Dr. Joshua D. Zimmerman, Professor of History and the Eli and Diana Zborowski Professorial Chair in Holocaust Studies at Yeshiva University in New York, will discuss his recent book The Polish Underground and the Jews, 1939–1945. He will examine one of the central problems in the history of Polish-Jewish relations: the attitude and the behavior of the Polish Underground – the resistance organization loyal to the Polish government -in-exile – toward the Jews during World War II. Using a variety of archival documents, testimonies, and memoirs, Zimmerman offers a careful, dispassionate narrative, arguing that the reaction of the Polish Underground to the catastrophe that befell European Jewry was immensely varied, ranging from aggressive aid to acts of murder.

Dr. Zimmerman received his Ph.D. in comparative history from Brandeis University. He also holds an M.A.in History from the University of California at Los Angeles and a B.A. from the University of California at Santa Cruz. His interests include East European Jewish history, modern Europe, Russia/Eastern Europe, and nationalism.