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.
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
“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
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
