Irmina Gadowska

Stratification of the cemetery’s space reflects the social structure of the city, revealing an internal hierarchy, the worldview and the tastes of the inhabitants. The message that a headstone conveys is a resultant of the communication intended by those who commissioned it and the historical context. The means of visual expression, as well as the nature of the embellishments are the necessary tools for its reading. This text is concerned with the possibilities of analysing and interpreting historical forms found at the Jewish cemetery in Łódź, taking into account the time when they were created, the location, the patron and the historical context.

The development of exact, natural and medical sciences that began in the Enlightenment affected many areas of everyday life, including attitudes to death and funeral rituals. This interest in issues related to the eschata was reflected in changing practice which significantly shaped legal regulations. The structure of metropolitan Jewish necropolises established since the late 18th century and transformation of cemetery architecture highlight the development of sepulchral culture, reflect functional innovations and stylistic changes, as well as the capabilities and requirements of Jewish communities operating in a non-Jewish environment. In the 19th century, through the introduction of new burial rituals, modern forms of grave monuments, representative buildings and park-like appearance, the cemetery becomes a representative place. This paper analyses the interior of the pre-burial house in the new Jewish cemetery in Łódź, taking into account the relationship between the applied architectural solutions and the purpose of the site, as well as the relationship between its function and style. In Jewish historical discourse, the issue of style as a tool for manifesting national identity or the degree of acculturation was primarily associated with synagogue architecture. The case of the pre-burial house from Łódź proves that research on ceremonial buildings erected in Jewish cemeteries may also help to determine the direction and nature of cultural transformation.

W latach 1940–1944 na terenie getta łódzkiego działało kilkadziesiąt osób zajmujących się działalnością plastyczną. Byli to uznani twórcy – absolwenci szkół i akademii oraz obdarzeni talentem uzdolnieni amatorzy, którzy przed 1939 r., nie zdołali zaistnieć jako artyści. Część z nich pochodziła z Łodzi i okolic, pozostali przybyli do miasta z zagranicy – w transportach z Pragi, Berlina, Hamburga, Kolonii czy Wiednia. W warunkach „dzielnicy zamkniętej” twórczość poddana nadzorowi administracyjnemu została wprzęgnięta w machinę propagandową. W urzędach, instytucjach, wydziałach i warsztatach powstawały plakaty, albumy pamiątkowe, znaczki, odznaki, emblematy. Na specjalne zamówienie malowano wizerunki przedstawicieli żydowskich władz i niemieckiego zarządu getta. Chociaż dostęp do narzędzi i materiałów: farb, kartonów, metalu, tuszu był reglamentowany, ściśle powiązany z zamówieniami, artyści starali się poza oficjalnym obiegiem i bez cenzury tworzyć prace dokumentujące otaczającą ich r...

W latach 1940–1944 na terenie getta łódzkiego działało kilkadziesiąt osób zajmujących się działalnością plastyczną. Byli to uznani twórcy – absolwenci szkół i akademii oraz obdarzeni talentem uzdolnieni amatorzy, którzy przed 1939 r., nie zdołali zaistnieć jako artyści. Część z nich pochodziła z Łodzi i okolic, pozostali przybyli do miasta z zagranicy – w transportach z Pragi, Berlina, Hamburga, Kolonii czy Wiednia. W warunkach „dzielnicy zamkniętej” twórczość poddana nadzorowi administracyjnemu została wprzęgnięta w machinę propagandową. W urzędach, instytucjach, wydziałach i warsztatach powstawały plakaty, albumy pamiątkowe, znaczki, odznaki, emblematy. Na specjalne zamówienie malowano wizerunki przedstawicieli żydowskich władz i niemieckiego zarządu getta. Chociaż dostęp do narzędzi i materiałów: farb, kartonów, metalu, tuszu był reglamentowany, ściśle powiązany z zamówieniami , artyści starali się poza o􏰀icjalnym obiegiem i bez cenzury tworzyć prace dokumentujące otaczającą ich rzeczywistość. Problem aktywności plastyków w getcie łódzkim został omówiony na przykładach funkcjonowania wybranych wydziałów i wojennych biografii najbardziej znanych twórców. W analizie wykorzystano zróżnicowane źródła, od zachowanej w archiwach dokumentacji administracyjnej, po osobiste wspomnienia, listy, relacje i ocalałe prace. Wyniki badań uwzględniające z jednej strony urzędowe dane, z drugiej – indywidualne odczucia ofiar i świadków, stanowią punkt wyjścia do dalszej rekonstrukcji obrazu sztuki w getcie łódzkim.

In the years 1940-1944, several dozen artists were active in the Łódź ghetto. Those were renowned artists-graduates of schools and academies and talented amateurs, who did not gain recognition as artists before 1939. Some came from the Łódź area, some came from abroad-on transports from Prague, Berlin, Hamburg, Cologne or Vienna. In a closed housing district, artistic activity, subjected to administrative supervision was harnessed for propaganda purposes. In of ices, institutions, departments and workshops, they made posters, commemorative albums, stamps, badges, emblems, and posters. On special commission, they painted portraits of Jewish dignitaries and German ghetto administration officials. Although the rationing of tools and materials: paints, cardboard, metals, ink was strictly connected with orders, the artists tried to create works that depicted the surrounding reality outside the official circulation and without censorship. The issue of artistic activity in the Łódź ghetto was discussed on the basis of examples of the functioning of selected departments and war-time biographies of the most renowned artists. This analysis makes use of different sources, from surviving ar- chive documents to personal recollections, letters, testimonies, and existing works. Research results that, on the one hand, took into consideration individual information, and on the other – individual feelings of the victims and witnesses, are a starting point for further reconstruction of artistic activity in the Łódź ghetto

The publication is the third volume of the series of reports published in an electronic form, presenting the results of activities carried out in the research project Places of Memory and Ob- livion. Interdisciplinary Studies of the Northern Areas of the Polish Jurassic Highland, implemented in 2014–2019 within the National Programme for the Development of Humanities of the Polish Ministry of Science and Higher Education. It contains the characteristics of Olsztyn commune, the description of its cultural and physical landscape, the commune research diagnosis in the scope of ethnography, archeology, history and art history.

