JEWISH POLAND
THE HEART & SOUL OF ASHKENAZI JEWRY
Warsaw - Krakow - Auschwitz-Birkenau - Shtetls: Pinczow and Chmielnik
Scholar-in-Residence Dr. Tomasz Cebulski
Sunday, June 23 - Sunday, 30, 2024
8 days/ 7 nights
ABOUT THE TOUR
Tour Highlights |
Warsaw, the Phoenix City
Krakow, a UNESCO-listed World Heritage Site
|
Dear Friends,
I am pleased to invite you to join us on our first Summer Taube Jewish Heritage Tour since COVID-19 and the outbreak of the war in Ukraine.
JEWISH POLAND: THE HEART & SOUL OF ASHKENAZI JEWRY
Sunday, June 23 – Sunday, June 30, 2024
Our journey, led by preeminent scholars Dr. Tomasz Cebulski and Professor Dariusz Stola, will begin in Warsaw with a visit to the internationally acclaimed POLIN Museum of the History of Polish Jews, and conclude at the annual Krakow Jewish Culture Festival in the Royal City of Krakow.
We will trace the evolution of Jewish life in the cradle of Ashkenazi Jewry, visiting the very places where some of our grandparents and great-grandparents were born. Together, we will explore the richness of pre-war Jewish life, memorialize the tragic loss, and celebrate Jewish life in Poland today.
We will introduce you to Polish parliamentarians, Israeli, Ukrainian, and U.S. embassy representatives, and Jewish community leaders. Their perspectives will provide you with additional insights and a deeper understanding of contemporary Poland, its European and global role, and the country’s growing Jewish community.
We would be happy to answer any of your questions. Please contact us at tours@taubejewishheritagetours.com
The Taube Center Team and I look forward to greeting you in Warsaw this coming June.
With our best wishes for a Happy Chanuka and a Holiday Season filled with light and peace,
Helise
Helise Lieberman,
Director, Taube Center for Jewish Life & Learning
Dr. Tomasz Cebulski was born in Kraków, graduated with his first MA in International Relations from Jagiellonian University, Kraków, with a thesis on “Polish-Israeli Relations after 1989.” His second MA was at the Jagiellonian University in the Department of Middle and Far East Studies with a thesis on “The Role of the Holocaust Memory in Shaping Israeli Identity.” In October 2014, he received his Ph.D. from the Department of Political Relations at Jagiellonian University, with a dissertation on “Political and International Aspects of the Functioning of the Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum in the years 1980-2010.”
In 2000 he founded a research and historical interpretation center Polin Travel. It focuses and morphs history genealogy and guiding into a holistic visit experience in Central Europe. Tomasz holds multiple state guiding certificates at the Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum, Kraków, and Galicia including the Second World War Museum at Schindler’s Factory in Kraków, Polin Museum in Warsaw. He is an experienced genealogist and licensed tour leader in Poland and Central Europe. Cebulski is an author of multiple articles on the history of Polish Jews, genealogy, and politics of memory. Cebulski is the author of a book, “Auschwitz after Auschwitz. History, memory, politics.” The book debates the dynamic of construction of the Holocaust memory, provides an insight into the Auschwitz Museum through analyzing the politics of commemoration and conflict resolution a the side in the last 3 decades.
In 2020, Tomasz established a new visual project Sky Heritage Pictures to present historical sites from a new drone vantage point. The films produced by SHP in Gen-FILM-It series are used by museums, educational institutions and in narrating family genealogies. The productions are sharable and involving new digital tools to narrate history.
In 2020, Cebulski established the Teen Flying University to promote education of Polish youth. Project is based on teaching values of social diversity and democracy as being rooted in history awareness. Within the project local sites of memory are being discovered, taken care of and interpreted by the youth for the sake of local history awareness, responsibility and education.
In 2022, Tomasz received a travel and research grant within the Untold Stories | Places of Memory project. He authored the video Life ‘Unworthy’ of Living.
In the past, Dr. Cebulski led several heritage tours for our Foundation, including delegations from the Workers Circle, Hebrew Union College, as well as a tour with Prof. Deborah Lipstadt.
