After Death: Identity, Tradition, Ethics, and the Dead Jewish Body in Poland

This chapter explores the deceased Jewish body and the ways in which the dead contributed to the relationship of the living to their own Jewish identity in Poland. During the interwar period the dead Jewish body was a significant part of identity formation, which often led to conflict within Jewish communities. With the onset of the Second World War, the Jewish dead became central to debates about Jewish ethics and tradition. Through examination of yizkor books, newspaper articles, government records, Jewish community records, memoirs, testimonies, and journals, this chapter argues that the living utilized the Jewish dead to contend with issues of identity, gender, ethics, and tradition. By focusing on the dead Jewish body, this chapter ultimately investigates the intersection between tradition and modernity in Jewish eastern Europe.