"This is part of our past": the new generation of Poles working to preserve Jewish memory

Many people in Poland are beginning to engage in their past and discover the "open wound" of the state's Jews. They decide to take responsibility for this memory and although they have no personal connection to Judaism, they work to perpetuate it. In fact, Polish society's desire to preserve its Jewish past and present is everywhere

"This is part of our past": the new generation of Poles working to preserve Jewish memory

Poland for the Israeli is most often the tragedy of the Jewish people that occurred on its land. But all of this has a significant backdrop: 800 years of a mighty Jewish community living in Poland - the world's largest Jewish public numbering no less than 3,474,000 Jews who were Polish citizens. 90% of them perished in the Holocaust. But what's going on with all this, today in Poland?

After WWII Poland had 45 years of communism in which preoccupation with Jews and in the past was taboo. In fact, a generation of Poles was born who do not know what Jews are and are not aware of their significant part of the country's history. Another discourse arose in Poland, a liberal discourse, which was further intensified with the accession of Poland to the European Union in 2004 and becoming a developing power. During these years, many in Poland begin to engage in their past and discover the "open wound" of Polish Jews. Miss something they did not know. ”Many decide to take responsibility for this memory and even though they have no personal connection to Judaism , They do lots of things about it.

How does this actually happen? In many academic institutions in Poland (and there are many), memory studies are part of the curriculum. Many Poles work in the preservation of Jewish synagogues and cemeteries, many who study Judaism, Talmud, Halacha, Hebrew and even Yiddish. Quite a few Poles have decided to devote their lives to this activity of preserving Jewish memory in Poland. And that is without being Jews themselves. The Grodzka Gate in Lublin, for example, was set up by a group of actors who planned to set up a theater when they discovered that there was a huge Jewish community in the area that was wiped off the face of the earth. They didn't know anything about it before. Instead of a theater, they set up a modern, spectacular and exciting memory retention center: "It's part of our past" they say.

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The Jewish narrative is also widely accepted in cinema, literature, theater, culture and art. Examples? The Polin Museum that gives a mesmerizing look at a thousand years of Jewish history in Poland, or the Malinsky Musksky Orchestra performing worldwide in a cool jazz revival of old-time music that most of its creators were ... Jews. And, of course, writer Olga Tokarczuk, who won the 2018 Nobel Prize for her works when her first book, translated into Hebrew and soon to be published, deals with Europe's multicultural heritage, with a strong Jewish emphasis. In Poland, even Jewish newspapers such as "Midrash" and "The Jewish Word" - Yiddish Word - are distributed in Polish and Yiddish, which receive state funding in Poland, and of course, without the huge festival of Jewish culture in Krakow, which produces art by contemporary Jewish artists every June. It is also important to understand that dozens of such Jewish festivals take place throughout the year in many cities in Poland - Wroclaw, Warsaw, Lodz and more.

In short, the desire of Polish society to preserve its Jewish past and present is everywhere and permeates the entire society. Only here in the country do not always see it ...

More details on the Polish Institute's website in Israel