Rabbis Reconvene In Poland

Last week, Poland's Rabbinical Association was revived for the first time in over half a century. Seven Orthodox rabbis from across Poland convened in the city of Lodz under the guidance of Poland's Chief Rabbi, Michael Schudrich.

Poland provided a home for approximately 3.5 million Jews before the war. The roots of these families could be found in a time when Poland was a haven of religious toleration. Assimilated Jews such as Julian Tuwim, Bruno Schulz and Boleslaw Lesmian are amongst scores of names who did tremendous things for Polish culture. Antisemitism across Europe cast increasingly ominous shadows during the early twentieth century. During the war, most of Eastern Europe's Jews were killed by the Nazis. Hitler marked them out as racially corrupt, and viewed poorer Jews as communists. After the war, several thousand survivors fled Poland - now in the hands of the communists - in the wake of outbreaks of antisemitism in several localities.

Since the fall of the Iron Curtain, Poland has been gradually rediscovering its Jewish past. Jewish studies are increasingly popular at the universities, and the state is sponsoring many Jewish cultural projects. Not least, Poles with Jewish roots - approximately 30,000 endure today - now have a growing number of rabbis to offer spiritual guidance.