Hidden Jews of Poland: Personal Stories

Shavei Israel profile: Krzysztof Sadowski – Proudly embracing long hidden Polish Jewish rootsKrzysztof Sadowski – Abrazando orgullosamente sus largamente ocultas raíces judías

[caption id="attachment_9347" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="Krzysztof (Christopher) Sadowski"][/caption] Krzysztof Sadowski was not shocked when his grandmother revealed to her family, just three months before she died, that they were Jewish. Rather, “I was very proud,” he says, “because I know that I belong to a nation with more than 4,000 years of history with a very deep culture.” Sadowski’s story is emblematic of the revitalization of Jewish life in Poland. As the generation that survived World War II and the Holocaust passes away, more and more are sharing their long-hidden roots with their descendents before they die. In Sadowski’s case, his great-grandmother was converted to Catholicism, but “she never forgot who she really was,” he says. Although she faithfully transmitted the story of the family’s Jewish heritage to Sadowski’s grandmother, the latter kept it secret (“It was the age of Communism in Poland,” Sadowski explains, “and people were afraid to talk about the world before the war”). Ironically, Sadowski’s grandmother told her family the truth about their history during a Christmas dinner. Sadowski is young – he is just now finishing high school. He lives with his parents in the small town of Opole, not far from the once-thriving Jewish spiritual center in Wroclaw, and a three-hour train ride from Krakow. Sadowski takes every opportunity he has to visit the big city, where he has become a regular in the Jewish scene there, eating meals at the Jewish Community Center, learning Shabbat songs and attending talks given by Shavei Israel’s emissary to Krakow, Rabbi Boaz Pash. Sadowski’s frequent commutes are made easier by the fact that his father is “a long time railway man, so we get cheaper tickets,” he says with a smile. Since the discovery of his roots, Sadowski has participated in two Shavei Israel seminars in Poland and is looking forward to making his first visit to Israel this summer as part of a Shavei Israel-sponsored trip for Hidden Jews of Poland. “I’m a little nervous about the hot weather,” he jokes. “But I am very excited about seeing the places that are so important to the Jewish people.” Indeed, Sadowski’s relationship with Israel has become central to his Jewish identity. In school, he is often asked to report on the real situation in Israel. He has given presentations to his classmates on Israeli culture and society, the Arab-Israeli conflict, and Israeli innovation such as the pioneering irrigation technologies developed here. Sadowski is a voracious consumer of media, scouring the Internet to stay current on the latest news from the Middle East. He also reads as many books as he can on Jewish topics, which are increasingly available in Poland’s public libraries and bookshops. This openness is a relatively new phenomenon. In the past, the government media “told lies about Jews and Israel,” he explains. “But now we have more contact and a more open media. We can even listen to Jewish music and go to Jewish concerts.” Once Sadowski found out he was Jewish, he never hid the fact from his friends at school. Perhaps most significantly, he arranged for Shavei Israel’s Rabbi Yitzhak Rappaport to come to his class and give a talk about Judaism. Learning he was Jewish was not so surprising to Sadowski for another reason: Poland is a melting pot of cultures, he explains. “Because of all the wars, with Russia, with Germany and Austria, people don’t have only Polish blood. It’s not like in Sweden you may see a tall man with blond hair and blue eyes and you can say he looks Swedish. Here, you can’t say that two Polish guys look the same.” The years of Communist rule also led to Poles not outwardly expressing strong religious affiliation of any kind. As a result, announcing to the Polish public that he was of a different faith was accepted with more equanimity than one might initially assume. Sadowski has learned how to read Hebrew phonetically from the siddur (the Jewish prayer book). He is particularly interested in the “choreography” of prayer – “when to stand, when to bow, when to speak quietly; it is something very deep,” he says – and Jewish law. “It was very important for me to make sure I am Jewish according to halacha,” he explains. But most of all, Sadowski loves to sing. “I am always singing,” he says and admits his friends sometimes tell him to shut up! His favorite songs are the Shabbat zemirot (hymns) he has learned in Krakow. The Internet, again, has played a big role: he can easily look up both the words and the melodies when he is back home with his parents. “The things I really like can be described as a pyramid,” he says. “Being Jewish, singing, and Krakow,” the latter of which he tries to visit every Shabbat when he can. Indeed, he hopes to move to Krakow following his graduation from high school. When he does, the Krakow community will undoubtedly extend a warm welcome to this budding Jewish leader.  [caption id="attachment_9347" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="Krzysztof (Christopher) Sadowski"][/caption] Krzysztof Sadowski no se sorprendió, cuando su abuela le reveló a su familia que eran judíos, tres meses antes de fallecer. En cambio, “estaba muy orgulloso”, dice, “porque sé que pertenezco a una nación con más de 4000 años de historia y con una muy profunda cultura”. La historia de Sadowski, es el emblema de la revitalización de la vida judía en Polonia. A medida que la generación que sobrevivió la Segunda Guerra Mundial y el holocausto fallece, más y más personas comparten sus tan escondidas raíces con sus descendientes antes de morir. En el caso de Sadowski, su bisabuela se convirtió al catolicismo, pero “nunca olvidó quién es”, dice. A pesar de que transmitió la historia de la herencia judía a la abuela de Sadowski, está última guardó el secreto (“era la era del comunismo en Polonia”, explica Sadowski, “y las personas tenían miedo de hablar de lo que sucedió antes de la guerra”). Irónicamente, la abuela de Sadowski le dijo la verdad a su familia durante la cena de navidad.

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