Auschwitz. The very name is carved into Jewish history forever. The word evokes national memories of death, genocide, millions of lives destroyed by a heartless enemy. It’s become the best-known example of the unthinkable horrors of the Holocaust.
On January 27, 1945 (12 Shevat 5705), the Red Army liberated the Auschwitz concentration camp. More accurately, they liberated the pitifully few survivors who miraculously evaded the death machine that was Auschwitz.
Seventy years later, Rabbi Eliezer Gurary, chief rabbi and Chabad representative to the city of Krakow—the closest vibrant Jewish community to Auschwitz-Birkenau—takes time to answer a few questions about the intermingling of past and present.
Q: Rabbi Gurary, tell us about contemporary Jewish life in Krakow.
A: The Jewish community here is very diverse. Of course, there is a significant group of local survivors and their children, who’ve chosen to remain here after the Holocaust. There are many others who came later, including many Israelis—many of whom are studying medicine in local Polish universities—and Americans.
We try to serve every segment of the community, young and old. We have a preschool, synagogue services, kosher food for sale, a beautifulmikvah, and everything else you expect in a Jewish community.
There are prayer services throughout the week, and on Shabbat, many of the synagogues open to accommodate the numerous visitors. There are also Shabbat meals for locals and visitors. In short, we are a community that lives and thrives throughout the year.
Q: Krakow has a very famous synagogue. What can you tell us about it?
A: That’s right. It’s called the Rema Synagogue, named for Rabbi Moshe Isserles, the famous codifier of Jewish law who lived here, who is commonly known as “the Rema,” an acronym of his name. It was actually built by his father. In the courtyard of the ancient synagogue is a cemetery, where many of our nation’s foremost Torah teachers who flourished in Krakow during the renaissance period are buried, including the Rema himself.
The synagogue is currently undergoing massive renovations in a wide-reaching effort to restore it to its original glory. For the time being, many activities are being held in the Izaak Synagogue, which the Nazis desecrated but did not demolish.
Q: What is it like to be the closest rabbi to Auschwitz?
A: It’s not easy.
On one hand, the Holocaust is never far from your mind. Just realizing how fragile life is and how much we depend on G‑d’s mercy is a very humbling—perhaps depressing—thought. On the other hand, when I read and hear about Jews who gave their very lives in the darkest moments just to do one more mitzvah, I feel a deep inspiration. Even when every effort was made to dehumanize them, they scrupulously laid tefillin, light the Chanukah menorah and baked matzah. Realizing the pains they took to do mitzvahs, tells us how we—who are, thank G‑d, not in such a situation—must do our utmost to live Jewishly.
Q: Who visits Krakow?
A: Almost everyone who visits Auschwitz visits Krakow. Many Jews come here to find their roots—their ancestors who lived in the area. Then there are those who don’t have a strong overt connection to Judaism but are curious about Jewish life in the past. It’s heartwarming to see Jews in full Chassidic garb praying in the synagogue alongside their brothers and sisters who are just seeing Jewish prayer services for the first time.
I like to tell people the legend that surrounds the Izaak Synagogue. There was once a Jewish person named Isaac who dreamt that there is treasure buried under a bridge in the city of Prague. He travels to Prague, only to be told by a cynical policeman that he had dreamed about treasure buried under the hearth of a Jew in Krakow named Isaac. Isaac returned home as fast as he could. Sure enough, he found treasure under his home, and he used that money to build the synagogue that bears his name. People come here expecting to unearth hidden treasure, to experience the past and feel the echoes of their forbearers. But we all discover that our true treasure—our Jewish identities—is buried under our own homes. When we return home and live Jewish lives, that’s the real treasure.
Q: You meet people who come to visit one of the most horrible places on Earth. What do they tell you? And what do you tell them?
A: No one visits Auschwitz and leaves exactly as he or she came in. Everyone’s heart is touched when they visit. People want to speak to a rabbi. They have questions about Judaism, questions about G‑d. They want to know how He let it happen, where was G‑d during the Holocaust? The experience unearths deep questions, but it also uncovers a very strong connection—the Jewish spark that dwells within each and every one of us.
I tell them about Jewish life today, about the revival of our community and our growing array of activities. People want to know how we manage. I tell them about shlichus, how the Rebbe—Rabbi Menachem M. Schneerson, of righteous memory—sent emissaries to every corner of the world, and Krakow is our corner.
I find these encounters inspiring for me as well as for them.
Q: What’s your message as we prepare to commemorate the 70th year since liberation?
A: Decades ago, when the war was still recent, there were those who spoke about taking revenge. Today, there are very few Nazis still alive, and this “revenge” has become something spiritual. The strongest revenge we can take is when just miles from Auschwitz, where they planned to carry out the “Final Solution,” there is a living and growing Jewish community. The flame of Judaism has not been extinguished; it will continue to burn and even grow. It’s my hope and prayer that we merit the immediate redemption, when we will experience the revival of the dead. May it happen very soon.
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