A revival of Jewish life in Kazimierz

Poland, now considered a relatively homogenous country with a government hostile to immigrants, was once a country with a very diverse population. I was surprised to learn that more Jews lived in Poland than in any other country in Europe. There were periods of harmony and conflict over centuries, and then came the 20th century: the Holocaust, when 90 percent of the Jewish population perished or fled; survivors returned to a country that felt like a cemetery, controlled by the Soviet Union. Later, Jews were blamed for the 1968 student protests, and once again, more Jews felt emigration was their only or best choice.

The fall of communism in Poland in 1989 allowed a Jewish cultural revival to begin. Fast forward to 2019. There are now festivals, study programs and completed restoration of historic synagogues. Kazmierz, a suburb of Krakow, a short walk from Wawel Cathedral, is one locus of this revival as well as being a rather lively area of coffee houses, bars and restaurants popular with young people.

Renate had been looking forward to visiting Kazmierz ever since we arrived in Krakow for our 5-night stay. She wanted to see the revival, the blades of grass after the scorched earth of the Holocaust. We planned it for the last day. I have to confess I dragged my heels, it being the day after our Auschwitz visit. On my own I would have chosen something frivolous, but in retrospect, I'm glad we stuck with our plan. It turned out to be one of our best days of the trip to Poland.

The picture that returns to mind most often is of this proprietor in the Jarden Jewish Bookshop on Szeroka Street.

I was entranced by the music playing in the shop on the morning of our visit.  Both Renate and I enjoy klezmer music, and this man who took the time to chat with us about his favorites, led to the discovery of what is now one of my favorite CDs: Nigel Kennedy and the Kroke Band. It's a fusion album, and this piece, Lullaby for Kamila, is especially beautiful.

First stop on our walk that chilly morning in early May was the Isaac Synogogue, built in the 1620s. Ransacked by the Nazis,the surviving hull of the building was fully restored in the 1990s. We spent a quiet time there, enjoying the peaceful atmosphere and the ornate stuccoed ceiling.

The oldest and most impressive synagogue we saw was the Old Synagogue (Stara Synagoga) on the utica Szeroka (Wide Street), once the focus of religious life in Krakow. The Renaissance building, designed by the Florentine architect Matteo Gucci in the 1570s, provided another peaceful interlude, as well as a look at historical events that took place here. Destroyed by the Nazis, the painstakingly rebuilt structure has become a museum of Jewish life in Krakow.

My favorite painting was this one of a Jewish girl in 1901. I loved her somewhat sassy and sweet expression.

At noon Renate and I stopped at the Hamsa restaurant serving "New Israeli" cuisine. Ancient exterior, modern interior; the website is worth a look. Eco-friendly, peace friendly: "Make hummus, not war."Kid-friendly place too, as you can see from this photo, and a menu that pleased Renate immensely. 

In the afternoon we visited the Remu'h Synagogue, which is still a prayer house and pilgrimage site. Built in 1557, probably in memory of victims of the plague. It's named after the founder's son, Rabbi Moses Isserlis, whose Talmudic school was renowned in 16th century Europe. Behind it as an ancient cemetery. A number of tombstones were dug up in the 1950s, having been covered by earth in the interwar years, as the Nazis smashed the site during their occupation. Outside the entrance to this small synagogue is a collage of torn up tombstones, linked to form a high, powerful Wailing Wall.

We finished our tour of this section of Kazimierz with a stop at another bookstore. Though we didn't buy anything, it was a pleasure to touch real books in this well-lit spacious place.

On the wall outside it, there was this mural:

And this wonderful quote, perhaps the best to see as one enters a bookstore or begins any journey:

Our final stop in Kazimierz was the amazing Ethnographic Museum, a treasure house of Polish folk art. As for learning about the resilience of Jewish religious and cultural life, it wasn't until our next city, Warsaw, that we experienced what is probably the finest museum of all: POLIN Museum of the History of Polish Jews.  This museum focuses not only on suffering and oppression but on a wide view of culture, including what has been called the "golden age of religious tolerance" before the 20th century. Our time was short on the day we visited, and I'm so glad I bought the excellent guidebook for this museum--opened in 2013 on the site of the former Warsaw Ghetto.