Abstract

At various times in history, Poland was home to the world’s largest and most vibrant Jewish community, until the Nazi German Holocaust almost completely destroyed this community during the Second World War. Many of the few survivors left Poland in 1968 during a communist-government-led “anti-Zionist” campaign. As a result, in 1989, when Poland returned to the family of free nations, its remaining Jewish communities were small, hidden or non-existent.

Since then – and especially in the last ten years – things have begun to change. A new generation of Jewish leaders from Poland and beyond are reinvigorating Jewish life in Polish cities like Kraków and Warsaw. Many Poles are rediscovering their Jewish roots, while some Jews from elsewhere are making their homes in Polish cities.

Poland’s contemporary Jewish communities are vibrant and diverse, while “Jewishness” itself can mean a great many different things to different people.

Join us for a fascinating discussion of Jewish life in contemporary Poland from a range of different perspectives.