Who Will Write Our History?

Samuel D. Kassow is the Charles Northam Professor of History at Trinity College. He is author of Students, Professors, and the State in Tsarist Russia, 1884–1917 and editor (with Edith W. Clowes) of Between Tsar and People: The Search for a Public Identity in Tsarist Russia. He lives in Hartford, Connecticut.

"In this book, Kassow adheres to Ringelblum's inclusive philosophy, painting an exceedingly comprehensive picture of Jewish life in Warsaw before and during the war."—Zachor"Kassow has made a major contribution to our understanding of the depth of dedication that librarians and archivists should share toward the preservation of their materials."—Matthew Z. Heintzelman, Libraries & Cultural Record Vol. 43"If there is any book that should be read this year (or any year) about the Holocaust it is Who Will Write Our History?Fall 2008"—Jewish Book World"Together, Emanuel Ringelblum and Samuel Kassow help us remember why history matters."—Slavic Review"A stunning revelation of the enduring spirit of the decimated residents of the Warsaw Ghetto."—Rita Kohn, NUVO Weekly". . . one of the most important books I've ever read . . . Kassow has created a stunning and brilliant social history of Polish Jews . . ."—Bonny V. Fetterman, Reform Judaism"This may well be the most important book about history that anyone will ever read."—The New Republic". . . Trinity College professor Kassow's work is well researched, written, and documented. . . . Recommended."—Choice"[A] highly readable, well-grounded study on a fascinating secret undertaking under the boot of National Socialist occupation in Poland."—POLIN: Jrnl Pol-Jew Studies"Samuel Kassow deserves great credit for bringing the history of the Oyneg Shabes and several of its towering figures to the attention of a broader, international audience. Meticulously researched and consistently objective in its account, Who Will Write Our History? is an important scholarly achievement."—World Socialist Web Site"[T]he critical success of Kassow's book is perhaps best explained by the fact that it is far more than a straightforward presentation of the archives. It allows us to relive the daily lives of men and women who were brought together by one man's mad undertaking."—booksandideas.net"The query that gives the book its title is more than answered by the painful text of the book itself. The martyred historians achieved their purpose. It is they who wrote the history that Kassow has transformed into a compelling and significant narrative, a tribute to the courage and determination of the doomed archivists. May 2010"—Hadassah Magazine"This is a book that comes to us at enormous human cost. It deserves to be read and studied by us all. July 14, 2010"—Palm Beach Jewish Journal"Kassow provides a comprehensive overview and interpretation of the value of Ringelblum's determination to keep alive in memory the ordeal of his fellow Jews."—Forward.com"Two major historians meet in this book: one named Ringelblum, the other named Kassow. Drawing on his passion for the past, his revolutionary ethos, his organizational genius, not to speak of his self-discipline, unflagging energy and courage, Emanuel Ringelblum recorded, compiled, and preserved the last chapter of Polish Jewry. Drawing on his vast erudition and moral imagination, Samuel Kassow has rescued this incomparable story. Thanks to him, the Oyneg Shabes Archive is revealed to be the single greatest memory site of east European Jewry."—David G. Roskies, author of Against the Apocalypse"Samuel Kassow's book on Ringelblum and Oyneg Shabes is a chef d'oeuvre. I can only marvel at the author's ability to master a bewildering array of primary and secondary sources and write a temperate but impassioned historical study of his own. It is one of the most important studies on the Holocaust to have appeared in years."—Zachary Baker, Reinhard Family Curator of Judaica and Hebraica Collections, Stanford University Libraries"Samuel Kassow's book Who Will Write Our History? highlights how much we still have to learn about everyday life in the Warsaw ghetto.  It sheds light on a number of overlooked events, individuals, and organizations that characterized the tragic, yet vibrant world of Polish Jewry destroyed by the Nazis."—Alison Rose - Ohio Wesleyan University, Reading Religion

• Introduction 1. From 'Bichuch' to Warsaw 2. Borochov's Disciple 3. History for the People 4. Organizing the Community: Self Help and Relief 5. A Band of Comrades 6. Who Will Write Our History? 7. Traces of Life and Death: texts from the Archive 8. The Tidings of Job 9. A Historian's Final Mission AppendixNotesBibliography