Acquiring Information: Polish Jewish Families in Postwar Displacement

Based on oral testimonies, this presentation will discuss the migratory experiences of Polish Jewish families in displacement in the aftermath of World War II. It will focus on their agency—choices and decisions— showing how they improvised or acted creatively, at times outside legal bounds, in search for a new home. The presentation will place their agency within gendered family dynamics and the broader social, cultural, and economic contexts. While the postwar displacement maintained gender inequalities, it also created conditions in which women and children could exercise meaningful action by inverting the traditional family roles and using the resources available to them. Most valuable among those resources was information about legal and illegal migratory routes, available jobs, and economic and educational prospects.