|
|
September 6, 2002/Elul 29 5762, Vol. 55, No. 1
Poland's positive side
RICHARD STERN
Special to Jewish News
I was one of 10 delegates from across the country who toured Poland June 20-30 in an exchange program. It was organized by The American Jewish Committee and by the Polish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, with arrangements by the Forum for Dialogue Among Nations, a Polish non-governmental organization.
The message that we received from the Jews of Poland for the rest of world Jewry was, "We exist!"
Only 9 percent of the 3.3 million Jews who lived in Poland prior to 1939 survived World War II. The number of Jews in Poland today is estimated from 6,000 to more than 100,000, depending on whom you ask.
While Warsaw has Poland's largest Jewish community, other cities also have small and growing Jewish populations. The Jewish community of Krakow, once 65,000, is now a mere 200. Yet, it hosts an annual Jewish Culture Festival, which for 14 years has brought thousands of visitors to its ancient Jewish quarter of Kazimierz.
In a touching meeting, Janusz Makuch, founder and director of the festival and a non-Jew, described the festival as his way of "saying kaddish" for all of Poland's lost Jews.
In every city that we visited, we learned of comprehensive social services provided to the Jewish community: soup kitchens, meals on wheels, psychological and social counseling, health care and others.
Throughout our trip, we heard varying accounts of the current degree of anti-Semitism in Poland. According to most of the non-Jews with whom we spoke, anti-Semitism exists mostly at lower socioeconomic levels and in rural areas where education is poor and exposure to Jews and Jewish history is non-existent.
The Jews told a slightly different story. All of them acknowledged that anti-Semitism still exists in Poland, and many pointed out that "you don't need Jews to have anti-Semitism."
The president of the Jewish community in Krakow said that he was unwilling to make statements about Polish anti-Semitism because "Poles saved my family."
Yale Reisner, director of the Genealogical Project of the Jewish Historical Institute, said the Project's mission is to dispel three myths: That no Jews exist in Poland; Poland was the worst place for Jews to be before World War II; and no records exist of the pre-war Jewish community in Poland.
He stressed to us that Poles who helped Jews during the war put at risk not only their own lives but also the lives of their entire families.
Overall, both Jews and non-Jews agreed that Polish Jewish institutions are physically much safer than those in Western Europe, and we were told that there are very few violent attacks on Jews or Jewish institutions.
Two generations of Poles grew up without any Holocaust education, and many Poles still struggle to accept the truth about both the Holocaust and Poland's complicity in it. Through education reform in 1999, the Holocaust became a mandatory unit in classes for all 13 to 18-year-olds.
Concerning Polish attitudes toward the Middle East crisis, as elsewhere, the media plays a huge role in forming Polish attitudes. The image of the "poor little Palestinian child" versus an Israeli tank has its powerful effect.
Members of the Polish-Israeli Parliamentary Group told us that Polish society is divided on the issue, and that there are not enough people in Poland willing and able to tell about the history of Israel.
Thousands of Israelis come to Poland each year on the "March of the Living." We heard from Jews and non-Jews alike that the "March of the Living" errs in its sole focus on the death camps. Several times, we heard descriptions of buses of Israeli children traveling from death camp to death camp under armed guard, completely isolated from contemporary Poland, and returning home with even worse stereotypes about Poland.
From U.S. Ambassador Christopher Hill, we heard that Poland tends to be more pro-Israel and pro-United States than many other European countries.
Poland faces many economic and political obstacles. Its small but growing Jewish population confronts uphill battles economically, demographically, and politically. As Poland continues to get experience as a democracy and is admitted to the E.U., it will clearly be a friend and an asset to both the United States and Israel.
Stern is a co-founder and managing member of Stellar Capital Management, LLC. He is a board member and associate national commissioner of the Anti-Defamation League.
|
