56 Friday, December 23, 1977 THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS
Polish Jewry's Historic Role, Its 1864-1939 Image,
Portrayed in an Authoritative Photographic Account
From more than 10,000 sources, two eminently
photographs in the files of qualified, historically
the YIVO Institute, and trained authorities have
from other secondar produced an illustrated vol-
etz and Sholem Asch, but
It is a story of the emi-
of a long history filled with
ume that reconstructs the
the most eminent in all
nent intellectuals, the great
nostalgia and marking prog-
history of Polish Jewry up
walks of Polish Jewish life
authors, many of whom had
ress that had come to
to the outbreak of World
are recorded in this collec-
gained world fame. The
naught, under the destruc-
War II and the Nazi
tive effort.
photo reproduced here from
live rule of barbarians. The
Holocaust that destroyed
the impressive book, of Sho-
tale of glory concludes with
that culturally and spirit-
The photographs repro-
lem Asch and his associ-
a photo of Nazis arriving in
ually rich community of
duced here relate to the
ates, attests to that faction
Warsaw in 1939 with posters
3,500,000.
complete text only minute-
whose eminence is portray-
on the German train' pro-
"Image Before My Eyes"
ly. A vast effort has gone
ed
in
a
volume
so
full
of
claiming "We're going to
(Schocken Books) is the
into the task of depicting
recollections of a rich era,
Poland to beat up the
deeply moving account of a
young and old, those who
the memory of which can be
Jews."
community whose glory was
reflected the life of mystics
Fortunately YIVO had kept revered by the work
rooted in great achieve-
as well as the philosophic
achieved in "Image Before
ments. It is the photograph- rescued and preserved the
the faithfully religious anu
My Eyes."
photographs that fill this
is history of Polish Jewry.
Hasidic and the secularly
The merchant and the phi- modernistic.
There is certain to be a volume.
losopher, the Yeshiva stu-
The story relates the reli-
sense of gratitude from
"Image Before My Eyes"
dent and the radical, the
those acquiring this vast gious fervor of the Polish
is both history and photog-
painter and the entertainer
Jews, to the Hasidim who
collection of hundreds of
raphy in the best sense of a
— no one is overlooked or
photographs incorporated in
are part of their history, yet
unity, defining important
forgotten in these records.
the book, with impressive
the secularists are not over-
eras in Jewish life.
Not only Isaac Leib Per-
explanatory texts by Dr.
looked.
Lucjan Dobszycki, the ca-
taloguer, associate profes-
sor of history at the Max
blies. Others regard it as a
and their functions in the
BY JOSEPH GOLDSCHMIDT
Weinreich -Center for Ad-
road whose continuation is
past
are
being
investigated.
Deputy
Mayor
of
Jerusalem
vaned Jewish Studies,
When more of the top layer believed to have been dis-
Jerusalem is assuming a
YIVO, and author of many
covering the Armenian covered far inside the Old
works on Polish Jewish his- stature and richness that
Slope is removed its natural City.
tory; and Dr. Barbara Kir- was unsuspected a few
As we continue beyond the
forms should appear.
shenblatt-Rimglett, noted years ago.
Now let us move on along Dung Gate we see excava-
Take for instance the
ethnographer and folklorist
the wall, passing Zion Gate, tions and reconstructions
who specializes in Yiddish Citadel and David's Tower
(not yet completed) on our
pockmarked on the outside
near Jaffa Gate. Everyone
culture of Eastern Europe
from the shooting in two of left and some intriguing
has walked along the Old
and is associate professor of
Israel's wars. A beautiful engineering problems on
City Wall up towards the
folklore and folk life at the
new road, Maale Hashalom, our right. In the latter
new town. The palm trees
University of Pennsylvania.
skirts the Old City and direction we have a sharp
and
shrubs
of
the
National
"Image Before My Eyes"
brings us to the Dung Gate, descent to the Pool of
is the remarkable account
Park along the foot of the
used by throngs of visitors Siloam down a steep road
wall make this a pleasant
since it is so near to the winding between dense
promenade. But the wall
Western Wall and the Arab housing, while the vil-
also continues from Jaffa
Temple Mount.
lage Silouan with an esti-
-
Gate southward before tak-
Building Maale Hashalom mated population of 15,000
ing a sharp turn towards
has given us some sur- occupies the opposite slope.
Zion Gate.
prises. On one side of the Here, too, the burial
Inside the wall there is
road, clinging to the City grounds of the age-old
the Armenian Quarter, but
Wall, ohe looks into the Mount of Olives cemetery
on the outside a steep slope,
rooms of living quarters, reach down to the Valley of
appropriately called the
Armenian Slope, leads down dating back to the Second Yehoshaphat at the foot of
Temple Period. These, too, the Temple Mount.
to the upper reaches of the
The Arab population
had been covered and oblit-
Hinnom Valley. This part of
erated for centuries. Then, badly needs a road in that
the wall looked neither
the road passes over an area for the one built by the
impressive nor beautiful —
ancient pavement, lying Jordanians while they held
until digging began during
much below the street level, East Jerusalem had to be
recent years. Soon the Old
formed of large slabs of nat- dosed when found that it
City Wall was cleared down
ural stone. At some places was constructed over
to bedrock, adding from
the pavement -is as much as ancient Jewish graves.
three to five meters to its
17 meters wide, and some Clearly all the ingenuity of
height.
archeologists believe this Jerusalem's planners and
Also, in this area,
was a plaza rather than a engineers is needed to solve
unknown entrances into the
road, serving mass assem- these problems.
Old City have come to light
erusalem's Secrets Are Unveiled
Shown pausing during a summer's stroll are, standing,
from left, Sholem Asch, Isaac Leib Peretz, Peretz's son
Lucjan. Lying, Hersh Dovid Nomberg. Asch and Nomberg
were active in Peretz's literary circle in Warsaw. Nom-
berg, a Yiddish and Hebrew essayist and short-story writer,
was a founder of the Folkist Party (based on the ideas of
Simon Dubnow's Diaspora Nationalism), and served in the
Polish Parliament in 1919 and 1920.
1
*
Business courtyard on Nalewji Street, Jewish quarter of Warsaw 1938.In
shops on upper floors and on the street level were living and business
quarters that were often combined in one space. Photo by Roman Vishniac.
Connecting the Mount of Olives with Mount Zion, the Maale Hashalom road passes the
Old City walls, the Al Aqsa Mosque, Dung Gate and excavations of 2,000-year-old homes.