Lviv Ghetto: A Social History and Microhistory of Violence

During the Urban Seminar, the researcher will present a project studying the history of Lviv's Jewish community during World War II, which was one of the largest communities of Polish Jews. Its destruction took place under two occupations—Soviet and Nazi rule (1939–1944).

Her research focuses on social history, the history of space, the destruction of institutions and social ties, and the challenges of displacement and adaptation under conditions of total violence (issues of responsibility, leadership, mutual aid, and survival strategies). This study pays particular attention to the background leading up to the establishment of the ghetto: the state of Jewish self-government in the interwar period, the destruction of national institutions during the Soviet occupation (1939–1941), and especially the first months of violence under Nazi occupation in the urban space.

The researcher will also examine the Lviv ghetto as a phenomenon in two dimensions—how it was similar to and different from other cases. She will address the themes of infrastructure, borders, space, and the dynamics of violence (internal and external) within the ghetto. The research project aims to rethink our understan

ding of the conditions leading to the emergence of the ghetto and how its establishment generally affected the city's residents.

Urban Seminar will be held in a workshop format. Researchers are invited to discuss scholarly projects, research at various stages of development, and completed research that is being prepared for publication.

Participation in the Urban Seminar requires preliminary reading and discussion of the researcher's text. If you would like to join the Seminar, please email Anastasiia Fabirovska (a.fabirovska@lvivcenter.org), and we will send you the materials in advance.