Blitzkreig of Krakow

Krakow is a very medieval city. It was established in the 11th century and was the first capital of organized Poland. The Polish date their history back to AD 966, when their king was baptized as a Christian- this is the beginning of its written history. Even today, Poland is an incredibly religious country- Krakow has 150 (almost entirely Catholic) churches.

Throughout the Middle Ages, Krakow has seen many armies walk its streets. After the 11th century, the kings of Poland gradually consolidated power over the nobles in the rest of Poland. And as this happened, the capital moved to Warsaw- so there are palaces in both cities. Krakow was overrun many times, by Swedes, Germans, Cossacks, Russians and Austrians. It was Austrians whose rule had the most impact on Poland. For the most part the Austrians were generous rulers who were respected by their subjects. The whole area of Galicia where Krakow is the center was under the Austro-Hungarian/Hapsburg dynasty for several centuries.

The Market Square of Krakow, largest in Europe

A boy dressed as a beer mug- an "underaged drink"

Krakow also has a rich Jewish tradition. Our hotel is in the middle of the old Jewish quarter, which was first a separate city from Krakow (a suburb really). The Jewish population today is 150 out of a city of 800,000. But the restaurants around here all have Jewish names and offer Jewish services, although the owners are Poles. The Jews really were the intellectual and cultural life of Poland- this was the way they moved up in society. Actually in Krakow the Jews were forced out of the city (into this suburb) well before the Holocaust, in the 16th century. But times changed, and the educated Jews attempted to get back into the mainstream life through education and art. Thus, they provided much of the cultural output of Krakow.

More of the streets of Krakow with old medieval buildings, including the gate

Yet as we know things would take another turn when the Germans took over. Of the 80,000 Jews living in Krakow before the War, only 1,500 were allowed to stay in the city to work in service capacities for the Germans and thus had a life that was a bit more secure than those in the ghetto and better than the lot of the Warsaw Jews. But their "prosperity" would be short-lived- slowly but surely they would be coerced out of even the ghetto and sent to labor camps or death camps or simply shot. This is where the famous Oskar Schindler was able to save 1.200; he kept them as workers and thus away from the death camps and finally hid them until the end of the War. I am certainly going to try and see "Schindler's List" when I get home.

There also other heroes and antiheroes in this complex story. We visited the pharmacy of the only Pole allowed in the Jewish ghetto, a pharmacist. He worked wondrous things for the Jews, giving them medicine, treating their sick and hiding them from the Nazis. He would receive the highest honor Jews bestow upon non-believers- the Righteous Gentile. But of course there were antiheroes, such as the fearful members of the ghetto that turned the Jewish underground resistance over to the Nazis, concerned that the resistance would upset their temporary reprieve as workers.

A Stained Glass window depicting Creation

The Holy Father was pleased to greet us.
Krakow was Pope John Paul II's hometown

The rest of the afternoon we spent studying the history of secular Poland and touring castles and the like. The churches in the area are first quite old and second remarkably beautiful. It is breathtaking the amount of time it must of taken to build these structures. There is gold and silver and paintings and statues and stained-glass combining into one awe-inspiring (albeit busy) spectacle. Some of these churches are like small cities, with people praying and worshipping all over the place. There are side-chapels that are kind of like museum exhibits that are gated off as separate "churches." It can be a little confusing!

I am starting to get quite homesick for America now. I miss family and friends and familiarity. One more weekend of learning and then I'm headed back!

From Grandma Theresa:

One of the things that Shalmi, our Israeli guide whose family is from Warsaw, has impressed me with is how very complex each story from the Holocaust is. Nothing is simple. Good men turned into beasts; ordinary people gave up their lives for others; women drugged their children and hid them in suitcases in desperation to keep them alive; families separated and some never found each other again. How would I do, I must ask myself, under such circumstances? Would I be a blessing or a curse to others? Would I keep my head? I am feeling that I am touching closer to the insides of the people I am hearing about. Shalmi has interviewed many Holocaust survivors and shares many touching stories, some quite incredible. He has blessed us with his expertise and caring heart.

The other thing that I was reminded of today by a woman who is the new director of the Galicia Museum in the Jewish Quarters told us: We think most about the Holocaust when we think of the Jewish history in Eastern Europe and specifically in Cracow and Warsaw. She reminded us that there were 800 years of history of Polish Jews before the Holocaust who were contributors to the arts, science and culture of Poland.

Shalmi helped us see that the Krakow Jews were the same as the other Jews of Poland, but also different. Because they had been under the Hapsburgs, a more liberal dynasty, they tended to assimilate faster - to study in the universities, to speak German as well as Polish and Yiddish. They became the bourgoise, the upper class. At the time of the Krakow ghetto, the Jewish women of Krakow became the secretaries to the Gestapo because they knew German! You see, it IS complex!

After touring the Old City of Krakow and shopping in the largest city square in Europe, we met for dinner at a small restaurant off the square. It was Neil Lebhar's birthday so the mood was quite festive with a special cake with candles, special wine, etc. Then I remembered that John MCCain had picked his running mate at noon, so I turned on my Blackberry and Bruce had sent an email with the news: the VP choice is Sarah Palin!! Everyone listened as I read my husband's email to them with the news. We are with many Brits and they were asking many questions as were our guides Krys from Krakow and Shalmi from Israel. It was a lively night. We had had a little rain in the afternoon, but it was a lovely clear night as we walked the mile or so back to our Hotel David in the old Jewish quarters. We will sleep well - again!!