite photos depicting Jewish girls and boys up to the age of 10 poured into the editorial office. From all over the country, y y hopefu f f l parents,and at times the contestants themselves,carefu f f lly selected staged photos. Many n n photos fe f f atured children wearing school unifo f f rm, others were in fe f f stive clothing,or in the case of newb w orns,simply naked,wh w ile a fe f f w participants even modelled traditional Polish fo f f lk outfits. 13 Many n n held toys, but cigarettes and tennis rackets were nearly equally popular props. 14 Among the hundreds of contestants was the grandson of the Zionist activist and Hebrew author Nahum Sokolow and the fu f f ture philosopher Zy Z Z gmunt Bauman. 15 What makes this enterprise utterly remarkab a le though is not just the vast interest it generated but the fa f f ct that the contest was initiated by the children themselves.The children,inspired by Polish and European beauty pageants, and ab a ove all by the Miss Judaea competition of 1929, pleaded that an equivalent contest fo f f r Jewish children had to be organized. 16 Why h h ?
![Research paper thumbnail of Dzieci modernizmu: Świadomość, kultura i socjalizacja polityczna młodzieży żydowskiej w II Rzeczypospolitej [Children of Modernism: Political Consciousness, Culture and Socialization of Jewish Youth in the Second Polish Republic] by Kamil Kijek](https://attachments.academia-assets.com/59399282/thumbnails/1.jpg)
](EAST EUROPEAN JEWISH AFFAIRS, 2019
Polin vol. 36 Jewish Childhood in Eastern Europe
Travel to diffe ff ff rent parts of the country became a favourite activity fo f f r young Jews i... more Travel to diffe ff ff rent parts of the country became a favourite activity fo f f r young Jews in interwar Poland.They have described their experiences of vacationing in a number of settings-spontaneous or organized, with family members and among their peers. Vacationing offe ff ff red Jewish children unique opportunities to experience Polish landscapes and culture, to reflect on social and gender norms, and to be socialized into various political ideologies.Among those who participated in these experiences were children and adolescents from large urban environments and middle-sized towns, those who could affo ff ff rd visits to splendid spa towns or trips to fashionable Zakopane and the Baltic coast, and those fo f f r whom a subsidized visit to nearby countryside or fo f f rest was their first chance to move out of a largely Jewish environment. My M M entire body was joyous in anticipation of the holiday a a s. S.J.,Jewish schoolboy fr f f om Wa W W rsaw a a , w w March 1928 compared with previous ones. Strikingly, y y among the adults wh w o cared fo f f r, r wrote, spoke,and worried ab a out the Jewish children of the 1920s and 1930s,regardless of their ideological and political prefe f f rences, a nationalist context seemed pervasive. The Polish language Jewish monthly Dziecko put it plainly in the summer of 1932: 'the child is the nation's fu f f ture'. 4 The fo f f cus on Jewish children in Poland was manife f f st in child-rearing manuals; 5 advice columns in Yi Y Y ddish and Polish in the daily press; 6 children's periodicals; 7 children's literature; child and youth groups; school, summer, r and winter camps; and activities provided fo f f r children across the religious and political spectrum. 8 Many n n of these initiatives should be seen, at least in part, as a consequence of the democratizing and technological changes of the time. Children were now increasingly not only the subject of books and magazines but also their consumers. 9 These wide-ranging initiatives fo f f r, r and increasingly by, y y children and adolescents epitomize the particular consideration and scrutiny n n that children began to receive. On the one hand,this attention can be viewed as a fo f f rm of child empowerment,wh w ile on the other it can be seen as a way a a of exerting control over them,their choices,and their world-views. Furthermore, wh w at clearly separates the first decades of the twentieth century fr f f om earlier periods is the unprecedented access to children's voices. Diaries,autobiographies,essay a a s and letters printed in national and local newspapers,and summer camp bulletins and newsletters all fe f f ature the largely unmediated experiences of Jewish children and adolescents, usually described and interpreted in their own voices. 10 The extent of children's agency began to grow substantially. y y Not only did they narrate their own experiences, but increasingly children were able to shape new projects and activities. In the context of the Polish Jewry of the 1920s and 1930s,one undertaking that encapsulates this fr f f esh potential particularly vividly was the 'Great Children's Beauty Contest' announced in March 1930 by the Polish-language Jewish daily Na N N sz Prz r r eg e ląd. 11 The goal of the contest was to select 'the most beautifu f f l Jewish children in Poland' out of 'the enchanting parade of stunning children's fa f f ces'. 12 Between March and June,over 800 black and wh w ite photos depicting Jewish girls and boys up to the age of 10 poured into the editorial office. From all over the country, y y hopefu f f l parents,and at times the contestants themselves,carefu f f lly selected staged photos. Many n n photos fe f f atured children wearing school unifo f f rm, others were in fe f f stive clothing,or in the case of newb w orns,simply naked,wh w ile a fe f f w participants even modelled traditional Polish fo f f lk outfits. 13 Many n n held toys, but cigarettes and tennis rackets were nearly equally popular props. 14 Among the hundreds of contestants was the grandson of the Zionist activist and Hebrew author Nahum Sokolow and the fu f f ture philosopher Zy Z Z gmunt Bauman. 15 What makes this enterprise utterly remarkab a le though is not just the vast interest it generated but the fa f f ct that the contest was initiated by the children themselves.The children,inspired by Polish and European beauty pageants, and ab a ove all by the Miss Judaea competition of 1929, pleaded that an equivalent contest fo f f r Jewish children had to be organized. 16 Why h h ?
EAST EUROPEAN JEWISH AFFAIRS, 2019