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Bayit Hadash 2000
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Bayit Hadash 2001
::.. Bayit Hadash 2002
Bayit
Hadash 2000
Organizers:
+> The Judaica Foundation - Center for Jewish Culture
+> The Italian Cultural Institute in Cracow
+> The Goethe Institute in Cracow
Sponsors:
+> The Stefan Batory Foundation
+> The Department of Culture and Education, City of Cracow Cracow Municipal
Office
+> The Ministry of Culture and the National Heritage of the Republic
of Poland
+> LOT Polish Airlines
+> The Israeli Embassy in Warsaw
+> The Friedrich Ebert Foundation
MORDECHAJ
GEBIRTIG (1877 - 1942)
The fifth edition of the BAYIT HADASH Month of Encounters with Jewish
Culture was dedicated to Mordechaj Gebirtig. He was born in the Kazimierz
district of Cracow on May 4, 1877. He did not have much schooling except
for a traditional religious education in cheder. He worked as a carpenter
all his life.
In
his youth he was a fervent socialist. He made his print debut in 1905
on the pages of the Cracow Socjaldemokrat newspaper. He was encouraged
to write by the eminent man of letters Abraham Rajzen. Gebirtig's first
published verse was entitled Der general-sztrajk (General Strike).
In the First World War Gebirtig was drafted into the Austrian army and
served as an orderly in the military hospital in Cracow. He wrote many
poems during this time, later printed in his little volume Folkstimlech
(To a Folk Tune). ... Gebirtig was a true master of music and words,
and when he invoked folk motifs he raised them to the heights of artistry.
There are many autobiographical strands in his work. Some songs were
written for the theater, and others were deeply personal....
In the interwar period Gebirtig was involved in the work of the Jewish
theater at 7 Bocheńska Street. In 1924 he was even a member of the board
of the Jewish Art Lovers Society. He met actors and Jewish intellectuals
at the "Shmata" literary evenings or at Thorn's Restaurant. At one such
evening in 1921 he met Molly Picon and Jakub Kalich, who appeared on
the stage on Bocheńska Street in the operetta Jankiel. The guests were
delighted with the songs Gebirtig sang and bought performance rights
(for 25 dollars per song) to Huliet, huliet, kinderlech (Play, Children)
and Kinder-yorn (Childhood years). In this way the humble carpenter's
songs journeyed across the ocean....
The outbreak of the war found Gebirtig in an apartment at 5 Berka Joselewicza
Street in Cracow. In 1940, with his wife and three daughters he was
forced to "resettle" to Łagiewniki near Cracow. When in the spring of
1942 Gebirtig was moved to the ghetto in the Podgórze district of Cracow,
a few months of life were still left to him. In the ghetto he met his
friends: the artist Abraham Neuman, and the musician Juliusz Hoffman
who before the war had written down melodies Gebirtig composed. It is
not known exactly how many poems and songs were written during this
difficult period.
Mordechaj Gebirtig was shot to death on June 4, 1942, on the way to
the wagons that took Cracow Jews to the Bełżec death camp. Abraham Neuman
died together with him at the corner of Janowa Wola and Dąbrówki Streets.
None of the immediate family of the carpenter poet survived the war.
Anna Ciałowicz
from the exhibition catalogue "Gehat hob ich a hejm..." (Once Ihad a
home...)
BAYIT HADASH
Month of Encounters with Jewish Culture
October 2000 - Tishri 5761
Sunday,
October 1
Rosh Hashanah
Monday,
October 2
6:00 p.m. opening of the photographic exhibition "Gehat hob ich a
hejm... Once I had a home...," the Kazimierz district of Cracow
in Mordechaj Gebirtig's time, in photographs film showing, Five Polish
Cities, showing Jewish life in five cities of prewar Poland opening
with the participation of Rembert SCHLEICHER, former Austrian Consul
in Cracow
7:00 p.m. concert by the REINER TRIO, consisting of Roman REINER (violin),
Barbara ŁYPIK-SOBANIEC (cello) and Sławomir CIERPIK (piano); program
featuring Max Bruch's Kol Nidre and Jewish melodies
Tuesday, October 3
6:00 p.m. "The Bund: the historical achievements of a murdered party"
lecture by Abraham BRUMBERG (U.S.A.),
Abraham Brumberg, born in Warsaw, was a Bund activist. After emigrating
to the U.S.A. he became a highly regarded sovietologist.
