About PAYS
The Polish Association for Yiddish Studies gathers researchers, translators, and teachers of the Yiddish language and civilization. We are a group of people that read and translate Jewish texts: prose, poetry, and archival materials. We use the knowledge of Yiddish to perform research in the fields of history, sociology, linguistics, culture, and more. We also popularize our research in Poland. Our goal is to preserve Jewish texts as a living part of our culture. We accomplish this by organizing seminars, discussions, conferences, meetings, and also art activities. We are happy to support, through both patronage and consultation, acitivies that are
similar to the goals of the Polish Association for Yiddish Studies.
A Member of the Association can be anyone who would like to support the causes included in the Statute of the Polish Association for Yiddish Studies, will receive a recommendation from two members of the Association, and will pay the membership fee. You can download the membership application here.
1.1 - Board 2022-2025
The current Board of the Polish Association for Yiddish Studies elected during the General Meeting held on November 20, 2022:
dr hab. Joanna Degler (Lisek), prof. UWr – Chair
In May 2019, the Chair of PAYS became Prof. Joanna Degler (Lisek), professor of literature, translator, and lecturer at the Jewish Studies Department of Tadeusz Taube at the University of Wrocław. Her field of interest is in Jewish poetry and Yiddish culture, especially women’s writings. She is the author of the monography Jung Wilne – żydowska grupa artystyczna (Wrocław 2005) and Kol isze – głos kobiet w poezji jidysz (Sejny 2018). She coedited the volumes Nieme dusze? Kobiety w kulturze jidysz (Wrocław 2010) and Mykwa – rytuał i historia (Wrocław 2014). Together with Karolina Szymaniak and Bella Szwarcman-Czarnota, she prepared the volume of poetry Moja dzika koza. Antologia poetek jidysz. She also translated into the Polish language Chava Rosenfarb’s trilogy Drzewo życia (together with M. Ruta, M. Tuszewicki, N. Krynicka, I. Stempin; Łódź 2015-2017) and the literature and art group Jung Jidysz (“Jung-Idisz / Yung-Yidish”, Łódź 2019). Since 2017 she has been an Editor in Chief of the academic publishing series Żydzi. Polska. Autobiografia.
mgr Dariusz Dekiert – Vice-Chair
The Vice-Chair of PAYS is Dariusz Dekiert – specialist in Hebrew and literature, and Sworn Translator of the Hebrew Language. He graduated from Jewish Studies, Semitic Languages, and History at the Freie Universität Berlin. Since 2005 he manages his business in translation. In 2019 he worked at the German Studies Department at the University of Łódź, and he began PhD studies at the University of Łódź where he is working on a dissertation: Od romantycznego zrywu do literackiej trybuny. Łódzka awangarda żydowska w latach 1905-1928. The most important publications include: Elementy magii praktycznej w modlitwach za chorych i zmarłych, [in:] Różni razem: młodzi polscy naukowcy o Żydach. Ed. by J. Żyndul (2008), The Jewish Cemetery In Łódź: At the Crossroads of Two Worlds, [in:] Wielkomiejskie cmentarze żydowskie w Europie Środkowo-Wschodniej, ed. by. I. Gadowska (2017). Together with K. Radziszewska and E. Wiatr he coedited an anthology of the Jews from Łódź in between the wars, Sztetl, szund, bunt i Palestyna (2018); published translations form Hebrew: A. Rzędowska, D. Feldman, Getto żydowskie w okupowanym Piotrkowie (2014), J. Malka, Posłannictwo balanit, [w:] Mykwa – rytuał i historia, ed. by J. Lisek (2014); and translated poetry and prose from Yiddish into Polish in the anthologies: Nowe życie? Antologia literatury jidysz w powojennej Łodzi (2018), ed. by M. Ruta, Oblicza getta. Antologia tekstów z getta łódzkiego (2017), ed. by K. Radziszewska, E. Wiatr, and Budzi się Łódź. Obraz miasta w literaturze do 1939 r. (2019), ed. by K. Badowska, T. Cieślak, K. Pietrych, K. Radziszewska.
dr Adam Stepnowski – Secretary
Since 2019, the Secretary of PAYS has been Adam Stepnowski, interested in the Yiddish language since 2014. He graduated from Jewish Studies in Wrocław with Bachelor and Master degree: Wątki gender i queer we wczesnej twórczości poetyckiej Szmuela Jakowa Imbera (2016) and „Cusztajer” (1929-1931) – analiza zawartości czasopisma i jego znaczenie dla kultury jidysz w Galicji (2018). Currently he is working on a PhD thesis about the birth and development of shund. He was a Fellow at the Medem-Bibliotek in Paris (2018) and The Institute for the History of Polish Jewry (2020). He participated in the Yiddish studies programs in Warsaw, Berlin, and New York. He has been active in PAYS since 2019.
dr Karolina Koprowska – Treasurer
The treasurer at PAYS is Karolina Koprowska, a PhD student at the Polish Philology Department of Jagiellonian University. She is a laureate of Diamont Grant annd her writing is entitled: „Miejsce urodzenia jako kategoria badań kulturowych. Migracje – tożsamość – pamięć”. She teaches the Yiddish language at the Jewish Studies Department in Wrocław and the Jewish Studies Institute at the Jagiellonian University. She was a Fellow of the Education Minister, the YIVO Institute for Jewish Research, and the Rothschild Foundation. She is the author of: Postronni? Zagłada w relacjach chłopskich świadków (Kraków 2018) and co-editor Świadek: jak się staje, czym jest (Warszawa 2019), jak burgund pod światło… szkice o Zuzannie Ginczance (Kraków 2018), Wieś: miejsce, doświadczenie, opowieść (Kraków 2016), Szczekociny w opowieściach mieszkańców. Czasy przedwojenne i wojna (Szczekociny 2014). She also published in „Teksty Drugie”, „Wielogłosie” and „Ruchu Literackim”.