ITINERARY
ARRIVAL IN WARSAW: THE PHOENIX CITY
A TJHT representative will meet all guests and transfers will be provided, based on your arrival information.
We recommend that participants arrive by 2:00 pm. If participants would like to arrive earlier, TJHT will be happy to make hotel and transfer arrangements on their behalf.
Transfer to the hotel and check in
Time to refresh and explore the city of Warsaw on your own. Recommendations will be provided.
Optional guided tour of Warsaw or time on your own.
Suggested sites to visit:
● Walk the Royal Route and Nowy Swiat Avenue, which evoke the architecture and cultural milieu of pre-war Warsaw and are lined with cafes and eateries.
● The Royal Baths Park (Łazienki) is the largest historical park in Warsaw, which serves as a venue for music, the arts, and cultural events.
● A stroll along the Vistula river, the longest river in Poland and one of the longest in Europe. The river bank has its own beaches and bars where you can sit and enjoy the view or sample Warsaw’s street food.
● Visit to Praga, the district of Warsaw located on the right bank of Vistula river. Sites worth visiting: Polish Vodka Museum and the Żabinski’s Villa* in the Warsaw Zoo.
The Zabinskis were the zookeepers prior to and during World War II. They succeeded in hiding more than 300 Jews within the zoo’s grounds.
● Wilanów Palace (a wonderful Baroque royal residence located in the south of the capital), with its lovely grounds and world-famous poster museum.
● Visit to the viewing platform of the Palace of Culture and Science, a 1950s Stalinist skyscraper offering panoramic views of the city, including its booming CBD.
WELCOME TO JEWISH POLAND
WARSAW – the capital of Poland, has been popularly dubbed the “The Phoenix City”, as it lost well over a half of its prewar population and was almost completely destroyed during World War II, and afterwards was rebuilt from the rubble and ruins in a nationwide effort. Divided by the Vistula, Poland’s major river, the city’s right and left banks narrate the complex history of the city. Today, Warsaw, Poland’s largest city with over three million people living in its metropolitan area, is a vibrant political and economic center of the country, reflecting the resurgence of Poland’s economy over the past 30 years as a member of NATO since 1999 and the EU since 2004. The meticulously rebuilt Old Town with the Royal Route and the 2016 European Museum of the Year POLIN Museum of the History of Polish Jews are two of the crucial major cultural cornerstones of this Central European capital. Home to more than 350,000 Jews from across the cultural and religious spectrum in the center of the Ashkenazi world prior to the Holocaust, Warsaw is now home to Poland’s largest Jewish community counting several thousand people, which hosts a renown Jewish Historical Institute, JCC, Hillel, and a day primary and secondary schools, as well as various religious communities. From the onset of the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Warsaw is also the center of international support for the attacked country as well as the main hub of aid effort for Ukrainian refugees, of whom several hundred thousand have found a temporary home in the Polish capital’s metropolitan area.
3:00 pm – 4:30 pm Introductory Session with Dr. Tomasz Cebulski, scholar-in-residence, Helise Lieberman, Director, Taube Jewish Heritage Tours and tour staff.
Why are we here? What brings us to Poland?
5:00 pm – 6:30 pm Welcome reception and remarks by tour special guests, tour hosts, and Taube Jewish Heritage Tours staff.
Special guests: TBA
6:30 pm Introduction to Warsaw and guided walk to the Warsaw Jewish Community Center, via the Royal Route and Nowy Swiat Avenue, which evoke the architecture and cultural milieu of pre-war Warsaw.