Wednesday, October 4
6:00 p.m. Concert of Yiddish songs and poems. Abraham Brumberg
and Lesław Lic
Thursday, October 5
6:00 p.m. "Israel and the Holocaust"
lecture by Michał SOBELMAN, Press Secretary of the Israeli Embassy
in Poland
Friday, October 6
6:00 p.m. Concert by the KROKE ensemble: Tomasz KUKURBA (violin,
viola), Jerzy BAWÓŁ (accordion) and Tomasz LATO (double bass)
Sunday, October 8
KOL NIDRE
Monday, October 9
YOM KIPPUR
Tuesday, October 10
6:00 p.m. Who did Szmul Zygiebojm give his life for?
Meeting with Marian Turski and film showing, The Death of Zygielbojm,
directed by Dżamila Ankiewicz; meeting with the director after the screening.
Wednesday, October 11
6:00 p.m. "The Jewish identity in Poland and in Germany"
Panel discussion with Prof. Michael WOLFFSOHN (Germany) Marian TURSKI
and Adam KRZEMIŃSKI (moderator), arranged jointly with the Goethe Institute
in Cracow, with simultaneous translation.
Prof. Michael Wolffsohn was born in 1947 Tel Aviv to German Jewish emigrants.
He has lived in Germany since 1954. He studied history, political science
and economics in Berlin, Tel Aviv and New York. Since 1981 he has been
professor of contemporary history at the University of the Bundeswehr
in Munich. His books include Eternal Guilt and My Jews, Your Jews. "German-Jewish
relations are marked by many misunderstandings and contradictions. In
his new book, Michael Wolffsohn, known for not mincing his words and
for telling it like it is, speaks of painful matters, of intended and
unintended mutual offense." (Die Zeit, 1997)
Thursday, October 12
6:00 p.m. Kibbutznik from Nir-Oz
Meeting with Alex DANZIG (Israel) and showing of a film about
him directed by Krzysztof Bukowski, screenplay by Michał Sobelman.
Alex Danzig left Warsaw with his parents in 1957 when he was nine years
old. For years he has lived in the Nir-Oz kibbutz in the Negev Desert.
He completed a history degree in Israel, later was a schoolteacher and
worked in the kibbutz. Thirty years after leaving Poland he returned
for the first time. Currently he works in Israel's Ministry of Education,
training Israeli guides who take youth groups on tours around Poland
and also piloting groups of Israelis himself.
Friday, October 13
7:00 p.m. Wandering Mass according to Edward Stachura
Performance by Anna CHODAKOWSKA and Roman ZIEMLAŃSKI (guitar)
Saturday, October 14
SUKKOT I
Sunday, October 15
SUKKOT II
Monday, October 16
5:00 p.m. Opening of an exhibition by Justyna CHWASTEK
Justyna Chwastek designed the cover to the book Żydowski bard by Natan
GROSS. Exhibition of computer art inspired by Mordechaj Gebirtig's verse,
which she came to know through contact with Natan Gross.
5:30 p.m. Book promotion, Żydowski bard. Gawęda o życiu i twórczości
Mordechaj Gebirtiga (The Yiddish Bard: A Tale of the Life and Works
of Mordechaj Gebirtig), published by the Academic Bookstore in Cracow.
The first Polish monograph on the work of Mordechaj Gebirtig. At the
book promotion were Natan GROSS, Rafael F. SCHARF, Dr. Eugenia PROKOP-JANIEC
of the Institute of Philology of the Jagiellonian University, and Dr.
Józef WRÓBEL, editor of the book.
Natan Gross was born in Cracow in 1919. There he survived the Second
World War. He wrote of those days in the book Who are You, Mr. Grymek?,
published in Polish in 1991. Before he emigrated to Israel in 1950 he
published Wybór współczesnej poezji hebrajskiej (Selection of Contemporary
Hebrew Poetry, 1947) and Pieśni o Izraelu (Song of Israel, 1948); he
returned to poetry in the book Co po nam zostało z tych lat (What Is
Left to Us from Those Years?, 1971) and Okruszyny młodości (Fragments
of Youth, 1976) He is active as a writer and publicist in the Polish-speaking
community in Israel. Another professional interest of his is film; he
has directed three feature-length films and more than a hundred documentaries.
His books in Hebrew include a history of Yiddish film in Poland (1990),
and a history of Israeli film (1991) which he co-authored.
