Krako'ws town square today
Photo: API
A glance at Krakow's pre-war Jewish life
New exhibit uses photos, old recordings and memoirs to portray life of thriving Jewish community in Polish town before Holocaust
Tens of thousands of Israeli high school students have already visited the Polish town of Krakow as part of their visit to the Nazi concentration and death camps in Poland.
From the exhibit: Krakow's Jewish market
The town's Jewish community, which used to be one of the most prominent communities in Europe, was wiped out completely during the Holocaust. The Nazis and their collaborators murdered Krakow's 60,000 Jews, who comprised a fifth of the town's overall population.
Jewish bookshop in town
Very little remained from this once-thriving community. The rare photos and recordings that have been preserved and that depict everyday Jewish life in Krakow before World War II, are currently on display at the Menachem Begin Heritage Center in Jerusalem.
Entrance to town's Jewish cemetery
The exhibit allows visitors a glance into the social, cultural and religious lives of Krakow's Jews, and provides a fascinating account of the congregation's major figures, the youth movements that operated there, the unique architecture, and the artistic institutions and financial institutions that served the Jewish public until the Holocaust.
Talmud Torah students
The exhibition was created by Krakow's International Culture Center. Herzl Makov, director of the Menachem Begin Heritage Center, said that in recent years Polish cultural institutions have begun expressing interest in Jewish history and culture in their country prior to the Nazi occupation.
The exhibition is on display until the end of April. For more details: 02-5652020 (free admission)
