Exhibition on Polish tragedy

Emotions repressed for over forty years have been expressed in the exhibition titled March 68. Farewells and Returns. During the Prague Spring 1968, the anti-Semitic campaign led to the exile of 20,000 Poles of Jewish origin. Many of them settled in Sweden.

The exhibition, which can be viewed in the Emigranternas Hus (the House of the Emigrants), is a recollection of the uprising of Polish students. The rebel began in 1968 with a protest against taking off Dziady [Forefathers' Eve] (1820-1821) by the Polish national poet Adam Mickiewicz. The play was staged in the National Theatre in Warsaw, but the authorities banned it due to its anti-Russian and anti-state overtone.

The revolt soon spread to colleges and universities all over Poland. The authorities responded with force, many students and lecturers ended up in prison, the majority of them were expelled from school or lost their jobs.

As many as 20,000 Poles were forced to leave the country. The majority of them were Jews, blamed for the unrest and other social problems.

In Poland, a Jew is not only someone who believes and goes to synagogue, but also someone who has Jewish ancestors.

Sławek Żyliński (aged 62) grew up in Warsaw. When he was twenty-two, he was forced to leave Poland and moved to Sweden. He is happy that the exhibition was organized.

“I think this exhibition is important as a recollection of all those terrifying events and as a warning for the future, so that such events never take place anywhere else.”

Piotr Kiszkiel, born in Poland, the originator of the exhibition in Gothenburg believes that the issue of anti-Semitism has never ceased to be a current problem.

“I think that the discussion over history should be perpetual and it should be passed on to the coming generations,” he claims.

“We left Poland very angry. We were disappointed and furious at the nation which let the government treat us this way,” says Sławek Żyliński.

The estimations show that 3,000 people found their shelter in Sweden. The majority of them were in their twenties. In 1969 only 5,000 Jews stayed in Poland.

The memory of those events is still a sensitive spot in Polish-Jewish relations. During the communism, it was taboo.

Up till this day, those events have been one the most difficult issues in the Polish-Jewish relations. Since 1989 regular studies have been conducted in order to obtain possibly the most coherent and objective interpretations.

The Adam Mickiewicz Institute is the organizer of the exhibition which can be viewed in Gothenburg. As part of the project, Polish and Israeli students, supervised by experienced documentary filmmakers, have studied the archive materials and interviewed the eye witnesses of those events.

The exhibition includes the materials collected by the project participants: articles, radio reports, video documents and many others.

Before the exhibition, the events commemorating 1968 events were organized by the Polish Institute in Stockholm jointly with the Jewish Museum, International Culture Forum and Jewish Film Festival in Stockholm and many other institutions.

“The exhibition reminds us of what Polish Jews had to go through and also makes us realize that we may also be affected by anti-Semitic tendencies. We need to stay alert to people who try to make a scapegoat of any social group,” says Roger Bodin, director of the House of the Emigrants.

The exhibition is the outcome of the cooperation of the Adam Mickiewicz Institute, the Polish Institute in Stockholm, Polish embassy, Polish-Jewish Association in Stockholm, the House of the Emigrants and the Municipal Council of Gothenburg and the Levande Historia forum (the Living History Forum). It was organized as part of the “March 68” project being part of Polish Year in Israel.

Olle Pettersson

The article was published on 8 January 2009 in the Göteborgs - Posten daily.

Time for memory
The growth of anti-Semitism in Europe

Gothenburg, Sweden, year 2008. During an official meeting, the participants are introduced by name. Suddenly, when another name is introduced, the person next to me asks me whispering: “Is that a Jew?”

It's been 69 years since Otto Wallen, member of the Swedish parliament, said during a parliamentary debate: “Mr Speaker, it is without shame that I confess today that I am an anti-Semite. Let Swedish press be only for Swedish people and let Swedish blood remain pure.”

The Gothenburg Synagogue is one of the most protected buildings in the city. Every fourth member of the community has recently experienced anti-Semitism. Sometimes young people are afraid to tell their school colleagues about their Jewish roots. When neo-Nazis distribute their propaganda in schools, anti-Semitism is explained in terms of youthful lack of knowledge.

The report for the German Bundestag reveals that in Germany between January and September 2008, 4,200 criminal offences were committed which could be linked to right-wing extremist circles. During the first nine months of 2008, as many as 27 people suffered injuries as a result of nearly 800 anti-Semitic crimes committed in Germany.

A growth of anti-Semitism has been observed in Europe over the last few years. It is particularly noticeable in Spain. In a public poll conducted in 2005, 21% of the respondents declared their negative attitude towards Jews. In a recent survey the number has grown to 46%.

The poll included respondents from UK, France, Germany, Poland, Russia, Spain and USA.

Five of the countries which took part in the survey, excluding the UK, have observed the growth of anti-Semitism. In France, the number grew from 11% to 20%, in Germany from 20% to 25%, in Russia from 25% to 34%, in Poland from 27% to 36%.

The House of the Emigrants in Gothenburg hosts the exhibition titled “March 68. Farewells and Returns”. It is a story about one of the gloomiest periods in the history of Europe. A power struggle at the top of the country under a totalitarian communist regime led to a national anti-Semitic campaign incomparable to anything in Polish history.

