“Republika pobożnych. Chasydzka historia Polski” (“The Republic of the Pious. The Hasidic History of Poland”) – meeting with Dorota Bidzińska, author of the book

Led by: Jan Grabowski

Dorota Bidzińska goes on a journey through Hasidic Poland – once a spiritual center of Europe, today a map of cemeteries and a bunch of almost forgotten stories. She visits places which were once marked by the presence of famous mystics, and searches for the traces of the most important leaders and teachers, as well as traces of the women, contemporary Hasidim, and artists – without whom the story would have been incomplete.

“How should one write about Jewish life in Poland without the word “Shoah” that eats everything alive? At the same time, how does one avoid being labelled and associated with “Fiddler on the Roof” or gefilte fish? How not to get all of these lives, full of flesh and blood, stuck in places which are now adjusted to the idea of folklore, where the past citizens are frozen forever in their gabardine coats, with a glass of Pesach vodka, and a smart joke ready to be told; either with a goat in the room or without it. Completely dead caricatures.”

Dorota Bidzińska – journalist and reporter, graduate of the Polska Szkoła Reportażu. She published her articles in “Duży Format”, “Ale Historia”, “Tygodnik Powszechny”, and “Miesięcznik Znak”.

This event is organized in cooperation with: Znak Horyzont Publishing House.

In Polish. Free admission.