Alina Cała
Encyclopedia
Alina Cała is a Polish
writer, historian and sociologist. An associate professor (adiunkt) of the Jewish Historical Institute
, she specialises in the history of 19th and 20th century Polish-Jewish history
, antisemitism and Jewish assimilation in Central
and Eastern Europe
.
After 1976 Alina Cała was a collaborator of the Workers' Defence Committee
and Committee for Social Self-defence KOR
. In the 1980s she also co-founded the folk high school
in Zbrosza Duża
, perhaps the first institution for adult education independent from the communist authorities since the end of World War II
. After 1989 she has been a feminist and pro-choice activist. She collaborates with the Greens 2004 party.
As a historian, Alina Cała focuses mostly on Polish-Jewish relations in the last two centuries. Among her most important works is the Assimilation of Jews in the Kingdom of Poland (1864-1897) (published in 1989). Her most cited work is The Image of the Jew in Polish Folk Culture (1st edition 1987), since then also published in English. In recent years she published a variety of historical books on modern Polish-Jewish history, notably the ideological views of the last generation of Jewish-Polish youth before the war, and the Polish-Jewish history between 1944 and 1968.
She claims that Poles share responsibility for the deaths of 3 million Jews during the Nazi Holocaust in Poland in an 2009 interview for Rzeczpospolita
.
Her views have been criticized by historians of the Polish Institute of National Remembrance
, including Prof. Andrzej Paczkowski
.
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
writer, historian and sociologist. An associate professor (adiunkt) of the Jewish Historical Institute
Jewish Historical Institute
The Jewish Historical Institute is a research institute in Warsaw, Poland, primarily dealing with the history of Jews in Poland.The Jewish Historical Institute was created in 1947 as a continuation of the Central Jewish Historical Commission, founded in 1944. The Jewish Historical Institute...
, she specialises in the history of 19th and 20th century Polish-Jewish history
History of the Jews in Poland
The history of the Jews in Poland dates back over a millennium. For centuries, Poland was home to the largest and most significant Jewish community in the world. Poland was the centre of Jewish culture thanks to a long period of statutory religious tolerance and social autonomy. This ended with the...
, antisemitism and Jewish assimilation in Central
Central Europe
Central Europe or alternatively Middle Europe is a region of the European continent lying between the variously defined areas of Eastern and Western Europe...
and Eastern Europe
Eastern Europe
Eastern Europe is the eastern part of Europe. The term has widely disparate geopolitical, geographical, cultural and socioeconomic readings, which makes it highly context-dependent and even volatile, and there are "almost as many definitions of Eastern Europe as there are scholars of the region"...
.
After 1976 Alina Cała was a collaborator of the Workers' Defence Committee
Workers' Defence Committee
The Workers’ Defense Committee was a Polish civil society group that emerged under communist rule to give aid to prisoners & their families after the June 1976 protests & government crackdown...
and Committee for Social Self-defence KOR
Committee for Social Self-defence KOR
Committee for Social Self-defence KOR was a Polish civil society group that emerged under communist rule. It was created in 1977 from the Workers' Defence Committee . It was one of the movements whose activities led to the creation of Solidarity...
. In the 1980s she also co-founded the folk high school
Folk high school
Folk high schools are institutions for adult education that generally do not grant academic degrees, though certain courses might exist leading to that goal...
in Zbrosza Duża
Zbrosza Duza
Zbrosza Duża is a village in the administrative district of Gmina Jasieniec, within Grójec County, Masovian Voivodeship, in east-central Poland. It lies approximately south-east of Grójec and south of Warsaw.-References:...
, perhaps the first institution for adult education independent from the communist authorities since the end of World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. After 1989 she has been a feminist and pro-choice activist. She collaborates with the Greens 2004 party.
As a historian, Alina Cała focuses mostly on Polish-Jewish relations in the last two centuries. Among her most important works is the Assimilation of Jews in the Kingdom of Poland (1864-1897) (published in 1989). Her most cited work is The Image of the Jew in Polish Folk Culture (1st edition 1987), since then also published in English. In recent years she published a variety of historical books on modern Polish-Jewish history, notably the ideological views of the last generation of Jewish-Polish youth before the war, and the Polish-Jewish history between 1944 and 1968.
She claims that Poles share responsibility for the deaths of 3 million Jews during the Nazi Holocaust in Poland in an 2009 interview for Rzeczpospolita
Rzeczpospolita (newspaper)
Rzeczpospolita is a Polish national daily newspaper, with a circulation around of 160,000. Issued every day except Sunday. Rzeczpospolita was printed in broadsheet format, then switched to compact at October 16, 2007...
.
Her views have been criticized by historians of the Polish Institute of National Remembrance
Institute of National Remembrance
Institute of National Remembrance — Commission for the Prosecution of Crimes against the Polish Nation is a Polish government-affiliated research institute with lustration prerogatives and prosecution powers founded by specific legislation. It specialises in the legal and historical sciences and...
, including Prof. Andrzej Paczkowski
Andrzej Paczkowski
Prof. Andrzej Paczkowski is a Polish historian. Professor of Collegium Civitas, director of Modern History Studies in the Political Institute of Polish Academy of Sciences, member of Collegium of Institute of National Remembrance.In 1960 he finished studies at the history department of the...
.