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The article discusses inconsistency existing in the Jewish policy of the Duchy of Warsaw, resulting from divergent normativities. Examined are the ways these normativities were handled, transformed, and conceptualised. The analysis refers to the concept of multinormativity and highlights the dynamics standing behind Jewish policy, as well as various influences on the way legal order was interpreted. Considered is the presence of legal assumptions derived from the normativities inherent in Old Polish traditions, being the main obstacle to the implementation of Napoleonic egalitarian norms. The article argues that equality claims and first attempts at their implementation existed alongside traditional ideas, social habits, and practices.

Among the most important aspects of government policy aimed at Jews in the nineteenth-century Polish lands was the issue of where Jews could reside. Medieval in its roots, the conviction that some form of separation was needed was vested in contemporary arguments. Pertinent in this context was the stance taken by the authorities of the Duchy of Warsaw. The article discusses the question whether old city privileges imposing restrictions on Jews were in force at that time. The author claims—contrary to previous historiography—that this question cannot be reduced to a simple “yes”or “no”answer. Referring to the concepts of sociology of law, the double dimension of law (law in books and law in action) can be identified. The issue may serve as an interesting example of legal pluralism and the power of law-convictions. Based on ministerial and local correspondence, the analysis leads to two major conclusions. First, while in theory old city privileges were no longer in force— and this was clearly stated by ministers—the latter decided to refrain from announcing this to the public. Moreover, they agreed to develop an unofficial policy of resolving some cases “as if the old privileges were still binding.”Second, the officially introduced concept of district (rewir) was designed to replace the old privileges, as it offered a variety of new justifications. These were linked to the modernization policy, with claims regarding the integration of acculturated individuals, order, sanitation, and safety.

The book is the first attempt at a comprehensive description of the policy pursued by the authorities of the Duchy of Warsaw (1807–1815) towards the Jews. The Duchy was a state straddling two eras, torn between the feudal world and the 19th century’s dreams of progress. It introduced mechanism of modern management, but the old ideas and social attitudes were still very much alive. It is this tension between new regulation and old habits that is the subject of this book.

Celem artykułu jest przedstawienie problematyki zróżnicowania poziomu wiedzy o historii Polski XX w. uczniów szkół ponadgimnazjalnych. Zarysowano kontekst teoretyczny i metodologiczno-badawczy oraz przedstawiono analizy poziomu wiedzy w zależności od wybranych charakterystyk uczniów. Analizy przeprowadzono z wykorzystaniem dwupoziomowych modeli regresji liniowej na danych z ogólnopolskiego, reprezentatywnego dla populacji uczniów szkół ponadgimnazjalnych, badania postaw wobec historii Polski XX w. Na jego podstawie zdiagnozowano znaczące różnice w poziomie wiedzy w zależności od typu szkoły ponadgimnazjalnej i płci. Podjęto próbę interpretacji dostrzeżonych różnic w szerszym kontekście – poprzez uwzględnienie dodatkowych czynników wyjaśniających: rodzinnych, szkolnych, indywidualnych, związanych z potencjalnymi zainteresowaniami historycznymi oraz natężeniem postaw wobec historii. Kontrola dodatkowych czynników (przede wszystkim natężenia postaw) wpłynęła na zmniejszenie efektów typu szkoły i płci, jednakże pozostały one istotne.

Chronological thinking is an indispensable tool to structure a historical narrative and to give meaning to a sequence of events. It is not a natural skill, so the conscious inclusion of tasks stimulating that skill in teaching is crucial. It is important to appropriately test students’ chronological skills by means of well-constructed examination tasks administered at the conclusion of subsequent stages of education. The authors discuss tasks that assess chronological thinking included in contemporary exam papers in Finland, France, the Netherlands, Russia, the USA and the United Kingdom. The tasks included in Polish arts and humanities exam papers at the lower secondary school level in the years 2002–2011 and the first history paper (2012) are then analysed. The final section presents the results of a survey to test the chronological thinking of lower secondary school students carried out by the Educational Research Institute.