Hasidism began as a radical mystical movement whose rapid growth has puzzled scholars until this day. Recent research has used new tools including GIS to explore questions about the origins, spread, and post-Holocaust resurgance of this most important socio-religious movement in modern Judaism. Is it true that Hasidism dominated most of East European Jewry by the end of the eighteenth century? What were the borders of Hasidic influence and how did they change? Which Hasidic dynasties were strongest and why? How did Hasidism resurrect in the post-Holocaust world and how strong is it today?
Marcin Wodziński is professor of Jewish history and literature at the University of Wrocław, Poland. His books include: Hebrew Inscriptions in Silesia 13th-18th c. 1996), Haskalah and Hasidism in the Kingdom of Poland (2005), and Hasidism and Politics: The Kingdom of Poland, 1815-1864(2013). He is the author of three new works on Hasidism, Hasidism: A New History (contributor; 2018), Historical Atlas of Hasidism (2018), and Hasidism: Key Questions (2018).