Demons, Dybbuks , and a Water Medium: Possession in Early Twentieth-Century Warsaw
Polin : December 31, 2025 DOI: 10.3828/polin.2026.38.54 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Historical analysis Peer reviewed |
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| Key points | Argues that newspaper coverage of a 1914 Warsaw possession spectacle shows the city's Jews regarded possession as a real, albeit contested, possibility, and traces how traditional demonology and modern occult currents like psychical research and spiritualism diverged and transformed during the affair, alongside the criticism of Jewish intellectuals. |
Abstract
This chapter examines a public spectacle that occurred in Warsaw in early 1914 regarding a case of demonic possession. For close to two months, Warsaw’s Jewish residents were spellbound by demons, dybbuks, and mediums. A careful reading of newspaper coverage of the events reveals how the city’s Jews considered possession a real, albeit contested, possibility. Particular attention is given to divergent models of possession: traditional notions of spirit possession and demonology, modern occult currents—namely psychical research and spiritualism—and the transformation that these underwent over the course of the affair; Tsiporah Kuzka, a 10-year-old Jewish girl whose short-lived fame as a medium gained her entry into the aristocratic salons of Warsaw; and the criticism raised by the city’s Jewish intellectuals in response to the spectacle.