La prochaine séance de l’atelier “Histoire des Juifs en Europe après 1945″ aura lieu mercredi 9 avril 2014, de 17h à 19h. Nous recevrons Marcelo Dimentstein, doctorant à l’EHESS, qui nous présentera (en anglais) une intervention intitulée “A Transnational Dynamics: The Reconstruction of Jewish Life in Central and Eastern Europe after 1989”. Sa présentation sera discutée par Lisa Vapné, Docteure associée au CERI (Centre d’études de relations internationales, Sciences Po Paris).

La séance aura lieu à l’IHTP, 59/61 rue Pouchet (17e arr.), salle 221.

Résumé / Abstract

A Transnational Dynamics: The Reconstruction of Jewish Life in Central and Eastern Europe after 1989 : The specialized scholarship in contemporary Jewish Europe took note early on about the resurgence of new Jewish identities, the religious revivalism and the increasing institutionalization of the memory of the Shoah, which have been taking place since the collapse of the communist regimes and the consolidation of the EU. Nevertheless, little attention has been paid to the role that transnational Jewish organizations have played in the rebuilding of the Jewish communities of Eastern Europe in the post-communist transition. The investment in millions of dollars for the reconstruction of these “new” communities, the transfer of specialized know-how in community matters to local Jewish leaders, and the bringing-in of an array of new elements connected with foreign Jewish life—such as knowledge, identity markers and practices, which only a few years before were absolutely unknown by these populations—are some of the elements that started to be crucial in this novel transnational flux. Yet, we know very little about the particular dynamics of this process.

This presentation will explore the role of one of the most important Jewish humanitarian agencies, the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee (AJDC or Joint), founded in 1914. Marcelo Dimentstein will first situate the JDC’s operation within the history of modern responses by world Jewry to what were perceived as Jewish transtate or transnational problems. Throughout history, the ethos of solidarity and commitment among Jews adopted various modalities and often emanated from Jewish centers that were able to mobilize financial and political resources on behalf of their brethren. Secondly, he will show how, since mid-1980s, Eastern European Jews were “rediscovered” by a heterogeneous group formed by activists, journalists, scholars and “memory entrepreneurs.” This rediscovery shaped a powerful narrative and was rapidly adopted by the transnational agencies. Finally, he will describe the Jewish institutional dynamics unfolded in the region after 1989 focusing in one of the most important elements, the transnational circulation of money.

Biographie des intervenants

Marcelo Dimentstein est doctorant au Centre de Recherches Historiques de l’EHESS, sous la direction de Nancy L. Green. Né en Argentine, il travaille tout d’abord en tant qu’anthropologue social pour l’Université de Buenos Aires. Depuis janvier 2009, il est en charge de la coordination du Joint Distribution Committee International Centre for Community Development (JDC-ICCD), un centre de recherche sur le judaïsme contemporain créé en 2005 par le bureau européen du JDC.

Après un mémoire de DEA de science politique obtenu à Science-Po Paris intitulé « Trajectoires de la mémoire juive en Biélorussie postsoviétique », Lisa Vapné a rédigé une thèse de science politique soutenue à Sciences-Po Paris en 2013. Cette thèse s’intitule : « Les Remplaçants. Migration juive de l’ex-Union Soviétique à l’Allemagne. 1990-2010 ». Docteure associée au CERI, elle a été ATER de langue et civilisation russe à l’Université Paris-Sorbonne

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