I have become very interested in the history of the Jewish people of Krakow.
The little district nearby is Kaizmierz which now is enjoying a renaissance. Maybe only 10 years ago the town wasn't on the tourist map, even considered a bit shady. But now there are numerous rebuilding projects, trendy little cafes and "drink bars", great hotels and restaurants.
I do enjoy strolling through the streets, antique shops and galleries. My latest excursion was to take part in some of the offerings of the Jewish Culture Festival. Over the next several days I will post some of the pictures I took and give you a brief explanation. I'm not sure way this has such a fascination for me. Having not been brought up Catholic, or Jewish, so many of the holidays and customs are a little foreign for us. But the history of this area holds my interest.
I have attended many exhibits since we have been here, and in the old photographs I often see a familiar face. Many Jewish men from the photos taken in the 1920's -1950's remind me of my grandaddy. I've even called home recently, to see if I can pin point a town of our families origin. I do know that his relatives were German. And since we have been here in Poland, we have heard how the countries boundaries have fluctuated over the decades. Even did a little research into the family name, to my surprise the origins included a Jewish version. Ashkenazic Jews that inhabited this area of Poland centuries ago. Just proves we are all related some how.
These direction markers illustrate how this Jewish area
and Catholic area has existed side by side for centuries.
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