This seminar will focus on the women and men behind the symbol of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising, as a major test case of Jewish armed resistance in the ghettos in Poland. Its leading question will be: What were the driving forces behind the uprising? In the historical aspect, we will study the social composition of rebels as a reflection of "Modern Jewish Politics." In the theoretical aspect, we will examine the uprising as a manifestation of a distinct social formation, the "Jewish youth movement." In the methodological aspect, we will practice the reading of Holocaust memoirs, written from different perspectives, in terms of place, language, political affiliation and gender.

2025 Course Syllabus