Herman Czerwiński – zapomniany krytyk z getta warszawskiego w świetle publicystyki teatralnej «Gazety Żydowskiej»

Abstract

This article analyses the work of Herman Czerwiński as a leading theater critic of Gazeta Żydowska (Jewish Gazette), published by Jewish journalists under the control of the Nazis in 1940–1942 in the General Governorate for the Occupied Polish Region. To date, his contributions to the Gazeta Żydowska have received little scholarly attention, whether in publications about Jewish press or about Jewish theater during the Second World War. The authors of the article focus on Czerwiński’s opinions on the activity of Warsaw Ghetto theaters, his assessment of their repertoire policy, and his way of reviewing performances staged in the ghetto. The primary research method was quantitative-qualitative content analysis of all 279 editions of Gazeta Żydowska. In order to determine how Czerwiński was perceived in the ghetto, the research also included Gazeta Żydowska articles mentioning him, as well as diaries and memoirs of members of the Jewish intelligentsia. The research also reconstructed the critic’s earlier life, particularly his links with theater, based on pre-war publications from Polish and Jewish press.

Keywords

• herman czerwiński
• «gazeta żydowska»
• jewish theater
• theater criticism
• warsaw ghetto