Władysław Gomułka, leader of the communist party, made a famous speech about “the Israeli fifth column”. It was a signal for a purge which forced thousands of Polish Jews to emigrate. Many people supported it, but most of them were just passive observers.

Today, Poland sees an intensive debate on the history, roots and fuel for anti-Semitism. We know that history repeats itself and that is why it is our duty to keep the memory alive. We must talk about the Holocaust, about March 68 and the fear of the members of Jewish communities in Gothenburg and other places in Europe.

The battle with anti-Semitism is one of the most important tasks of the united Europe.

Piotr Kiszkiel (Folkpartiet Liberalerna)
Councillor of Gothenburg

The article was published on 28 November 2008 in the GT daily:
http://www.gt.se/nyheter/1.1382315/debatt-antisemitism-okar-i-europa

on 26 November in Expressen:
http://www.gt.se/nyheter/1.1382315/debatt-antisemitism-okar-i-europa?standAlone=true&viewstyle=print

and on the Internet blog Göteborgsliberalen:
http://goteborgsliberalen.blogspot.com/2008/11/debatt-antisemitism-kar-i-europa.html

Last Exile
By Hemda Rosenbaum, published on 29 May 2008 in HaArec

It is generally known that the history of Jews in Poland in the 20th century was more than dismal. The Nazis murdered in Poland several million Jews from all over Europe. Nevertheless, anti-Semitism existed there already before the Nazis invasion and after their defeat. The new exhibition, which will open today as part of the Polish Year in Israel, takes up the subject of one of the most recent manifestations of organisedanti-Semitism in Poland in the 20th century – the expulsion of Polish Jews by the communist authorities in 1968-1970. From the historical point of view, the expulsion was a result of the victory of Israel in the Six-Day War. The defeated Arab countries were allied with the Soviet Union. The Polish authorities were afraid to show sympathies towards Israel, so they started the campaign of slander and delegitimization of Polish Jews. As a consequence, the majority of Jews that stayed in Poland (25 out of 40 thousand) were forced to emigrate to Israel. The “Farewells and Returns” project organized by the Adam Mickiewicz Institute was created to reconstruct the personal aspect of these historical events by means of archival materials, private photographs and films, letters and postcards, etc. As part of this project, workshops were organized for students from Poland and Israel. They were conducted by Polish journalists and film artists. Starting today, the fruits of these workshops are presented in the Horace Richter Gallery.

Situation report
By Eli Barbur, published on 12 September 2007
http://www.wirtualnemedia.pl/blog/index.php?/authors/56-Eli-Barbur

I have been recently wandering with the Israeli sculptor Zeew Primor (Włodek Przemysławski) down the illuminated Piotrkowska street. He once lived in Łódź, but left in 1961 to settle in Israel for good. It was my first visit to Łódź and was completely astonished by the look of the renovated facades of the Łódź ArtNouveau.

I photographed Zeew on the famous Tuwim bench. The latter’s nose was notably shining and polished (it apparently is supposed to bring luck). Zeew is reminiscent of Einstein in terms of appearance, so the session was quite a success. The wind was strong that day and it was raining a bit so we shot with flash. Then we went to grab a beer from one of the pubs resting on wooden platforms.

Zeew, an exceptional artist, visited Poland for the first time in 46 years. He had an exhibition of his sculptures in the Manufaktura as part of the Four Cultures Dialogue Festival. Apart from this, we shot a documentary film which is to be shown in the television and cinemas during the Polish Year in Israel 2008-2009. The young film-makers who participate in the film project come from both Poland and Israel.The main exhibit of the Zeev show was the two-meter-high Don Quixote on a hack – all wooden, but very similar to the robots from contemporary comic books and science fiction films.

The next day we went on trip with the knight (who holds a lance made from a pole extracted from fence of Cipora – Zeew’s neighbour from the Jerusalem suburb). We were to be filmed during our way along a narrow road leading through a forest, exactly at the moment when we impressively emerge from behind a slightly uphill road.

Don Quixote was screwed with Rocinante’s hooves to the platform of a small KIA van while we were in the cab: the driver – Mr Staszek, Zeew and me, with my elbow outside the car. We were riding at a walk and suddenly a red Toyota hit us somewhere in the back, at and angle. A pillar of smoke rose in the air as the Toyota bounced off and skidded into a ditch; we ended up the same way, but on the other side of the road.Mr Staszek, with a spark of madness in his eyes and the “Art service” inscription on his back, was cursing foully while contemplating the crashed car. Nobody was hurt except for Don Quixote who turned into a pile of rubble, crowning the braking distance.

Zeew, his face frozen, stood over his work in silence and looked very miserable. After a moment of doubt, the film crew who came over in panic began to record everything.The perpetrator of the accident was running up and down the side of the road shouting “evidently out of my fault” into his mobile. It turned out that he was hurrying to his brother who had just had a bike accident. Shortly, a second Toyota pulled over with a squeal of tyres.

A lady dressed as if she came from another epoch came out of the car. She was wearing a black crinoline dress with a train, a mantilla, elbow-length gloves, a hat and a bag on a long handle.First I thought she was a retro madwoman, a black widow, but it soon turned out that she is a fashion designer and wife to the guy who bumped into us. She was coming back from a photo session.