7:00 p.m. Memories of Cracow's Kazimierz
Concert by the JASCHA LIEBERMAN TRIO: Jascha LIEBERMAN (violin,
viola), Jacek HOŁUBOWSKI (accordion), Roman ŚLAZYK (double bass)
Tuesday, October 17
6:00 p.m. Reflections on Polish-Jewish relations between the world
wars
lecture by Prof. Israel GUTMAN of Yad Vashem
Wednesday, October 18
6:00 p.m. Is the occupation over?
meeting with Antoni MARIANOWICZ
Antoni Marianowicz has written more than twenty poetry collections,
translations of German, British, American and French literature, many
satirical works, plays and radio programs. He is the recipient of the
Polonia Restituta Officer's Cross and Order of Chevaliers, and many
other state honors. Chairman of the Board of the ZAIKS Federation of
Authors. His book Życie surowo wzbronione (Life Strictly Prohibited)
appeared in 1995, and his Polska, Żydzi and cykliści. Dziennik roku
przestępnego" (Poland, Jews and Bicyclists: Journal of a Criminal Year)
in 1999.
Thursday, October 19
6:00 p.m. book promotion, the album Malarstwo and rzeźba Żydów
polskich in XIX and XX wieku (The Painting and Sculpture of Polish
Jews in the 19th and 20th Centuries) by Prof. Jerzy MALINOWSKI published
by PWN Publishing House.
This meeting with the author of the first contemporary synthesis of
the art of Polish Jews was an occasion for discussions on this colorfully
presented history of Jewish art. Up to now there has not been such a
penetrating exploration of questions regarding the interpretation of
the works of Jewish artists like Maurycy Gottlieb, Samuel Hirszenberg
or Artur Markowicz. The first of the two volumes of this extraordinary
book probes the art's complicated symbolism and its relation to political
and social ideas. The volume treats Jewish artists from Polish, Lithuanian
and Belarussian land, the group Young Yiddish, and the history of art
from 1910 to 1939.
Saturday, October 21
SIMCHAT TORAH
Sunday, October 22
6:00 p.m. Concert of Mordechaj Gebirtig's songs performed by
Tova BEN-ZVI (Israel)
Sunday, October 29
6:00 p.m. Concert of chamber music performed by Agnieszka MONASTERSKA
(mezzo soprano), Bogusława HUBISZ-SIELSKA (viola) and Mariusz SIELSKI
(piano)
Concert to promote a disc of music composed by Rachel Knobler. The concert
also included works by F. Schubert, H. Vieuxtemps, J. Brahms, C. Debussy
and B. Britten. Rachel Knobler was born in 1924 Słomniki near Cracow.
She graduated from the Hebrew High School in Cracow and has lived in
Munich since 1946. She is a composer, painter and poet.
INCONTRI CON LA CULTURA EBRAICA
Sunday, October 22
8:00 p.m. Film showing, Jonah Who Lived in the Whale, directed
by Roberto FAENZA, with the participation of the director, at the Pod
Baranami Cimena
Monday, October 23
6:00 p.m. Meeting with Nedo FIANO, former inmate of the Auschwitz-Birkenau
concentration camp, and panel discussion with Marcello PEZZETTI of the
Center for Contemporary Jewish Documentation Foundation (CDEC) in Milan,
Rudi ASSUNTINO, film director Roberto FAENZA and actress Elda FERRI.
Tuesday, October 24
6:00 p.m. Film showing, La Tregua, directed by Francesco ROSI,
based on themes from Primo Levi's stories original version with simultaneous
translation
Wednesday, October 25
6:00 p.m. Concert by the I Solisti di Perugia string quartet
(Paolo FRANCESCHINI, Luca ARCESE, Luca RANIERI and Maria Cecilia BERIOLI)
conducted by Maestro Eugenio De ROSA (piano)
Thursday, October 26
6:00 p.m. Film showing, The Garden of the Finzi Continis, directed
by Vittorio De SICA. original version with simultaneous translation
Friday, October 27
6:00 p.m. Trzy córki - Dray tekhterlech (Three Daughters) musical
spectacle by Rudi ASSUNTINO about the poetry, music and life of Mordechaj
Gebirtig, performed by the TRIO SHIR AM (Italy): Faye NEPON (voice),
Igor POLESITSKY (violin, viola), Mauro GROSSI (piano), Ludmiła RYBA
(narration). Arranged by Joel Hoffman and Igor Polesitsky.
Saturday, October 28
8:00 p.m. Film showing, L'amante perduto, directed by Roberto
FAENZA Pod Baranami Cinema
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