The research of Majer Bałaban and his school on the progressive synagogues in the Polish lands : its context and methodological consequences

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The article surveys the social and ideological context of the pre-war studies on the his- tory of the progressive synagogues (including the works of M. Bałaban, L. Streit, T. Mahler, S. Zilbersztejn) and the way the perspective adopted by the pre-war authors influenced the works of the last decades. The authors of the pre-war studies often sympathized with the pro- gressive circles, and two most important monographs of the progressive synagogues (those in Lwów and Stanisławów) were written to order of these very circles. It significantly determined their character (the annalistic qualities, meticulousness, very positive attitude towards the described problem). The influence of the pre-war works can be clearly visible in the contem- porary studies. It is manifested primarily in the geography of the scientific interest (described are these synagogues which were described before the war), in the focus on the outstanding individuals rather than the social description of these circles, and in adopting the perspective of intra-community disputes (so called progressive-othodox conflict).