7:30 pm Welcome dinner
Walk back to the hotel
Overnight in Warsaw
WARSAW: 1,000 YEARS OF JEWISH LIFE IN POLAND
Breakfast in the hotel
9:00 am – 9:45 am Morning briefing with scholar-in-residence
10:00 am Coach to POLIN Museum of the History of Polish Jews
10:15 am Brief tour of the Warsaw Ghetto Memorials
10:30 am – 11:00 am Welcome by the Museum director
11:30 am – 2:30 pm Curated tour through the POLIN Museum’s eight galleries narrating 1,000 years of the Polish Jewish experience
2:30 pm – 3:30 pm Lunch in the POLIN Museum
3:30 pm – 4:30 pm Walk to the Umschlagplatz, Umschlagplatz, the deportation center from which the Nazis transported 300,000 Jews to Treblinka. A guided walk along the Memorial Route of Jewish Martyrdom and Struggle and the monument at Mila 18 St, will take you to the Polin Museum of the History of Polish.
4:30 pm Return to the hotel via coach or time on your own at the Museum
Time to refresh
7:30 pm Dinner at the Warsaw JCC hosted by the Center’s director with Jewish community leaders.
Welcome by JCC Director Agata Rakowiecka
Leisurely walk or transportation back to the hotel
Overnight in Warsaw
WARSAW: PAST MEETS PRESENT
Breakfast in the hotel
9:00 am – 9:45 am Morning briefing with scholar-in-residence
10:00 am Coach to the Jewish Historical Institute.
Welcomed by the Directors
10:15 am – 11:30 am Visit to the Emanuel Ringelblum Jewish Historical Institute with a private viewing of the new permanent exhibition that tells the story of the hidden archives of the Warsaw Ghetto, which were collected by Jewish researchers imprisoned in the ghetto, then hidden underground, and rescued after WWII.
11:30 am Coach to Grzybowski Sq.
11:45 am – 12:45 pm Guided tour of Plac Grzybowski and the Nozyk Synagogue
12:45 pm – 2:00 pm Lunch on Grzybowski Sq.
Coach to Okopowa Jewish Cemetery
2:30 pm – 4:00 pm Tour of the Warsaw’s Jewish Cemetery on Okopowa street
5:00 pm Warsaw summary session at Taube Center
Time on your own
Dinner on your own
Walk back to the hotel
Overnight in Warsaw
WARSAW – KRAKOW: THE ROYAL CITY & KAZIMIERZ, THE HISTORIC JEWISH DISTRICT
Breakfast in the hotel
Check out. Your suitcases will be collected early morning and loaded onto a van and transferred to the hotel in Krakow and delivered to your room.
10:00 am Transfer to the Warsaw Central Station via vans
10:50 am Express Train to Krakow TBC
1:00 pm Arrival in Krakow and transfer to the hotel
Check in and time to refresh
WELCOME TO KRAKOW, THE ANCIENT ROYAL CAPITAL
KRAKOW – The historical capital of Poland, miraculously saved from destruction during centuries of wars and turmoil, is replete with numerous medieval, renaissance, and baroque churches, synagogues, and other marvels of architecture. While walking through the streets of old Krakow, you can literally breathe in the city’s 1,000-year-old history and admire the monuments of the ancient times. But Krakow is also the second largest city of the country, with more than a million people living in its metropolitan area, a center of vibrant economic and service activity, offering all aspects of modernity. Krakow – was once an important center of European Jewry, a bustling center of Ashkenazi life and culture since the middle ages, and particularly one of the major sites of Progressive movement – is now one of the main centers of Jewish renewal in Poland. Visitors and locals alike are attracted to the Old Town of Krakow, the former Jewish district of Kazimierz, and the district of Podgórze, located across the Vistula, where Germans established the ghetto during the war. Krakow, with its seven remaining synagogues, numerous museums holding an array of interesting judaica, and other reminders of Polish Jewish heritage, is both a living memorial and a beacon for the future.