The article attempts to demonstrate associations between works by Izrael Lejzerowicz and avant-garde artists working in Łódź during the interwar period. Lejzerowicz's painting is sometimes connected with a trend called Jewish Expressionism, although many of his works are closer to Symbolism or even to naturalism. However, this text concerns only those artist’s paintings and drawings that reveal his fascination with new directions in the art of the first half of the twentieth century: Expressionism, Cubism, Futurism and even Constructivism.

The aim of the article is to introduce Icchok (Wincenty) Brauner, the artist who was one of the most significant people from a circle of artists in Łódź between 1918 and 1936. He was the initiator of cultural events, contributed to the promotion of Łódź’s art and partici- pated in the activities of artistic groups like Jung Idysz and Grupa Łodzian. Brauner, despite undoubted musical talent, chose the career of painter and sculptor and gained popularity from his theatrical scenery and puppet designs. His output, however various and multi-layered, remains in the shadow of Władysław Strzemiński’s (1893–1952), Katarzyna Kobro’s (1898–1951), Jankiel Adler’s (1895–1949) or Marek Szwarc’s (1892–1958) achievements.

The article discusses changing ways of Jewish cemetery space development in the 19th century.The process began under the influence of progressive demands of Haskalah supporters, but its causes
should be also sought in legislation which at the close of the Age of Reason aimed at improving hygiene and health of citizens living in developing large urban centres. Newly introduced regulations did not concern only Jews, they were general and resulted in a new attitude to
designing necropolises of various denominations. In the first place, evolution of cemetery space affected complexes established in the cities of Western Europe, where progressive Jewish circles were more influential and powerful than orthodox groups. In Central and Eastern
Europe, the process progressed more slowly and met greater resistance of traditionalists.The author of the article discusses reasons and the course of changes which took place in the spatial layout of Jewish cemeteries, referring to particular complexes in Berlin, Vienna, Budapest or Warsaw and Łódź, describes designs and plants of new Jewish cemeteries, which throughout the 19th century became similar to parks with representative avenues, floral decoration and benches.

Stratification of the cemetery's space reflects the social structure of the city, revealing an internal hierarchy, the worldview and the tastes of the inhabitants. The message that a headstone conveys is a resultant of the communication intended by those who commissioned it and the historical context. The means of visual expression, as well as the nature of the embellishments are the necessary tools for its reading. This text is concerned with the possibilities of analysing and interpreting historical forms found at the Jewish cemetery in Łódź, taking into account the time when they were created, the location, the patron and the historical context.

For most of the assimilated Jews, religious reorientation was an alternative to Judaism – increasingly alien to them – and total secularization, and was frequently the only ticket to a career and an improvement of their social status. Only a few of them saw it as a profound religious experience which made them God-fearing, pious Catholics. The biography of Marek Szwarc, a Jewish sculptor, is an interesting material for research regarding his religious conversion. Szwarc, brought up in the spirit of Zionism, initially co-founded the secular culture based on non-religious identity. However, war, civilizational changes, and the crisis of traditional values changed his attitude to religion. This change was reflected in his works created for the expressionist group "Yung-yidish". For Szwarc the introduction of Christian iconography was motivated by the desire to emphasize the universal values associated with the spiritual rebirth of humanity. Even then, he acknowledged the visual " attractiveness " of Christianity, which, combined with expressionist or modernist influences, legitimized artistic progressivism as a manifestation of modern European culture. The turning point in the artist's career was his baptism on May 1, 1920 in Poznań. This paper is an attempt to examine the circumstances of his conversion, taking into account his biography, its social context, as well as the impact of this decision on his art.

A Jewish concept of angels as creatures mediating between God and a human being, gifted with speech and the power to commit good and evil deeds, has shaped throughout the centuries, satisfying both polytheistic longings of the Chosen People and a natural need for deity personification. Gradual anthropomorphisation fully revealed a dualism of angelic nature, in which divine perfection is combined with human weakness. According to folk traditions and legends, angels played an important role in every person’s life, accompanying them from cradle to grave. A vision of angelic and human coexistence in the real world and everyday life inspired Jewish artists and writers in the early 20th century. They benefited from biblical and folk tradition, not being indifferent to Western European culture. Representations of angels have been present in Jewish art for centuries. The Bible mentions the work of Bezalel, who created a chest with two winged Cherubs. Angels appear in ancient mosaics, Medieval illuminations, decorations of everyday objects and in the 19th and 20th centuries also in sculptures and easel painting. One of the most interesting angelic representations is a motif of the Angel of Death inspired by the Bible and folklore. Transformations of his depiction prove the multitude of influences on Jewish art, remaining in constant interaction with a foreign culture. A perfect example illustrating a final effect of a transforma- tion of the biblical Angel of Death having four thousand wings and countless eyes is 20th-century angels by Ephraim Moses Lilien and sculptures by Abraham Ostrzega at the Jewish Cemetery in Warsaw, Poland.