“The extent of the impact of Jewish culture, cuisine and creativity in contemporary Polish culture cannot be overstated. It stands as a testament to the deep and lasting integration of Jewish life into the Polish cultural landscape.” says Jakub ‘Kuba’ Nowakowski, leader of the tour to Poland: ‘Echoes of (post) memory: A journey through Jewish Poland’ – organised by the Cape Town Holocaust & Genocide Centre, and currently on the go.
Kuba continues: “When the Polish Jews were murdered in the Holocaust their rich world was shattered, but not entirely lost, the crumbs remained, embedded deeply in the cultural DNA of contemporary Poland – in words we use without thinking, in tunes that we still play on the radio, in dishes passed down through generations and in the poetry we recite to our children.”
Listen to insights from Kuba
Words in Polish that are derived from Hebrew or Yiddish:
Children’s verses that were written by Jewish writers and musicians:
Poems and songs:
History of the Polish national soccer team – Jewish involvement in Polish sport was notable:
A classic Polish movie which had a Jewish director who was purged in the antisemitic purges in Poland in the 1960s. Jewish culture in Poland did not die because of the Holocaust – it lives on in so many ways in Polish culture:
The stereotyped view of Poland as the site of destruction, violence and antisemitism is true but it ignores the many positive stories that are also true:
Also read Journey through Jewish Poland: exploring memory and meaning
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