Her train blew faintly over the asphalt where the shattered remains of Don Quixote were piled. “Fucking... Dulcinea!” Mr Staszek snarled. And thus it has remained encoded in our Polish-Israeli co-production.

March 68. Farewells and Returns. Documentary workshops.
By Katarzyna Kulinska, first published in “Midrasz”, no. 2 (130), 2008

I am glad to have the opportunity of presenting the project “March 68. Farewells and Returns.” in “Midrasz”. The documentary workshops, in which I have been participating, are drawing to a close – it’s just final corrections, recordings, editing etc.

But let us start from the beginning. “March 68. Farewells and Returns Documentary workshops” is a project involving students from Poland and Israel, organized as a part of the Polish-Israeli Season 2008-2009. The effects of the workshops will be presented at an exhibition in Jaffa (opening scheduled to the 29th of May 2008). The project was organized by Maciej Drygas (documentary director of such films as “Uslyszcie moj krzyk” [Hear My Cry] or “Jeden dzien w PRL” [One Day in People’s Poland]) and Mateusz Werner (curator of IAM’s film program) – the authors – as well as Artut Liebhart (director of Against Gravity film distributor and the project’s executive director.

Two other people without whose help and commitment the project would simply fall into pieces were Viola Wein (coordinator for Jerusalem) and Michal Paluektau (Against Gravity).

Our main aim was not to reach to facts previously unknown to historians, but to enter the sphere of emotions. We wanted to find answers to the following questions: what did the participants of the so-called march events experience? What is the attitude towards Poland among those who decided to leave? Finally, what survives to this day in the memory of those who remained here? However, one cannot enter with impunity and unprepared into other people’s life, armed either with a camera, microphone or a pen.

This is why we took part in three intensive workshop sessions during which we met with historians, journalists and, above all, those who related the events of 1968 as personal experience: participants or witnesses.

The schedule of the first session (11-13 of December 2006) was focused on presenting – prospective documentary makers – the broadest possible historical context of the March events and providing us with a methodological background. This was achieved through a number of meetings with such individuals as: professor Jerzy Eisler, Joanna Wiszniewicz, Marcel Lozinski. We also made two interesting and inspiring visits – first we visited the Gdansk Station (the symbol of post-March farewells) where we were guided by the former stationmaster Andrzej Zgutka who recalled people gathering there everyday – departing and saying goodbye to their families. It was there that the Israeli director Yossi Wein, who accompanied the group, related his departure – preparations, packing, customs control, and farewell at the Station.

On our second visit we saw the house of Ryszard Wojcik, an independent journalist and documentary maker, author of the book “Powrot Dawida” [Return of David], who made documenting the surrounding reality his passion. He searched his impressive archive for souvenirs from friends who left Poland, pictures from that period and he talked, talked, talked …

The second session (26-29 of March 2007) took place in Tel Aviv. Its character differed from the previous one as this time each of us already had a vision of their own project which was to be carried out individually. While in Israel we focused on the issue of March emigrants. We were given an introduction to the subject by Leopold Sobel (commonly known as Poldek), editor-in-chief of “Plotkies” newspaper, who gave a lecture titled “Girush Polin” (Expulsion from Poland). Having received a hefty dose of theory we met a number of people who decided to share their experience of emigration with us – journalist Eli Barbur, Halina Szafir, writer, library director at the Polish Institute in Tel Aviv and Zofia Braun. We were also hosted by Kora and Marek Perelstein in their apartment.

To my mind, it was the Tel Aviv session that, among all others, most strongly contributed to the integration of the Israeli and Polish groups. We had an opportunity to enjoy night life in Tel Aviv! The hosts were equal to the task and we spent each evening together partying in various local clubs. And on the last day we went on a tour of Jerusalem.

The third session was completely (apart from a visit to the “Karta” Foundation) devoted to analyzing projects – presenting the materials gathered by the participants and discussing the final ideas and implementation methods.

Thus, I am happy to announce what will be presented at the exhibition (on view in May in Tel Aviv and, most probably, in September in Warsaw). Above all, I should mention the great variety of forms chosen by the participants. Four films were produced during the workshops, one of them is a humorous and moving tale of a sculptor Zeew Primor (Wlodzimierz Przemyslawski), under the working title “Don Kichot musi wrocic“ [Don Quixote Must Return]. Zeew left Poland in the 60s and distanced himself from the life of Polish immigrants in Israel. Yet he still feels regret that his talent was not appreciated in his home country. He is willing to come back in order to present his sculptures and show Poles what they missed. The director Orly Buium managed to organize a presentation of Zeew’s sculpture („Don Kichot na koniu” [Don Quixote on His Horse]) in his hometown of Lodz. During his trip to Poland the author was accompanied by a journalist Eli Barbur. Eli left in 1968 but never lost contact with the country.
He is a known journalist cooperating with Polish media (e.g. he is a permanent correspondent of RMF FM radio for the Middle East). This journey of two characters of extremely different personalities is a true return of Don Quixote staged in contemporary Polish scenery.


