• For the Good of the Nation
1 1

For the Good of the Nation

$109.00
$0.00 $109.00
Sold out
Through an innovative network of local associations, Jewish leaders in interwar Poland cooperated to aid orphaned children. Their work exemplifies the goal to build a Jewish future. Translations of...
Read More
  • 11 July 2017
View Product Details
Tens of thousands of Jewish children were orphaned during World War I and in the subsequent years of conflict. In response, Jewish leaders in Poland established CENTOS, the Central Union of Associations for Jewish Orphan Care. Through CENTOS, social workers and other professionals cooperated to offer Jewish children the preparation necessary to survive during a turbulent period. They established new organizations that functioned beyond the authority of the recognized Jewish community and with the support of Polish officials. The work of CENTOS exemplifies the community’s goal to build a Jewish future. Translations of sources from CENTOS publications in Yiddish and Polish describe the lives of the orphaned Jewish children and the tireless efforts of adults to better the children’s circumstances.
files/i.png Icon
Price: $109.00
Pages: 242
Publisher: Academic Studies Press
Imprint: Academic Studies Press
Series: Jews of Poland
Publication Date: 11 July 2017
Trim Size: 9.21 X 6.14 in
ISBN: 9781618115676
Format: Hardcover
BISACs: Social and cultural history
REVIEWS Icon
“For the Good of the Nation should be an interesting book and source of references for researchers of interwar Polish-Jewish society, culture, social politics, and education. All readers will have a chance to discover in this volume something relevant to their research. It may serve also as an important inspiration for the next research undertaking.” —Kamil Kijek, Institute for Jewish Studies, University of Wrocław, Slavic Review, Vol. 77, No. 4
— Kamil Kijek

“Although orphan care in Poland after World War I is often mentioned in Polish studies, Martin’s book is the first to cover this topic—and American assistance in particular—in such a thorough and detailed fashion. … Sean Martin collected material for his book in libraries and archives on three continents. Not every specialist on interwar Poland, Jewish history, Polish-Jewish-American relations, or history of social work—to whom this book would be of particular interest—has had such an opportunity. By publishing his documentary history, Martin has unlocked the libraries and archives for his colleagues. Documents sitting untouched on the shelves of archives or libraries, like books with uncut edges, remain silent. Martin has allowed them to speak. Moreover, by reconstructing the tragic history, he, either explicitly or implicitly, holds us accountable to children for all the wars that we have waged and, sadly, continue to wage.” —Olga Medvedeva-Nathoo, The Polish Review

Sean Martin is the author of Jewish Life in Cracow, 1918-1939. He is Associate Curator for Jewish History at Western Reserve Historical Society, Cleveland, Ohio.
Introduction

I: A History of CENTOS

II: Descriptions of Homes for Children

The “Orphanage in Pinsk”

Ben-Levi

The Publication of the Home for Orphans in Lwów, Zborowska 8

Maks Schaff

Childish Stubbornness: Notes of a Teacher

Tsvi Tarlovski

Pen Strokes (From My Inspections in the Provinces)

A. Goldin

Images of Youth in School Publications

Leon Gutman

The Strike: An Image of Dormitory Life

Yakov Sarner

III: Home for Jewish Children and Farm in Helenówek

Education or Crime? From the Diary of an Educator

Yekhiel Ben-Tsiyon Kats

IV: CENTOS in Otwock

The Therapeutic and Educational Institution in Otwock (Three Months of Activity)

Zofia Rosenblum

Awakening in an Institution (Images of an Institution for Defective Children in Otwock)

Kalman Lis

Two Visits in CENTOS

Helena Boguszewska

Five Years of CENTOS Activity in Otwock

Zofia Rosenblum

Working with Abnormal Children: On Eight Years of CENTOS in Otwock

Abraham Berger

Afterword

Acknowledgments

Index