Arts & International Affairs: Vol. 4, No. 2, Autumn 2019 | Page 16

MY WROCLAW
World War II puts an end to the Polish culture of the so-called Eastern Borderlands. This
is neither the time nor the place to analyse that development. It is worth noting, however,
that in the Polish consciousness the mythical eastern borderlands were transplanted
to the western territories and their main city, Wroclaw. Wroclaw symbolically became a
repository of memories of the former greatness of Polish national culture, a culture that
was, after all, born in a multicultural, multi-ethnic melting pot. It is remarkable that it
was this place�the quintessence of Central European multiculturalism over a thousand
years of its history, additionally entangled in millions of private dramas of people who
were driven out of their homes and cut off from their roots�from which at some point
the words “we forgive and ask for forgiveness” came out.
In remembering this, I would not like to create the impression that I mean something
supernatural. On the contrary, what I have in mind is our city’s very natural drive for
European character. I also have in mind the fact that the twists and turns of history, interrupted
by and culminating in expulsions, can also be summarised in this open and tolerant
manner: “we forgive and ask for forgiveness.” A proper new beginning can only be
founded on openness and tolerance accompanied by full awareness of one’s own identity.
This is the message that Wroclaw wants to get across to the world. It could certainly
do so more powerfully and effectively as a European Capital of Culture.
I want to tell you about three important projects in Wroclaw, which, though linked with
the past, have important implications for the future.
The city once had many synagogues, including the two most famous ones: the new synagogue
(second in size only to the main Berlin synagogue) and the White Stork synagogue.
The former was destroyed before the war, during the infamous, brutal Kristallnacht, the
unbelievable crime that heralded the wave of atrocities to come, the Nazi destruction
plan. The White Stork survived World War II but was then left to dilapidate for decades.
I was very ashamed to learn that as recently as the 1980s, its then owner, which through
shameful decisions of the communist authorities was not Jewish community, tried to
sell the tiles from the roof of the synagogue. Restoration of the synagogue was one of my
dreams. Today, returned to Wroclaw’s small Jewish community, the completely renovated
White Stork synagogue has been reopened, bearing witness to the centuries of Jewish
presence in the city.
Some time ago, I received a letter from a woman born in Wroclaw who was forced to
leave Poland in 1968 and became an American citizen. She wrote that her class of Wroclaw’s
Sholem Aleichem Secondary School was planning a reunion here. I am glad they
will be able to see the rebuilt White Stork, which is once again a place of worship, study,
and meetings. I am glad that right next to it they will be able to see vibrant city life: numerous
pubs, shops, office buildings, and theatres, and that a magnificent concert hall
being built next to the opera house will soon come alive with music.
In the early 1990s, I was visited by friends from Germany. They wanted to visit their
grandparents’ grave. Unfortunately, the grave had disappeared from the face of the earth,
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