While constructing their tale Abigail Liebman and Karolina Famulska chose the form of an essay. They focused on the question of how does the experience of emigration shapes one’s own personality. The exhibition will also feature two instance of radio coverage. Anna Traczynska undertook a difficult task aimed at conducting interviews with Polish journalists active at the time (I shall not reveal their identity at this point). Her material will be accompanied by letters sent to newspapers, such as “Polityka”, which provide an excellent illustration of social sentiments in the discussed period. Finally, there will be an installation featuring souvenirs left in Poland by people who emigrated.

More information on the idea behind the project, the workshops as well as the projects of the participants is available on the www.march68.info. web page.

What did those workshops mean to us? I can only speak for myself, yet I consider discussions with the characters of my project most important. Even though they concerned departures, physical parting was never accompanied by mental or emotional separation. My interlocutors never lost contact with their nearest and dearest and, despite all, I think that this is an optimistic aspect of this story.


Workshops run by the Adam Mickiewicz Institute
the March ’68 Commemoration Program
By Poldek Sobel, "Plotkies", 2007-10-19

In the previous issues of Plotkies I told you of the meetings held as part of the workshops “March ‘68. Farewells and Returns” organised by the Adam Mickiewicz Institute in Warsaw. The objective of the workshop is to produce exhibitions, films, radio shows and books drawing on the March 1968 events in order to present them to the general public at an exhibition set up in Israel as part of the “Polish Days in Israel” event to be held next year. I suggested to the organisers that the Israeli event be held at the same time as the Ashkelon Reunion, as the exhibition is to be arranged at the old town in Jaffo (near Szetach hagadol – does anyone still remember????) and Ashkelon is just a stone’s throw away from Jaffo.The programme organisers took part in talks with the Polish Institute and Jewish Museum in Stockholm so that the entire programme or at least a part of it could be presented to emigrants living in Sweden, as part of the planned celebration of the 40th anniversary of March 1968 and the exhibition prepared by the Jewish Museum in Stockholm. It is quite likely that the programme will travel as far as Goteborg. Thus it seems this will be the central point of the anniversary of the events that took place forty years ago.
Józek Wein
We also visited the Archives of the Karta Centre (http://www.karta.org.pl/) at Narbutta street (my heart started beating faster as we were driving along the streets Kazimierzowska, Wiśniowa, Sandomierska) where we could take a look at the historical records pertaining to March 1968. There was also a screening of Ewa Szprynger’s film “Rachela” held at the Gdański Station, which was very well received by workshop participants.
Samson
One night we had dinner at the Samson restaurant in Nowe Miasto in Warsaw's Old Town, where one of the participants who adheres to the mitzvot found ‘Pork roast Jewish style’ an extravagant item on the menu. I explained to her that it represented the ‘kasztut nusach Polin’ or Polish-style kosher food. The ambience and food were excellent and I had never seen any Israelis drink so much vodka.

The presentations of the individual projects lasted for many hours and below I give a brief but accurate account of project developments.
Nir
The first project was presented by a young Israeli Nir Dawid Zats. His project is a film entitled Cabaret Polska which tells the story of March 1968 and its emigrants in a comic way. Nir used archive materials collected by an amateur collector living just outside Warsaw. Nir asked me not to reveal too much of his project as many of its elements have not been defined yet and many other things are meant as a surprise for the viewers.
Magda i Grzesiek
The next project was presented by Grzegorz Brzozowsk, a young sociologist from Warsaw University. He was accompanied by Magda Kowalczyk, a student of the film school in Łódź who volunteered to assist Grzesiek in his work on the project. Their film will talk about two incidents of exile, namely the exile from the Eastern Borderlands at the times of II Rzeczypospolita and the exile from Poland after the year 1968, and it may also be extended to cover the exiled (or expelled?) Germans. The focal point of the film will be the story of the Stankowski family. Mr Stankowski born in Sambor survived the cruelties of war and once war ended he settled in Szczecin and today lives in Kołobrzeg. His son Michał left Poland for Israel after March 1968 and settled outside Tel Aviv. The family contacted a German man who lived in their house in Szczecin and we hope that Grzesiek will find the time and funds to include the story of this man in the film.
Orly
Orly Buium is a phenomenal charming wonder woman from Beersheba. Her film is in an advanced stage of production and it tells the story of two protagonists – Zeew Primor (Włodek Przemysławski), a sculptor living near Jerusalem and the journalist, author and frequent guest of Plotkies – Eli Barbur.
A still from the film “Don Quixote Must Return”
Zeew receives a proposal to have his sculpture exhibited in Łódź which he left in the 1960s to go to Israel and has never returned to since. Eli will be his guide in Poland. What is of particular importance in the project, is that Zeew has not been in touch with Poland and is in fact disinterested in it, while Eli has strong ties with the country although he works in Israel as a correspondent of one of the radio stations. Zeew brings with him from home the sculpture of “Don Quixote on Horseback” and the film tells the story of the journey of Zeew's work and his and Eli's visit to Poland. The working title of the film is “Don Quixote Must Return”. It is an excellent film novella with a sweet and sour touch to it. Viewers laugh and cry at the same time and sympathise with Zeew. You will see for yourself what happens.

