Michael Freund to speak at 92Y in New York
Michael Freund, Max Jackl and Beata Schulman
During the Holocaust, 90 percent of Poland’s three million Jews were murdered by the Nazis. Of those who survived, many chose to remain in Poland and hide their Jewish identity to escape Nazi persecution and subsequent Communist oppression.
After the fall of the Soviet empire and Poland’s transformation to democracy, a growing number of Poles are rediscovering their families’ concealed Jewish roots, with many choosing to live a full Jewish life and return to the Jewish people.
Shavei Israel founder Michael Freund will address the subject of the “Hidden Jews of Poland” in a special evening to take place at the 92Y in New York on Tuesday, January 10, 2012 at 8:15 PM He will be joined in conversation by Beata Schulman and Max Jackl, members of this re-emerging Jewish community.
Beata Schulman was raised as a Catholic in Warsaw and discovered her Jewish ancestry in her early teens. She earned her M.Sc. and Ph.D. in Geography and Religion from Jagiellonian University in Krakow. Beata has worked for the Museum of the History of Polish Jews, the Jewish Community of Warsaw, the Foundation of the Preservation of Jewish Heritage in Poland, and volunteered in many Jewish organizations in Krakow, Warsaw and New York. She currently works as Program Director with the Auschwitz Institute for Peace and Reconciliation.
Max Jackl was born in Warsaw, Poland. His grandmother is a child survivor of the Holocaust and remains active in the Polish survivors community. Yet, while his grandmother took pride in her Jewishness, for Max’s parents being Jewish was an insignificant, inconvenient fact. After attending Lauder summer camps, Max gradually became more involved in Jewish life and is now observant. Although it goes against their instincts of keeping their Jewish identity hidden, Max’s parents have developed a positive attitude towards Max’s decision to live Jewishly in the open.
The evening promises to be a fascinating and inspiring account of young Polish Jews reclaiming the heritage that Hitler sought to extinguish.
If you’ll be in New York in January, don’t miss this fascinating event. You can book your tickets online.