Unquiet Places
Jewish Heritage in Poland Today

The Holocaust and communism decimated Poland’s Jews communities. Today in Poland Jewish culture is being celebrated once again, yet largely by Catholic Poles. My project explores Poland’s reckoning with itself and its Jewish past.

By the onset of WWII more Jews lived in Poland than anywhere in the world. Having immigrated to Poland in the 16th Century, then a more tolerant and pluralistic country than much of the rest of Europe from which they were expelled, many Jews were secular, assimilated, or converted when the Nazis invaded. Today, there are virtually no Jews left in Poland.

Increasingly since 1989, Poles have begun to scrutinize their history and identity. For many Poles Jews play a central role in that, even though many have never met a Jew. As a result Non-Jewish Poles are dining at Kosher-style restaurants, dancing to klezmer music and learning Hebrew. Jewish graveyards, synagogues and former shtetls are being cleaned up. Jewish cultural festivals are springing up all over the map.

But should this be a surprise? As the founder of the Polish-Jewish monthly Mdirasz said, “You cannot have a genocide and then have people live as if everything is normal. It’s like when you lose a limb. Poland is suffering from Jewish phantom pain.”