Galician Portraits. In Search of Jewish Roots
In his first book, Andrew Zalewski traced his mother’s family from the 18th century to the mid-20th. Now, in Galician Portraits, he discovers his father’s side, who also lived in Galicia, but whose experiences were very different simply because they were Jewish. Yet Galician Portraits is much more than a record of one family. The story is anchored in Austrian Galicia (1772–1918), which once spanned parts of today’s Poland and Ukraine; but it also covers centuries of Jewish history there, before and after Austrian Galicia existed. Large cities, small towns, and tiny farming villages are the tale’s backdrop. In them, people from a variety of ethnic groups live alongside a large community of Israelites. Learn more…
Galician Trails. The Forgotten Story of One Family
This is the story of Galicia, once a crown land of the Austrian Empire, located in the center of Europe. Although largely forgotten today, Galicia was a vibrant, multicultural place where the lives of numerous ethnic and religious groups were intertwined for generations. Galician Trails explores every facet of this long-gone land, from tiny farming villages tucked into mountain passes, to towns filled with a variety of small industries and craftspeople, to modern cities with the conveniences of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. The political struggles and wise compromises that kept Galicia’s citizens together for centuries, and the tragic forces that ultimately tore Galicia apart, unfold here before our eyes. Learn more…
Borders of Austro-Hungary in the 19th century.
This was one of the largest countries of Europe with diverse lands and population.
Map of Galicia in the 19th century.
Galicia was the crown land of the Austrian Empire from 1772 until its dissolution in 1918. The names of the towns and villages refer to the places visited on the pages of Galician Trails.