Rewolucyjna młodzież ze Wschodu i berlińscy Patetycy. Związki między ideologią grupy Jung Idysz a grupą Die Pathetiker

Abstract

The Revolutionary Youth from the East and Berlin Pathetiker. The Relationship between the Yung-Yidish and Die Pathetiker Groups

The declarative anti-traditional attitude, which often has been mentioned as the chief feature of the avant-garde, was of double significance in the case of Jewish artists. In addition to striving for a new form in art, they also wanted to transform their Jewish identity and express it in artistic creation. This attitude united the milieus of Jewish artists who in the first two decades of the 20th century were creating a complex and multidirectional network, outstretched between Berlin, Warsaw, Kiev, Lwów and Łódź (to mention just a few). The character of this network was heterogeneous - on the one hand it was a cultural space, a field of constant migrations of ideas and mutual influences. Simultaneously, it was full of tensions, conflicting cultural projects and expectations regarding the form and role of Jewish modern art. The development of Jewish avant-garde groups, their character and dynamics influenced the process of transforming the project of creating national art, as well as its final destiny. The field of particularly intense contacts was the relationship between Jewish expressionists from Roland and Germany. The main aim of this article is take a closer look at the contacts between the milieus of the Berlin group Die Pathetiker and the Łódź group Yung-Yidish. Indeed artists from both groups, tried to combine the Jewish themes and topos with the aesthetics of Expressionism. However, their potential and apparent similarities can be challenged by posing basic questions: did they have similar assumptions and goals, where is the essence of mutual inspirations, and where foundations of differences between them lie?