Abstract: Immigration et mise en œuvre du processus d’extermination nazi ont forgé le destin commun de nombre de familles juives en France. Leur patrimoine photographique est à l’image de ces événements, fait de ruptures et de traces en pointillées. Ces photos surprennent bien des fois, émeuvent et surtout instruisent. De ce déracinement à la fois géographique et culturel, plusieurs d’entre elles en ont conservé la trace. C’est à partir de l’étude croisée de visuels représentant le costume traditionnel dans l’aire maghrébine, choisie pour exemple et, par corollaire, de l’analyse onomastique de ceux qui en sont revêtus, qu’il est possible de distinguer les différentes facettes du processus de mutation et, ainsi, mieux apprécier les étapes de ce qu’il est convenu de qualifier de marche à la modernité, une modernité où acculturation et sécularisation sont largement imbriquées.
Abstract: For the first time in a single volume, Opening the Drawer brings together illustrated profiles of three generations of Poles who discovered their hidden Jewish identity in often surprising ways. Drawing on interviews with child survivors of the Holocaust; the post-war second generation; and the post-Communist third generation, these voyages of discovery are not simply variations on a theme, but memorable depictions of unearthing long-buried family histories and secrets. They include the stories of an outstanding Catholic priest, a former anti-Semitic football hooligan, students, academics and renowned writers. Each generation has confronted a specific Polish environment which shaped their lives. The profiles reveal the particular Polish contradictions in coming to terms with their upbringing. Although not all embraced some form of Jewish identity, some merely sought the secrets of their past while retaining their previous identity. In a sharp departure from the past, many Poles are expressing a deep, sympathetic interest in the phenomenon of emerging Jews by flocking to Jewish museums and cultural festivals. Until recently, Poland was regarded as a tragic land of ghosts where Jewish life had ceased to exist. But these wide-ranging profiles reflect a growing spectrum of communal activities that paint a different picture.
