This chapter lays out key questions and concepts in the book. It discusses the author’s concept, the atrocity of hunger, the intentional starvation of a group through the denial of access to food, and it includes more than just the embodied experience of starvation: the physical and mental suffering that humans undergo due to the physiological effects of starvation, as well as the transformation and breakdown of families, communities, and individuals whose lives and core beliefs are shaped by starvation. It is also the process as experienced by individuals, households, and communities as they move from food insecurity to a state of starvation. It outlines that the coping mechanisms employed by the Jews during this experience provide a window into their everyday life during the Holocaust. This chapter lays out the role of food access as a key factor of survival and frames this question squarely within the framework of genocidal famine. It lays out the differences between the three cities under consideration: Lodz, Warsaw, and Krakow.

Poland’s loss of independence and the partition of its territory by the three neighbouring states (Russia, Austria and Prussia) had a significant influence on the development of musical life and institutions during the nineteenth century. In spite of some limitations, Polish theatres presented high artistic standards in Warsaw (Russian partition) and in Lviv (annexed by Austria). Krakow (part of the Austro-Hungarian empire) did not have a permanent opera stage, but the opera ensemble from Lviv was a frequent visitor.

From its first appearance on Polish stages, French opera – particularly the works of Meyerbeer and Massenet – was in competition with Italian works, as well as the German ones in the Prussian partition. Carmen was first staged in Warsaw in 1882, and then in Lviv and Krakow (both 1884). The libretto was translated into Polish, and translations of popular arias entered the repertoire of many soloists. This chapter will address the reception of Carmen in Poland, local and transnational influences on the circulation of operatic repertory and performance traditions, institutional collaboration and social and economic aspects of musical life at regional and European levels.