dr Magdalena Kozłowska – Member of the Board
A member of the Board since May of 2019 is Dr. Magdalena Kozłowska – historian, culural studies specialist, translator, and adjunct at the Historical Institute at the University of Warsaw. Her area of interest is particularly the social history of the Jews in between the wars. She is an author of the monography: Świetlana przyszłość? Żydowski Związek Młodzieżowy Cukunft wobec wyzwań międzywojennej Polski (Kraków-Budapeszt 2016). She is a member of the editorial group at In Geveb. She published in Cwiszn, Midrasz, Znak and Kultura Liberalna. Currently she is working on a translation of the reportages from the civil war in Spain by S. L. Shneiderman.
dr Agata Rybińska – Member of the Board
During the General Members Meeting in May 2019, another Board Member chosen was Dr. Agata Rybińska – pedagogue, Bible theologian, and specialist in literature. She was studying in Wrocław at the Jewish Studies Department, and earlier she studied Hebrew at the PFT in Wrocław, PUG in Roma, Hebrew University in Jerusalem, and the University of Tel Aviv. She is interested in Biblical culture, Jewish culture and especially the cultural history, religion, and religious literature of the Jewish languages in the 19th century. In her research on Jewish women, she uses as her sources the Bible, Cene u-rene, women’s prayers books, and Memory Books. She also uses the literary heritage of Wissenschaft des Judentums. Since 2012 she has been working at Maria Curie-Skłodowska University in Lublin Od 2012 roku, at the Jewish History and Culture Department, and on Tuesdays she is busy with other Yiddishist at the Yidish-Tish . Most of her translations are hidden in her drawers.
dr Agnieszka Żółkiewska – Member of the Board
Since May 2019, another Member of the Board is Dr Agnieszka Żółkiewska – employed at the Emanuel Ringelblum Jewish Historical Institute in Warsaw, historian of literature, translator of the Yiddish Language and laureate of the Józef A. Gierowski and Chone Shmeruk Award. She has published, among many others: Słowa pośród nocy. Poetyckie dokumenty Holokaustu (2012), Zerwana przeszłość. Powojenne środowisko inteligencji twórczej. Pomocmaterialna i organizacyjna ze strony CKŻP (2017), and Wolny Ptak. Der Frajer Fojgl. Humor z prasy żydowskiej w Polsce niepodległej (2019).
1.2 - Board 2010-2021
IV Board 2019-2022:
dr hab. Joanna Lisek – Prezeska
mgr Dariusz Dekiert – Wiceprezes
mgr Adam Stepnowski – Sekretarz
mgr Karolina Koprowska – Skarbniczka
dr Magdalena Kozłowska – Członkini Zarządu
dr Agata Rybińska – Członkini Zarządu
dr Agnieszka Żółkiewska – Członkini Zarządu
III Board 2016-2019:
dr hab. Magdalena Ruta – Prezeska
mgr Bella Szwarcman-Czarnota – Wiceprezeska
dr Magdalena Kozłowska – Sekretarz
dr Marek Tuszewicki – Skarbnik
prof. dr hab. Monika Adamczyk-Garbowska – Członkini Zarządu
dr Joanna Lisek – Członkini Zarządu
mgr Anna Rozenfeld – Członkini Zarządu
II Board 2013-2016:
dr hab. Joanna Nalewajko-Kulikov – Prezeska
dr Marek Tuszewicki – Wiceprezes
dr Agata Kondrat – Sekretarz
dr hab. Magdalena Ruta – Skarbniczka
dr Joanna Lisek – Członkini Zarządu
mgr Anna Szyba – Członkini Zarządu
dr Karolina Szymaniak – Członkini Zarządu
I Board 2010-2013:
prof. dr hab. Monika Adamczyk-Garbowska – Prezeska
dr hab. Joanna Nalewajko-Kulikov – Wiceprezeska
mgr Dariusz Dekiert – Skarbnik
dr Agnieszka Żółkiewska – Sekretarz
dr Eleonora Bergman – Członkini Zarządu
dr hab. Magdalena Ruta – Członkini Zarządu
dr Karolina Szymaniak – Członkini Zarządu
2.1 - Audit Committee 2022-2025
Audit Committee of the Polish Association for Yiddish Studies (for 2022-2025):
dr Eleonora Bergman
mgr Agnieszka Ilwicka-Karuna
dr Monika Szabłowska-Zaremba
2.2 - Audit Committee 2010-2021
Audit Committee 2019-2022:
dr Eleonora Bergman
mgr Agnieszka Ilwicka-Karuna
dr Monika Szabłowska-Zaremba
Audit Committee 2016-2019:
dr Eleonora Bergman
mgr Dariusz Dekiert
dr Renata Piątkowska
dr Karolina Szymaniak
Audit Committee 2013-2016:
dr Eleonora Bergman
dr hab. Magdalena Sitarz
mgr Anna Rozenfeld
Audit Committee 2010-2013:
dr Agata Kondrat
dr Helena Datner
dr Marek Tuszewicki.
3.1 - Arbitration Court 2022-2025
During the General Meeting of the PTSJ, which took place on November 20, 2022, the function of the Arbitration Court was assumed by Prof. Magdalena Ruta, PhD, hab. of the Jagiellonian University.
3.2 - Arbitration Court 2010-2021
Arbitration Court 2019-2022:
prof UJ dr hab. Magdalena Ruta
Arbitration Court 2016-2019:
dr hab. Joanna Nalewajko-Kulikov
Arbitration Court 2013-2016:
prof. dr hab. Monika Adamczyk-Garbowska
Arbitration Court 2010-2013:
dr Joanna Lisek