Tagged Warsaw

In Warsaw, elderly Poles who rescued Jews during the Holocaust have a free taxi service

Anna Stupnicka-Bando, the 90-year-old president of the Polish Association of the Righteous Among the Nations, gets set to enter one of the taxis for saviors of Jews, in Warsaw, Poland, Jan. 29, 2020. (Cnaan Liphshiz)

WARSAW, Poland (JTA) — Outside one of this city’s many brutalist apartment buildings, passersby stop to stare at and photograph a London-style taxi emblazoned with large Star of David symbols. Some seem puzzled by the out-of-place sight. Others look delighted to encounter something they’ve seen or heard about in… Read more »

Despite tensions over the Holocaust, Israeli tourism in Poland is booming

Yossi Blak, left, and fellow travelers from Israel visit Lublin's Hotel Ilan, Sept. 5, 2018. (Cnaan Liphshiz)

WARSAW, Poland (JTA) — Shopping was the last thing on Sarah Hirsch’s mind this summer when she boarded a flight from Tel Aviv to this capital city. It started out as a Holocaust pilgrimage. Hirsch, 67, flew to Warsaw in August with her husband, Naftali, and a friend to see… Read more »

New museum reflects growing Polish interest in all things Jewish

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 »

Poland’s reviving Jewish communities come (way, way) out

Right to left: Jakob Staszevski, Tyson Herberger and Rebecca Herberger at Kalatowki Lodge in southern Poland, Sept. 6, 2012. (Cnaan Liphshiz)

ZAKOPANE, Poland (JTA) — In southern Polish woods, an unfamiliar blast alarms hikers and wildlife as it pierces the still of a misty morning. It has been a long time since a shofar echoed in these mountains. At the narrow end of the traditional Jewish horn are the puckered… Read more »

From neo-Nazi skinhead to black-hatted Jew: the journey of Pawel Bramson

Pawel Bramson, left, at the Jewish cemetary in Warsaw. (Kuba Wyszynski)

WARSAW (JTA) — Fifteen years ago, Pawel Bramson was a skinhead shouting anti-Semitic and racist slogans during soccer matches. He hated Jews and blacks – simply, he says, because you need someone to blame for what’s wrong in the world. These days he keeps kosher, wears the long beard… Read more »