Karolina Famulska (she also published in Plotkies) from Mikołaj Kopernik University in Toruń is studying Jewish writers writing in Polish. She has just finished writing her PhD dissertation and the defence exam is scheduled for November. Karolina is also helping me out with the Archiving of Plotkies at the Museum of Emigration (see the “Plotkies for ever” section in this issue).
Karolina is working on a biographical and philosophical essay on one of our friends and faithful contributor to Plotkies – Zosia Lewinter from Wrocław. In my humble opinion Karolina will do an excellent job as anything that she writes is of top intellectual standards and utmost linguistic quality.

Adam Szumilak, a Journalism student from Wrocław University has discovered a treasure for his project – a radio show about March 1968 emigrants returning to Poland. The protagonist of his project is Andrzej Kudesz from Kraków who left Poland for Israel in 1969 and returned in 2004. Andrzej currently lives in Wrocław and besides running a construction business he deals in the production of ecological goat cheese. His childhood stories and the accounts of his life in Israel are a treat to the ears. In her project,

Abigail Liebman, a student in contemporary Jewish history at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem, focused on the difficult issue of such March 1968 emigrants who suffered greatly during the communist regime in Poland. She tells the story of a friend of ours – Wera Lechtman and her mother Tonia Lechtman. Abigail’s project presentation was supplemented around excellent photographic illustrations and after a mild revision of the text, Abigail's project will be a highly interesting documentary story of two generations of Polish Jews told in two languages – Polish and Hebrew.

The other projects will also be produced in two language versions, although I am not certain whether there will be an English language version of each project to cater to the needs of a wider audience.

Jonatan Rozenbaum is the only representative of the offspring of the March 1968 emigrants. He presented his project which is a film telling the story of an average Israeli child aged 9 who all of a sudden is taken to the Ashkelon Reunion to meet hundreds of Polish speaking people. Jonatan's first Reunion took place in 1998 and he told us amusing stories of his aunts (Ewa and Freda) and his cousins. Undoubtedly this project is a true treasure and a chance to find out what our children really think of us.

The last day of the workshop was devoted to the discussion of two major elements of the entire programme. The first is the project by Anna Tarczyńska. In response to my provocative question why everyone is always making films about the victims of March 1968 and not about those who caused the exile to happen Ania decided to conduct interviews with the living representatives of the press who reported the events of March 1968. So far Ania has managed to make an appointment with Mieczysław Rakowski and on the last day of the workshops conducted an initial conversation which precedes to interview during which she will raise the issue of the famous letters sent to Polityka weekly at the time of the March 1968 event. She also contacted Andrzej Werblan and Kazimierz Kąkol however, it is not certain whether she will manage to conduct a meaningful interview with either of them.

And finally, Kasia Kulińska – the highlight of the programme. She has set on to find items left by Jews leaving Poland and discover the stories behind them. The objects will be displayed at an exhibition arranged in Jaffo and films, books and radio shows will accompany it. This is quite a difficult and responsible tasks.

To my surprise and disappointment NONE of Plotkies readers responded to her announcement published in one of the previous issues. She also posted the announcement in Midrasz and she talked about her project on radio ZET but has still not been contacted by anyone. This reminds me of the story told by Jacob Dammas in his film “Kredens” (The Dresser). The only persons with whom Kasia managed to meet and who have something left over by emigrants are Ludka Wujec and Bella Szwarcman-Czarnota. However, as we all know, they are Jews to whom things were left naturally by relatives.

What Kasia needs is information on things left to friends, lovers, neighbours, enemies, etc. so that their stories can be told. These objects need not necessarily have to be taken to Israel as the exhibition can display photographs, films and recordings. Below we publish Kasia's call once again and I sincerely hope that some of you will feel inclined to contact her, that memories will return and that you will remember to have left books, tables or stamps to your acquaintances or friends before leaving Poland.In sum, the young participants began to create many interesting projects which, once finished, will make a valuable and interesting contribution to the festivities commemorating the 40th anniversary of the March 1968 events.

And here is a letter from Kasia:

A SOUVENIR LEFT IN POLAND
Dear Sirs!
I am a fourth-year History student at Warsaw University and my research interests include, in particular, the history of post-war Jewish community in Poland.
Since December 2006, I have been taking part in documentary workshops organised by the Adam Mickiewicz Institute in Warsaw entitled “March '68. Farewells and Returns”(www.march68.info).
As part of the workshop I am working on a project which entails the organisation of an exhibition of souvenirs left by Jews fleeing Poland with friends and family who stayed behind. Every souvenir and object left behind has a story of its own and I would like to collect a number of such meaningful mementoes.
From the objects I manage to collect I would like to arrange an exhibition displaying the objects and telling the stories behind them. So far, I have only been contacted by several people who promised to meet me and lend the objects that were left in their hands. That is why I have taken the liberty to address you – if any of you upon leaving Poland left with your friends a memento, be it a photograph, favourite book or record and who still have it at home, please contact me to help me arrange the exhibition.
I hope to hear from some of you soon.
Any help will be greatly appreciated.
Katarzyna Kulińska kkulinska@o2.pl


"March 68. Farewells and Returns. A workshop"
By Poldek Sobel, “Plotkies” no.32, 2007-06-12

In issue no. 30 of Plotkies the project “March 68. Farewells and Returns” was introduced. In late March 2007 the second meeting of the programme participants took place in Tel Aviv and I, your humble servant, was invited to take part in the event so as to give you a full report of what went on. [...]

