A tour of Krakow’s Jewish neighbourhood

Synagogue in Krakow's quarter of Kazimierz

In the last fifteen years or so, the local government and Jewish organizations from Poland and abroad have been doing much to revive Jewish culture in Krakow’s Kazimierz district. Its somewhat questionable authenticity does not seem to deter the tourists who come flocking to the narrow streets of the quarter.

One of the places on their itinerary is the Galicia Museum. It focuses not only on documenting the tragic plight of the Jews of southern Poland but also on bringing to life the relics of Jewish life and culture through exhibitions, lectures and concerts. The Museum is the brainchild of the British photographer Chris Schwarz.

"The museum is trying to enable people to look again at Polish-Jewish history. I see it very much as building bridges between different realities, different narratives. We get many Jews in here who don’t always have a very good view of Poland, partly because of the experiences they had during World War Two. I don’t want to diminish those experiences but I want to show that this is not the only narrative which is why we have this fairly new exhibition called ‘Polish Heroes, which is a tribute to the Polish Righteous who’ve been recognized by the Yad Vashem Institute as people who risked their lives to save Jews. I see this museum as keeping Jewish culture alive, as a way of honouring those murCould you do something with that? dered and as building bridges between Poles and Jews".

Cemetery in Kazimierz

For the foreign tourists in Krakow, the tour of the Galicia Museum is an eye opening experience.

"For me it puts a lot of light on the subject. I was ignorant about the relationship in Poland between Catholicism and the Jewish part of society. I didn’t realise there was such a big component of Jewish life and culture in Poland. I think it’s important that people are aware of the past life and culture of these Jewish communities because they did contribute to the cultural life in Poland."

"The Irish people had nothing to do with the Holocaust but this exhibition brings tears to my eyes. My wife is a school teacher. It’s good to explain to the children what happened during the Holocaust. People should not forget. They are not allowed to forget."

The main exhibition at the Galicia Museum – Traces of Memory - consists of 150 large-format colour photographs documenting the old cemeteries, synagogues and houses of prayer in the towns and villages where Jewish life once flourished. Many of them have been renovated in recent years. According to Chris Schwarz, such a revitalization programme is, understandably enough, limited in scope.

Restaurant "Ariel"in Kazimierz

"Let’s be realistic, you can’t preserve every single synagogue, every single cemetery, every house that a Jew lived in, every house where someone was murdered. I’ll give you an example. Some Jewish visitors to this museum feel uncomfortable at the commercial developments, the bars and cafes in the Kazimierz district. I think they are wrong. We should still be very sensitive to the history, without any question, but you can’t put a fence around Kazimierz. It’s just not practical. We have to take some tough, bold and imaginative decisions about what is left, how to preserve it and I think a lot of it does need preservation. It’s not only part of Jewish international heritage. It is part of Polish history."

The district of Kazimierz was founded for Jews in 1335 by King Casimir the Great, who gave Jews civil rights that they did not enjoy in many other countries in Europe, and guaranteed them a peaceful life. Today, Krakow’s Jewish community numbers some 150. The World Jewish Relief Organization is planning to build a centre that will serve as a meeting place for them. It is one of several initiatives aimed at reviving Jewish life in the city of Krakow.

Listen to the report:

Tags architecture, jews, krakow, tourism

Share digg del.icio.us facebook newsvine

Listen Real Audio Download MP3 Podcast Subscribe

The president of Romania Traian Basescu has survived an impeachment referendum. On May the 19th, Romanians decided to go on with their popular, reformist president. He was suspended a month ago by a Parliamentary majority on allegations that he violated the Constitution. But shortly after Basescu was in hot water again for calling a journalist a “dirty gypsy”. 

French President Nicolas Sarkozy's ties to business and media came under fresh attack this week, after his former deputy campaign director took on a top post, at the country's most popular television station, TF1. The Owner of the channel, billionaire Martin Bouygues, is a close friend of Sarkozy. Earlier on, critics in France were concerned by the decision made by the Journal du Dimanche newspaper not to publish an article revealing that Sarkozy's wife Cecilia did not vote in the second round presidential poll. 

It is a sticky issue that politicians across Europe are having to ponder, with the entry of far right parties into mainstream politics.  Sweden's far right party, the Sweden Democrats, burst into the limelight after success in the country's regional elections last autumn. They held their annual conference last weekend. While not so long ago, the event might have only recorded a minor headline or two, these days the anti-immigrant party is big news. So much so, that the country's politicians are now not only engaging in public debate with the party, they're receiving tips on how to do it. 

More and more expatriates or expats are getting involved in politics in Spain, for instance in the country’s local elections. Namely, from the country’s large expat community. For more than a decade, European Union citizens have had the right to vote and stand as candidates in local elections, in any EU country if they live there as residents. Until now these expats have been keeping relatively quiet, but that’s no longer the case. In Spain, for the first time, independent political parties with more non-Spanish than Spanish candidates are taking part in local elections.