Nobody Wanted to Talk About It: On ('Polanized') Jews in Poland

Alex Lauterbach talks about his Jewish identity, and how it changed in response to what happened to Poland's Jews during the Holocaust and WWII, as well as giving some background information on assimilated Polish Jewry prior to the war.

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[kasiak]

My polish uncle died smuggling food to ghettos to polish people with Judaism faith - to people in general. My auntie was 9 when Nazi German soldiers put gun to her head to receive information about food smuggler, she didn't say a thing. I am living in Lodz in the heart of Poland, where city still didn't recovered after war, next to me I have a place that was burned to the ground with people inside, because they were hiding jews in their basement. I think the whole situation it's just SAD. Thank God my grandma can't see what is happening with the world anymore.

[wojteks]

One of many "polonized" Polish Jew was Julian Tuwim, influential writer and publicist. He sometimes complained (also in his works) that he was attacked by some voices from both Polish (as a Jew) and Jewish (as a traitor) sides.
If it wasn't for tragedy of WWII and nazi ideology implemented in Poland by foregn power (Germany) i do believe we would have learned to live together in a diverse society & enrich our cultures until this day

[plrc]

1:22 - Many Polish Jews before (and after) WWII become prominent Polish writers and poets: Julian Tuwim, Jan Brzechwa, Antoni Słonimski, Stanisław Lem. It seems Słonimski was a very popular writer in Poland before WWII. Lem survived WWII and become one of the worlds foremost writers of sciene fiction. Brzechwa's and Tuwim's poems for children are untill today taught in schools in Poland. Tuwim was a genius and author of very good political poems such as anti-war manifesto "Do prostego człowieka" (To the simple man) which is ASTONISHINGLY topical today. I recommend to anyone to read it as well as to hear its sung version by Akurat.

[arthurmark]

Wow what a beautiful interview! What a loss to Poland to lose all those polonized Jews

[TuDawid]

I lived in in the former Austrian Silesia, Cieszyn Silesia. The thing here is the Jews were mostly integrated to the German culture in the local towns and interestingly up to the rise of Nazis they were often forming coalitions with the Germans in the municipalities, against the Poles. But there was one assimilated Polish Jew from the countryside, who left for Israel in 1936. Then in the 70s he began writing books in Polish there, saying how he misses this land. An interesting discovery for me, he even knew the dialect, his name was Józef Kornblum from Pruchna.

[KonradofKrakow]

Amazing interview and amazing point of view.
Greetings from Kraków.

[alancleps]

My great grandparents Abraham and Leah Kleps came to England from Pozen as it was called in the 1800's.

[ariston]

Both of my grandfathers were in the Russian Army that is where they met. My one Grandfather was from Suwalki and the other Grandfather was from Minsk. They left Europe around 1908 and emigrated to The U.S.A. Not sure if they were Jewish or not. But I often wonder if they did not make that move if I would even be alive today. Something to really think about. I am just wondering if any Jews hid their Jewish heritage when they emigrated?

[izabelajarzabek]

How come? my favorite wrighter from childhood was Julian Tuwim polonized Jew and i love him since i first read his children book about locomotive i just find out he was a jew but i love him the same way. Because he clamed to be Polish not jew born in Poland and that's the point here for Poles its doesan't matters if you jew Ukraina or Russian but if you love Poland you are Polish we are not discriminating on religion or nationality why u want to be special?

[borjastick]

Always tell you what happened to them, but never why.