Some facts: The year 2008 will be a Polish Season in Israel. To celebrate this event the Adam Mickiewicz Institute in Warsaw (http://www.iam.pl/en/site/) is preparing a collection of projects done by a group of young Israeli and Poles which shall be the outcome of a series of workshops entitled “March 68. Farewells and Returns”. The person behind the whole venture and the artistic coordinator is Mateusz Werner, the Curator of the Film Section at the Adam Mickiewicz Institute. On the Polish side the project is coordinated by Artur Liebhart (Director of Against Gravity) and in Jerusalem the workshops are organised by Viola Wein. Viola has not only been extremely helpful to the Israeli participants but she organised the workshops’ schedule in Israel and her hard work on the project has earned her our sincere respect and praise.

A well-known Polish filmmaker Maciej Drygas coordinates film work. Drygas intends to shoot a documentary film on the projects developed by workshop participants. Józek Wein (bass player in Tułacze (The Wanderers) band in Babel club in Nowogrodzka street) and I were invited to share our knowledge and experience with the young participants. This time the workshops took place in Israel and they lasted four days and each day was packed full with various events. Most meetings were conducted in English although we also talked in Hebrew and Polish, occasionally with the help of interpreters. The cost of the entire venture is incurred by the Adam Mickiewicz Institute.
Artur
Jonatan (left) and Mateusz
Maciek
Józek and Kasia during lectures at the University
Workshop participants and guests met on the morning of 26 March 2007 at Adiw hotel at Mendele Sfarim street and we all took off to the Cinematek (one of the places where intellectuals go to see films) in Tel Aviv. We were welcomed by Alon Garbuz, the manager of the cinema and Marek Rozenbaum, the Chairman of the Israeli Film Academy who gave a welcome speech. Then we were invited to watch a film entitled “Szkoła nr 27” [School no.27] directed by Szymon Zaleski and Marilyn Wette. The film tells the story of Marek's class at the Jewish school in Łódź. It was well received by workshop participants and the organisers. Then we were shown a film by one of the participants, a young film maker to be – Orly Buium entitled “All my Exxx”. The purpose of the screening was to acquaint us with the innovative method she will be using to produce her project during the workshops. During the discussion which followed, it turned out that Buium is intending to make a documentary on two or three persons from the group of immigrants she has met and whose life stories appeal to her most. One of the protagonist of the film will be Zeev Primor, a sculptor from Jerusalem and the other will be Eli Barbur, a journalist and writer (he is a frequent collaborator of Plotkies) and what seems to be the most interesting about the project is that the two men differ greatly as far as their attitudes to life and life stories are concerned. Orly wanted to look for a third protagonist but the idea was opposed by Józek Wein (who is the cinematography expert for the group).
From left: Abigail, Orly and Karolina
After the visit to the Cinematek we all commuted to Tel Aviv University (Binian Gilman Building, where I was a student in the years 1968-72 and then assistant lecturer at the Faculty of History). We were treated to a delicious lunch at the Gilman cafeteria and were then greeted by Scott Uri PhD, a lecturer from the Department of Polish Jewry and Chaim Cohen and our workshop continued. Now let me talk a little on the persons who presented their advancement on projects, and forgive me if I do not present the participants in the exact order in which they gave their presentations.

Jonathan Rozenbaum (Marek’s son and Ewa’s nephew) a student of the film school at Tel Aviv University talked on his project devoted to the history of his family, a family of March '68 immigrants to Israel. Jonathan’s presentation was followed by a discussion on how many generations of the family ought to be portrayed in the film. When asked why he wants to make a film about his family, Jonathan said (and I quote from memory): "I would like to understand why whenever I took part in any gatherings of Poles, such as the reunion in Aszkelon, I was kissed and hugged by lots of relatives and strangers alike".
Karolina
Karolina Famulska, a specialist in Polish studies and librarian from the Mikołaj Kopernik University in Toruń is working on an analysis (in the form of an essay) of the life story of one of the representatives of the March '68 emigrants, namely Zosia Braun (Lewinter). A similar project is being developed by Abigail Liebman, a student at the Modern Jewish History Department at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem.
Abigail
Nir
Nir Dawid Zats is working on a cabaret performance touching upon the events of March '68. What is interesting, is that Nir's genuine interest in Polish issues is closely connected with the fact that he is about to get married to a Polish girl.

