Katarzyna Person Lectures on Jewish Leadership in Small Communities in Poland during the Holocaust

In this lecture delivered on January 27, 2026, to commemorate International Holocaust Remembrance Day, Dr. Katarzyna Person examines the largely overlooked history of small ghettos in occupied Poland—communities of fewer than 5,000 Jews that made up the majority of ghettos during World War II. Dr. Person highlights the everyday experiences of their inhabitants and focuses on the early work of local Jewish leadership, including Judenräte and Jewish Self-Help groups, which were responsible for population registration, social welfare, food distribution, medical care, education, and religious life.

Dr .Katarzyna Person is a historian of the Holocaust and Director of the Warsaw Ghetto Museum. She is the recipient of a 2024 Fred and Ellen Lewis/JDC Archives Fellowship.