The conference marks the 80th anniversary of the outbreak of World War II and the beginning of the Nazi occupation in Poland. It will deal with all aspects of the changes that took place in Jewish and Polish life during the first period of the Nazi occupation, as well as continuities in both communities. The purpose is to discuss a wide range of issues from all possible disciplines in order to characterize the formative year of the German occupation in Poland, its influence on Jewish and Polish life in the following years, as well as encounters between the two nations during this time.
The interdisciplinary conference will reflect a full range of issues, concepts, and methods in current studies of the Holocaust and of the Nazi occupation in Poland. We invite applications (and encourage young scholars to apply) from all fields and disciplines (history, sociology, economics, psychology, cultural studies, gender studies, to mention but a few) and from countries all over the world.
Examples of possible topics:
- Life under siege: Warsaw, September-October 1939;
- Facing violence: the first Jewish and Polish encounters with Nazi terror;
- Family life and other aspects of everyday life during the initial period of the occupation;
- Making a living: Jews and Poles;
- Patterns of adjustment;
- Jewish and Polish life in cities, small towns and rural areas;
- Polish anti-Jewish manifestations and violence;
- The social, economic and urban implications of the ghettoization process;
- The Polish underground and the Jews;
- The attitude of the Catholic Church towards the occupation and ghettoization;
- Non-Jewish national minorities and the occupier: Roma, Protestants, Orthodox Christians, Greek Catholics and others;
- Going underground: cultural life.

Applicants should submit:
1. A short curriculum vitae (one-page max.) including name, address, e-mail, and telephone number.
2. Paper title and abstract (approx. 500 words, two pages max. in English).
The application deadline is June 30, 2019. Answers will be sent by August 31, 2019.
Languages of the conference: English and Polish with simultaneous translation.
Applications should be sent to: conference2019@1943.pl

For more information, please contact:
Prof. Daniel Blatman: dblatman@1943.pl
Prof. Konrad Zieliński: kzielinski@1943.pl