Jewish Heritage Tours of Poland

Prior to the Second World War Cracow was the biggest Jewish community in Poland, where Jews constituted 65 000
inhabitants. The meaning of Cracow was particular for Jews of Eastern Europe. Kazimierz – the Jewish quarter – was one of the
most important cultural and religious Jewish centres. Famous rabbis lived and worked here, one of them was Moses Isserles
"Remuh". His tomb is the pilgrimage place for Jews from all over the world. In the north of Cracow there were numerous orthodox
shtetls. The Chassids lived in the east of Cracow. A small distance from Cracow is the biggest concentration camp set up by
the Germans during the Second World War. More than 1 million people were murdered there. W.W.II put an end to the Jewish
community in Poland. All that remains of the Jewish presence are synagogues and cemeteries in small towns,
Kazimierz - the best-preserved former Jewish district in Europe, the memorial places and people aware of the duty to preserve the memory of their Jewish co-inhabitants.

Program:

1st day: Arrival

2nd day: Cracow
morning: City sightseeing tour of the Old Town (the Main Maket Square, St. Mary’s Church, the Jagiellonian University,
the Royal Route, the Wawel Castle).
afternoon: Leisure time.
evening: Dinner with a concert of klezmer music in a restaurant in Kazimierz.

3rd day: Cracow - cont.
morning: "From Paradisus Judeorum…"- visit to Kazimierz District - historical centre of Cracow's Jewish religious and social
life. There you will admire the best-preserved synagogues and the examples of the pre-war Jewish architecture.
afternoon: "… to the extermination" – tour of the past ghetto site in Podgorze District with entrance to the remembrance
museum - the Under the Eagle Pharmacy. The place was in the very heart of the Krakow ghetto for Jews during the Nazi
occupation. The museum presents a permanent exhibition Cracow Ghetto and Plaszów Camp and organizes lectures for
school youth on the Holocaust in Cracow. There you see the sites, which Steven Spielberg used for his location shots of the
Oscar winning "Schindler's List".
evening: Dinner in a hotel and leisure time.

4th day: Shtetl – following the traces of Jewish villages.
Whole day excursion to the past shtetls located in the North of Cracow. A trial to reconstruct the lives, structures and the
customs of Eastern European Jews living in shtetls prior to W.W.II.
Route: Cracow - Dzialoszyce - Pinczow - Chmielnik - Szydlow – Checiny – Cracow.
evening: Return to Cracow. Dinner and leisure time.

5th day: Auschwitz - topography and logic.
Whole day stay in Auschwitz.
morning: Visiting of the concentration camp in Auschwitz I called Stammlager.
afternoon: Visiting of Auschwitz II called Birkenau.
evening: Return to Cracow. Dinner and leisure time.

6th day: Auschwitz - topography and logic – cont.
Whole day stay in Auschwitz
morning: Option: visit to the archives department and meeting with the scientist from the museum or visit to the one of the
educational centres and discussion about the current Jewish-Christian dialogue’s condition. Free time for individual visiting.
afternoon: Visit to Chevra Lomdei Mishnayot Synagogue and the Jewish Centre in Auschwitz, where you see an exhibition
and watch a documentary film about the Jewish community in Auschwitz before the Second World War.
evening: Return to Cracow. Dinner and leisure time.

7th day: Cracow
morning: Meeting at the Jewish Culture Centre in Kazimierz. A discussion about the current situation of the Jewish
community in Poland and Polish-Jewish relationships.
afternoon: Leisure time.
evening: Dinner in one of the Old Town restaurants.

8th day: Departure.