Traveling to Krakow: Polak, wegier, dwa bratanki!
This article was originally published in the 38th issue of The CEU Weekly on October 30, 2013.
You may be wondering what the Polish half of the title means; it is the beginning of a popular poem, known by many locals in its Hungarian equivalent. The message of both versions focuses on the fact that Poles and Hungarians are good friends (the Hungarian version literally says “good friends”, whereas the Polish version also implies family ties, by using the word “nephew”.) Whenever I mentioned this poem in Krakow on my recent visit, and whenever people realized that I was speaking Hungarian, they were excited to try to converse - even if they know only one Hungarian word! Thus, the Hungarian receptivity towards Poles seemed to be mutual based on the couple of beautiful days I recently spent in Krakow.
On the local level, positive memories connected to Hungarians go all the way back to the 14th century, when Poland and Hungary were united in a personal union under Hungarian King Louis Anjou. The daughter of Louis, Hedwig Anjou (in Poland known as Jadwiga), inherited the Polish crown. She is known for dedicating much of her wealth to charity and to financing scholarship. Her donation also served as the financial basis for the Krakow Academy, which was succeeded by the current day Jagellonian University of Krakow. Soon after Jadwiga’s premature death she was venerated as a saint, although her official canonization only took place in 1997, by the Polish Pope John Paul II.
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| Jadwiga and her husband, Wladislaus |
Despite my passion for gothic churches and art nouveau buildings, both of which can be found in abundance in Krakow, the primary goal of my latest visit was to explore Kazimierz, the historical Jewish district. While the most promoted exhibition on the local Jewish heritage, “Cracovia Iudaeorum”, provides no new information for those who have studied Jewish culture, the Galicia Jewish Museum is fascinating for anyone who is curious about either Jewish culture or Galician local history, as it sheds light on post-Holocaust Polish-Jewish relations. In fact, today a whole industry of tourism is built upon the pre-1939 richness of local Jewish life.
There is no street without posters promoting guided tours to Kazimierz, Podgórze (the district of the ghetto established by Nazi occupiers) and Auschwitz-Birkenau. This overwhelming commercializing was somewhat disturbing, but I tried to remind myself that it is also a part of keeping remembrance alive. Many locals are genuinely interested in this cultural heritage, for instance the members of the “Tempero” group who give Klezmer concerts regularly in the 17th century Isaac Synagogue, which is a perfect symbol of Nazi devastation given the lack of any original furnishing and decoration; sadly one can see only faded tracks of the original Hebrew prayers painted on the walls. Although some of the history has faded, each of the five synagogues I visited in Krakow fulfilled a variety of modern functions which make them vibrant part of modern day life. Jewish community center, home for concerts, museum, and an exhibition space with an excellent bookstore – all had evolved to serve the modern day congregant, in fact one of them is still functioning as a proper synagogue!
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| Interior of Isaac Synagogue |
Regarding 20th century history, particularly that of the Poles and Jews, I suggest visiting Schindler’s factory (featured in Spielberg’s film “Schindler’s list”), which was opened as a museum three years ago. Both interactive and at the same time overwhelmingly informative, the exhibition helps us to understand in more detail what the Nazi Occupation meant for the Poles (racial discrimination against all non-Germans) along with the complexity of relationships between the clergy, the Home Army, the helpers and the blackmailers of hiding Jews and the ordinary people.
Ágnes Kelemen, Hungary, Nationalism Studies
Photos by the author.
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