Mini-Course: American Jews Extending Their Hand to Brethren in Poland: The JDC in Poland, 1914-1950

From its inception in 1914, a significant portion of the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee (JDC)’s relief efforts was dedicated to Polish territories, home to the largest Jewish population in Europe. During the First World War, the organization assessed the social, economic, and sanitary conditions of Jews on the Eastern Front, offering critical aid to those who had lost their homes and livelihoods. Throughout the Great Depression, the Holocaust, and the early postwar years, the JDC remained steadfast in providing essential support to Jewish communities in Poland.

The JDC Archives and the POLIN Museum invite you to enroll in a four-part online mini course exploring the JDC’s activities in Polish territories from 1914 to 1950. This course accompanies POLIN Museum’s new temporary exhibition, “1945. Not the End, Not the Beginning,” which is devoted to the experience of Jews in Poland in 1945.

Topics and Speakers

Sunday, May 4, 2025: War, Hunger and Pogroms: The JDC Serving Jews in Eastern Europe, 1917-1921, with Zachary Mazur (POLIN Museum/Institute of History of the Polish Academy of Sciences).

Sunday, May 11, 2025: Teaching Hygiene, Child Welfare, and Modern Motherhood: The JDC in Interwar Poland, with Sylwia Kuźma-Markowska (University of Warsaw).

Sunday, May 18, 2025: The Activity of the JDC and New Research Perspectives on Jewish Life in Poland in the First Years after the Holocaust, with Kamil Kijek (University of Wroclaw).

Sunday, May 25, 2025: The JDC in German-Occupied Poland, with Maria Ferenc (University of Wroclaw).

The session recordings will be available exclusively to registrants.

The views and opinions expressed in the public program are those of the presenters and do not necessarily reflect the position of the JDC.