Rosh Hashana Profile: Carolina, Krakow, Poland
Carolina
“As a girl I just wanted to be Jewish” – Carolina, 23, from Krakow, Poland, tells her story for Rosh Hashana.
I learned about my Jewish roots only several years ago, as an adult. But even as a small child I had an unexplained attraction to the Jewish culture – a culture that was, in some way, always present in our house.
I once even found a copy of the Book of Esther, which belonged – I later discovered – to my grandfather. But then, as a child, I was told that the book belonged to a friend of my grandmother. I remember that as a child I just wanted to be Jewish.
Shortly before my grandmother passed away, she kept repeating the sentence, “Remember, your grandfather was Jewish.” She also told me his real name, Sholem Alshteter.
I listened to her stories with enthusiasm, but I didn’t really believe them. My grandmother was already 90 years old, and her mind often confused events and memories, at least my mother tried to convince me of that.
My grandmother risked her life during World War II by helping Jews at the Krakow Ghetto: She delivered letters and hid Jews in her house. I learned that she met my grandfather after the war only after my grandmother had passed away, when my mother decided to break the wall of silence. She admitted that she preferred to keep silent all those years because she was afraid of anti-Semitism.
Grandfather Sholem came from a wealthy family which engaged in horse trading. During the war, almost the entire family was murdered.
My grandfather left for Krakow before the war broke out, and was transferred to the ghetto with all the Jews of the city. Later he arrived in Plashov. From there he was transferred to Auschwitz – and from there to Mauthausen.
He survived the selection thanks to his strong body and underwent experiments conducted by Dr. Mengele, which chronically damaged his health until the end of his life.
After the war he started a family, changed his name – but not his religion. Although my grandparents raised their children far away from Judaism, he maintained a number of customs until his death.
Now that the truth is out, we found a treasure in my grandparents’ home: Photos, a death certificate, a document stating that he was circumcised, an original identity card, a Kiddush cup, a Bible, and much more.
For a long time, I wasn’t sure whether I had any part in this heritage, but many good people helped me make the decision. I was afraid that the new community would reject me, but fortunately I was wrong.
I soon became an inseparable part of Krakow’s Jewish community. I began studying Hebrew, visited Israel, and was introduced to the Shabbat welcoming ceremonies and Jewish holidays step by step.
I studied in Shavei Israel’s “Ner La Elef” project and, although I never met my grandfather (he died in 1972, before I was born), I felt his presence beside me.
I spent my first Rosh Hashana with the rabbi of the Krakow community. I took part in the prayers in the local synagogue, and I felt the moving sounds of the shofar for the first time.
I participated in the holiday meal with all its symbols and in the tashlich (“casting away sins” ceremony) on the Vistula River. It was a beautiful and magical adventure, and a self-revelation.
A version of this article appeared on Ynet in advance of the Jewish holidays 2012.