Tagged Krakow

KRAKOW, Poland (JTA) – For the sixth year in a row, the seven synagogues in Krakow’s historic Jewish district, Kazimierz, opened their doors for 7@Nite – or the Night of the Synagogues, a one-night mini-festival aimed at bolstering Jewish pride and promoting Jewish awareness among the public. Each synagogue –… Read more »

The anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz on Jan. 27 was a cold, snowy, windy day. The slush surrounding the former concentration camp was frozen into icy slurry when I arrived by bus from Krakow in the early morning. It was on this day 70 years ago that Red… Read more »

Auschwitz survivor Marcel Tuchman, 93, meets with Jewish students in Krakow on eve of the 70th anniversary of the liberation of the camp by Soviet soldiers, Jan. 26, 2015. (Courtesy of Jeffrey Tuchman)

KRAKOW, Poland (JTA) — What kept you alive? Did your non-Jewish friends reject you? Could you ever forgive? Those were some of the questions posed by Jewish young adults to Holocaust survivor Marcel Tuchman on Jan. 26 at the Galicia Jewish Museum here. “What kept me alive was having my… Read more »

Revelers dancing at the Jewish Culture Festival in Krakow, one of many Jewish culture festivals in Poland. (Wojciech Karlinski)

KRAKOW, Poland (JTA) — Crowds have been streaming to Warsaw’s POLIN Museum of the History of Polish Jews since its core exhibition opened Oct. 28 at a high-profile ceremony led by the presidents of Poland and Israel. Thousands of visitors have toured the museum’s eight interactive galleries that tell… Read more »

Fifty-eight Israeli lawmakers marked International Holocaust Remembrance Day at Auschwitz, Jan. 27, 2014. (Cnaan Liphshiz)

OSWIECIM, Poland (JTA) — Watching thousands of Poles dance to Klezmer music just 50 miles from the Auschwitz death camp, Johnny Daniels could feel an ambitious plan taking shape. The experience last year at Krakow’s annual Jewish Culture Festival prompted Daniels, a 28-year-old Israeli and Holocaust educator, to organize… Read more »

A troubling recent incident in the heart of Krakow’s old Jewish quarter, Kazimierz, has raised questions anew about the scope and impact of anti-Semitism in the age of instant response and interactive social media. The incident involved a waiter (or waiters) at a popular cafe, Moment, who rudely refused… Read more »