3:00 pm – Welcome and introduction to Krakow
4:00 pm – Guided tour of from the hotel to Kazimierz
5:15 pm – 6:30 pm Early buffet dinner in the Kazimierz district
Walk to the Tempel Synagogue (two blocks from restaurant)
6:30 pm Krakow Jewish Culture Festival concert
Venue: Tempel synagogue
Walk back to the hotel/transportation arranged by TJHT
Overnight in Krakow
Overnight in Krakow
KRAKOW: THE ANCIENT ROYAL CAPITAL
KRAKOW – The historical capital of Poland, miraculously saved from destruction during centuries of wars and turmoil, is replete with numerous medieval, renaissance, and baroque churches, synagogues, and other architectural marvels. Krakow was once an important center of European Jewry, particularly of the Progressive movement, and now is one of the main centers of Jewish renewal in Poland. Visitors and locals alike are attracted to the Old Town of Krakow, the former Jewish district of Kazimierz, and the district of Podgorze where Germans established the ghetto during the war. Krakow, with its seven remaining synagogues and other reminders of Polish Jewish heritage, is both a living memorial and a beacon for the future.
Breakfast in the hotel
Morning briefing with scholar-in-residence
Guided walking tour through Krakow’s Jewish district including a visit to the Galicia Jewish Museum and the Krakow JCC
Lunch with Janusz Makuch, Director, Krakow Jewish Culture Festival
Guided walking tour through Krakow’s Old Town including the grounds of the Royal Wawel Castle and Collegium Maius. Like Kazimierz, the Old Town is listed as UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Return to the hotel
6:00 pm Jewish Culture Festival Concert at the Tempel Synagogue
Overnight in Krakow
MEMORIAL AND MUSEUM AUSCHWITZ-BIRKENAU
Early breakfast
8:45 am – 9:30 am How we visit Auschwitz? Session with scholar-in-residence
9:45 am Departure for Memorial and Museum Auschwitz Birkenau via coach (an approx. 90-minute drive)
11:30 am – 2:00 pm Study tour of Birkenau
Short break. Boxed lunch provided
2:30 pm – 5:00 pm The tour continues to Auschwitz I Museum concluding with a visit to the “Shoah” exhibit at Block 27, curated by Yad Vashem, and a reflection session.
Coach back to the hotel
Time to refresh and rest
7:30 pm Krakow Jewish Culture Festival
Venue: Tempel synagogue
9:00 pm Shabbat dinner with scholar-in-residence @ 700 guests from the Polish Jewish community and around the world, hosted by the JCC Krakow.
Venue: Old Depot Krakow (Stara Zajezdnia)
Świętego Wawrzyńca 12 St.
Walk/van to the hotel
Overnight in Krakow
KRAKOW: SHABBAT
Breakfast in the hotel
Free morning
Optional tours:
- Wieliczka Salt Mines
- Krakow’s Former Ghetto and Schindler’s Factory Museum
- Visit to Pinczow and Chmielnik, former shtetls
5:30 pm Summary session in the hotel
7:00 pm Farewell dinner Plac Nowy 1
Szalom on Szeroka! The outdoor final concert of the Krakow Jewish Culture Festival (6:00 pm through 1:00 am)
Overnight in Krakow
DEPARTURES
Breakfast in the hotel
Transfers arranged for departures.
TJHT will be happy to arrange post-tour visits to family towns or extended visits and sightseeing.
Please read the two tour policy guidelines carefully. In case of any questions, please contact associate director, Aleksandra Makuch at amakuch@taubejewishheritagetours.com
Double Occupancy
One Person-
Five-star accommodations
-
Full breakfast daily
-
Private arrival and departure transfers
-
Selected meals featuring national and international cuisine
-
Entrance fees to all venues included in the itinerary
-
Ground transportation via deluxe air-conditioned coach and express train
-
Pre-tour online meeting with Dr. Cebulski and Helise Lieberman
-
Introductory consultation with the Taube Center’s genealogist
-
A comprehensive resource and reading list sent prior to the tour
-
Gratuities
Single Occupancy
One Person-
Five-star accommodations
-
Full breakfast daily
-
Private arrival and departure transfers
-
Selected meals featuring national and international cuisine
-
Entrance fees to all venues included in the itinerary
-
Ground transportation via deluxe air-conditioned coach and express train
-
Pre-tour online meeting with Dr. Cebulski and Helise Lieberman
-
Introductory consultation with the Taube Center’s genealogist
-
A comprehensive resource and reading list sent prior to the tour
-
Gratuities