Katarzyna Kulińska, a student of the History Department at Warsaw University has taken on a difficult task, as she is planning to arrange an exhibition displaying objects left in Poland by Jews after they emigrated to Israel in 1968. The exhibition will present the various exhibits collected by Katarzyna and it will tell the stories behind the individual items and explain how they were found. Katarzyna is considering the use of the film form for her project. Please take a look at her request at the end of this article.
Ania and Kasia
Anna Tarczyńska, a likeable young Journalism and Psychology student at Warsaw University was convinced by workshop participants that she needs to redefine her ideas about the project and she is now planning to look for people that stand behind the violence and repressions of Jews after 1968. Ania is planning to conduct interviews with selected persons and publish them.
Grzesiek Brzozowski
Grzegorz Brzozowski, a Sociology student at Warsaw University decided to explore the subject of the exiled people and is planning to make a film about the experiences of three different families expelled from Poland, namely a Polish family originating from the Polish Eastern Frontier, a family of Jews who fled Poland in 1968 and Germans forced to leave the Western Provinces after World War II. It is an ambitious and difficult project and an extremely interesting one too. Grzegorz too, has asked the readers of Plotkies for help, please read his letter at the end of the article.

Adam Szumilak, a Journalism and Jewish Studies student from Wrocław is planning to produce a radio show about a man who emigrated from Poland in 1968 and has recently returned to his home land.

One of the Israeli participants, Yossi Meiri, a student of the film school at Tel Aviv University was ill and could not attend the workshop, he did not show up until late into the workshop and so we do not really know what his project will be about. It seems that he is intending to make a film based on cartoon elements and archive footage.

The second day of the workshops was devoted in its entirety to lectures and film screenings drawing on the events of March 1968. The first lecture was given by yours truly. It was entitled “Girusz Polin” [Exile from Poland] and it was divided into two parts. In the first part I talked about the origins, the socio-political circumstances that underlie emigration, the directions emigrants went in and its generational structure.

My lecture was followed by a screening of Andrzej Krakowski’s film entitled “Farewell to my country”. The films shown to participants were to serve a dual purpose, on the one hand they gave an account of the events of March '68 and on the other, the film form and technique used in them was to help participants become aware of what mistakes to avoid in their own productions.
Presentation of a T-shirt from Aszkelon ‘89, which was given by Witek to Ruti who was his school friend in the Wrocław-based school no. 7
After a short break it was time for the final part of my lecture entitled “Girusz Polin” during which I focused on the formation and evolution of the immigrants in the years from 1968 until 1980 and their current situation, and in particular, I talked on the way the community operates in Israel, which was an issue the workshop participants expressed the greatest interest in. Needless to say, I made everyone present aware that the information they were given during the workshop concerning Reunion, Aszkelon, our picnics, the Plotkies etc. was strictly confidential and under no circumstances were they allowed to remember anything. But to be honest, I think that most of my listeners dozed off a few minutes into the lecture, so fears of any information being disclosed are totally groundless. An abridged version of my talk will be given at Mullsjo this year.
Listeners during my lecture. Viola and Awi at the back of the room.
After lunch in the cafeteria there was a screening of a film by Jacob Kofler entitled “Stateless” produced for Danish television (many thanks to Krzysiek for sending me the DVD). At 3 pm we all took part in a long lecture given by prof. Mosze Fass from the Hebrew University. Prof. Mosze was a counsellor of the group of immigrants from Poland who studied in Jerusalem. After a long but amusing introduction on the status of Yiddish in Israel (Prof. Mosze teaches Yiddish at the University) the lecturer talked about his reminiscences of the time he assisted our friends in their academic lives. I strongly recommend an article written by Yossi Mor entitled “JEWISH STUDENTS FROM POLAND” in the current issue of Plotkies where you can read about the Israeli opinions on our friends in Jerusalem. It turns out that the serious and well-established ladies and gentlemen as we know them today were quite a wild bunch in their student years and took the most of their student lives in the dorms in Giwat Ram and Scopus Mountain.
Mosze Fass's lecture
Leon
The next lecture was given by Leon Sfard who told the story of his activity as a member of the opposition at Warsaw University, his apprehension and departure for Israel and he also talked on how he managed to get accustomed to the new culture and surroundings. The readers of Plotkies may recall that issue no. 8 in November 2002 featured a long interview with Leon.

In the evening we watched two short films, namely “Documents” by Jacub Dammas on passports and travel documents and the issue of citizenship as seen by a son and grandson of the 1968 immigrants to Israel and “Babel” by Fredek Łuszczyna aka Luvall on what our pre-emigration lives were like.

Throughout the whole day we were accompanied by Zosia Braun and Witek Ben Dor (Druski, which had just arrived to Israel from Warsaw) which permitted us to seek their opinions and comments on the events of March '68 as they were eye witnesses to the repressions and immigrants themselves.

At the end of the busy day the younger members of our group went clubbing while I went straight to bed.

Wednesday was to be devoted to sightseeing of Beit Ha'tfucot (Diaspora Museum) at Tel Aviv University. But because of the strike of employees of the education sector and as we had to finish assessing the work of workshop participants we stayed at the hotel until lunchtime discussing the individual projects and recapitulating the two past days.

