Jewish Poland 5th day - Krakow - Friday 2 December 2016

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Friday - so only a half day of touring the cultural capital of Poland. Krakow was the capital of Poland until 1600. It was not destroyed during the war. It was the second largest Jewish city. Merchants were invited by the King, Casimir III to Krakow in 1215 and were given their first rights. It is said that he had a Jewish mistress, Esther. The Jews were very loyal to the king. There were over 900 different communities and many prominent rabbis.

Krakow was built on the River Vistula which flows 1,000 km southwest to the Baltic Sea.

In 1943 the Jews, who represented 40% of the population of Krakow, were moved to the Plaszów concentration camp and from the end of 1944 to 1945 the Jews were sent to Auschwitz. Plaszów was a labour camp built on two Jewish cemeteries. We walked to the site of the camp which has a monument of five figures. This represents the fact that the Jews walked in rows on fives with their eyes firmly on the ground. They were not allowed to look their German guards in the face. One famous Plaszów business in which Jewish slaves worked was owned by Oskar Schindler and we drove past his factory.

The commandant of the camp was Amnon Goeth. He was a sadistic monster from Austria who took great delight in shooting anybody who was incapable of working. In the film Schindler’s List there is a moment in the film when a young boy cannot remove a stain from an item of clothing. Amnon Goeth excuses him and as the boy is walking across the camp he tests out a rifle on the child and murders him in cold blood.

(When we went to England the week after our trip, we bought a book by Goeth’s granddaughter, Jennifer Teege, who is black. She asks the question: would her grandfather have had her killed for not being a blond haired and blued Aryan?)

We walked around the Jewish Quarter (Kazimierz) and stood outside the Tempel Synagogue, modelled on the Vienna Tempel Synagogue. Unfortunately the "keeper of the keys" didn’t turn up so we were unable to view inside. During the war it was destroyed and used as an ammunition storeroom. It was reactivated as a synagogue in 1947 and a mikveh was built. Unfortunately it ceased to be a working synagogue in 1985 but with private donations it was able to be reopened in 2000. Today it is only used on special occasions.



We then went to the Kupa synagogue. During the war 150 Torah scrolls were taken there to be hidden. They were discovered and destroyed. Today this synagogue is used as a cultural hall for concerts. The original beautiful murals on the wall have been restored. They depict biblical scenes and paintings of various towns in Israel.



The last shul we visited was the Remu or Remah synagogue. This was named after Rabbi Moses Isserles and is known by the Hebrew acronym of his name. It is very small but it is active. As you enter there is an inscription to those who had died in the Holocaust. In the sanctuary the bimah is rectangular in shape and surrounded by a wrought iron cage (really an enclosure) with two entrances. It was jokingly (?) said that if the chazzan davens too long then they can lock him in, and the congregants can leave. To the right of the Ark (looking at it from the bimah) is the chair that is reserved in the name of Rabbi Isserles. The ladies’ section is an addition to the synagogue that was added on behind the sanctuary and is used as a cloakroom, kiddush room and anything else it needs to be. The old Jewish cemetery is located at the rear of the Remah synagogue; Rabbi Isserles is buried here and we went out to visit his grave. Rav Tzvi told us stories about the Remah.



Our final stop of the morning was the Galicia Jewish Museum which displays annotated photographs taken before and after the occupation, arranged in sections to illustrate themes. We had an amazing guide Anna who appeared to have a great love of the subject. She made a point of telling us that she is not Jewish but has a degree in Jewish Studies. After an extensive tour we went to meet the museum's director Jacob and a curator, Idit. They explained about the Jewish community today and patiently answered all of our questions.



We then drove back to the hotel to get ready for Shabbat. Then most of the group returned to the old town for Friday night services at the Remah. The service was one of the Kinor David joyful singing and dancing Friday nights led by Rav Tzvi. After davening we walked to the Jewish Community Centre and met Jonathan Ornstein, the director. There are 300 fee-paying members and 50 non-Jewish volunteers who work at the centre.

Then we enjoyed our group Friday night dinner at the Hotel Wilga where we were staying for our second night.



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