In the afternoon several members from the March emigration arrived at the hotel to share their experiences with workshop participants. Eli Barbur, a writer and journalist, a regular columnist for Plotkies, gave us an account of the March '68 events as he witnessed them, he talked on his departure to Denmark and his immigration to Israel. The second guest, Halina vel Ayelet Szafir a writer, playwright and currently a librarian at the Polish Institute in Tel Aviv told us about her emigration experience and of her literary ambitions and achievements, she has actually given me a few of her short stories for publication in Plotkies. Finally, Zosia Braun talked on her exile from Poland but she mainly focused on the problems concerning the regaining of her citizenship, which she had previously discussed in an article published in Plotkies.
Discussion at Kora and Mark's
After dinner we all paid a visit to Kora and Mark Perelsteins who were kind enough to invite the entire group of Polish and Israeli students to their house. They treated us to a wonderful feast and suceeded in triggering a heated discussion by asking just the right questions. It was not until very late that I managed to convince everyone to leave the Prelesteins. Wake up time the next morning was supposed to be 7 am, but, instead of going to bed the whole bunch went out again. The Israeli and Poles were partying together as if cultural boundaries and historical differences never existed.
"I give up, no more talking for today!"
On the last day of the workshop we went on a tour of Jerusalem. Viola (workshop coordinator) arranged a visit to the Yad Vashem. At the museum we were assigned a tour guide, Rina, who presented the main exhibition halls devoted to the Holocaust. She did an excellent job as she skilfully omitted any controversies that have taken place such as the massacres in Warsaw in 1939, the Jedwabne issue or Kielce massacre. I wonder what she chooses to tell Germans who visit Yad Vashem?

After lunch at Yad-Vashem (Witek Ben Dor joined us there) we went to the Mount of Olives and from there we set off on a walk. Karolina Famulska was our guide as she managed to get to know Jerusalem like the palm of her hand when she lived there, having been a scholar at Hebrew University. We visited the cemeteries and reached the Getsemani Gardens, then passed through the St. Stephen's Gate (Lviv) to finally get to Via Dolorosa and other sites of Christ's martyrdom. We also paid a visit to the Holy Sepulchure. Then we continued our walk until we arrived at the Crying Wall and left the old part of the city through Jaffa Gate. We got on a bus which took us to Ein Kerem, a village near Jerusalem, and there, in a restaurant located by a stream (according to legends, it was at this stream that Virgin Mary met St.Elisabeth who was finally expectant) the final gala dinner was held. We talked and danced to piano music played by Viola until dawn.

You really do not want to know at what time we reached the hotel, but the Polish participants were supposed to catch a plane at 4 am that morning. I doubt that anyone got any sleep that night.

This is what happened at the second workshop. The third meeting will take place in Kraków in the autumn where participants are expected to present the final versions of their projects.

Please read on. Some of the participants would like to ask for your assistance.

Adam Szumilak

I am a student of Journalism and Jewish Studies at Wrocław University. My project (a radio show) concerns a man who left Poland for Israel in 1969 with his wife (a Polish non-Jew) and who returned to Poland several years ago to a new wife (a Polish non-Jew).

As far as input is concerned I have no special needs. Unless I were to be included in an announcement published by Artur (or someone elese) asking for archive materials to be submitted for the purposes of the project (photographs, recordings, letters, documents) connected with the events of March 1968. Please find below my phone number and e-mail address and if among the readers of Plotkies (or their friends and acquaintances) there is a person who meets the requirements specified above, please contact me. The said person could be living in Lower Silesia or Israel. I will travel to Isarel in July as I am taking a course in Yiddish, although I think people from Israel will be contacting Orly, Jonathan, Abigail, Nir or Yossi directly with any information.

tel. +48 501 398 633
e-mail: phnom@o2.pl

Grzegorz Brzozowski

My name is Grzegorz Brzozowski and I am currently a fifth-year student of Sociology and a student of the Inter-Faculty Individual Studies in Humanities (College of MISH) at Warsaw University and as part of the course I am majoring in Psychology and Theatre Studies. I come from a town in Podlasie – Wysokie Mazowieckie (where a Jewish cementary was renovated recently). My interests include the documentary film, theories of international conflicts and comparative religious studies. I spent the past academic year on scholarships at the Utrecht University and in the United States where I took part in an introductory course on the functioning of a civil society. (I can send a detailed resume upon request).

The project I am working on concerns the phenomenon of exile as a social trauma. The term of social trauma was coined by Piotr Sztompke, a renown sociologist from Jagiellonian University. It pertains to phenomena and experiences which exert a long-lasting disintegrating effect on a community. One example of such experiences is exile.

For the purposes of my project I am looking for people whose experience connected with exile was particualrly difficult. This could certainly be said of the families exiled from the Polish Eastern Frontier (incorporated into the Soviet Union) to the so-called Regained Territoties, i.e. the Western Provinces of Poland. I am particularly interested in a family which was forcefully relocated after the war and then suffered from repression again in the year 1968 and consequently was advised to leave the country. It is irrelevant whether the family actually emigrated from Poland, they need not necessarily have to live abroad today, in fact it would be much easier if the family came from the Lower Silesia, which was at a time, a real metling pot of cultures.

I would like to be given an opportunity to meet a representative of such a family, e.g. a person who could tell me about his or her family in the Polish Eastern Frontier and he or she personnally exeperienced the repressions of March 1968.

So far I have not managed to find such a person or family, and that is why I am addressing the readers of Plotkies – the immigrants of March 1968 with my request. I will be most grateful for any help and information!

The project will be realised as a short-feature documentary film and I have already found a camera operator to shoot it.

If any of you can help me in any way, please send me a message at:
gregbrzozowski@gmail.com