Jewish descent on the rise: Michael Schudrich at TEDxWarsaw - Your Awake
Translator: Richard Lucas
Reviewer: Maciej Mackiewicz I will try to speak English, it’s unusual for me
to speak in English publicly in Poland and actually I never speak in English,
I speak in American. I thought a couple
of you would enjoy that. I even actually speak “New York”,
that’s even worse. Jews in Poland. Most people outside of Poland, when they hear the idea
of a living Jewish community in Poland imagine that I’m hallucinating. That what happened to the Jews
during the Holocaust was so horrific that there couldn’t be
a Jewish community left today in Poland. What happened? Why are there Jews in Poland today
and what’s going on? September 1st, 1939 – World War II begins. At that point there are
3.5 mln Jews living in Poland, over 10% of the general population, the heart, the soul
of the Ashkenazi Jewish world. It was here for that point
for almost 900 years, creating, nurturing, blossoming
Jewish culture, religion, tradition. September 1st, 1939, Germany invades Poland. By the end of 1944 90% of the 3.5 mln Jews are no longer alive, having been murdered by Germans and their accomplices. That statement is so horrific,
so overwhelming that it’s almost inappropriate to ask how many Jews are alive
at the end of the war? But if we want to talk
about a Jewish community today, we need to know where were we
at the end of World War II. 10% survived, many of them having fled
into the Soviet Union, returning, about two thirds. Another third either having survived
through the camps, and the other half of that third, having survived by being saved
by Righteous Gentiles, by Polish non-Jews who risking their lives, saved those Jews. I should add some of them
actually gave their lives and the lives of their families. It means that in 1945/46 by the time the Jews started coming back
from the the Soviet Union, there were about
350,000 Jews in Poland, 10%, that represents more Jews in Poland in ’46/47
than in the United Kingdom today, it could’ve been
a vibrant Jewish community. What happened? As we know the Soviet Army
liberated Poland from Nazi Germany and then occupied Poland
four minutes later, it was only three, and then became
the new occupiers of Poland. These survivors who survived
the indescribable, horrible, had a question:
“Where do I want to rebuild my life? Do I want to do it here? In a country that is still traumatic, post-Holocaust, occupied by Soviets
in a communist regime?” The overwhelming majority
of the survivors said: “No, it’s not gonna be the place
we want to rebuild our lives.” I’m simplifying things,
you try to get all this in 18 minutes. The overwhelming majority
of the 350,000 survivors leave Poland in the 25 years
after World War II. In this way I bring it
all the way through ’68/69. If you want to feel safe saying
the statement: “I am a Jew”, it makes good sense
to leave post-Holocaust, Soviet occupied communist Poland. And so the majority do, but not everyone. And those who remain,
in agreement with those who leave, so – if I want to stay Jewish,
feel safe saying: “I am a Jew” I leave, but if I want to stay,
I stop being Jewish. To the extent that often I don’t even tell
my children, or my grandchildren. And so there’s a hiding, a secret,
for 50 years from ’39 to ’89 to the collapse of the communist system. At which point, think about this: someone who is out of fear, out of trauma, it’s not of assimilation,
it’s not lack of cultural meaning, fear, for 50 years, about having this identity of being a Jew. And then 1989 comes,
this unbelievable miracle. Poland is a free, democratic country and there is real democracy in Poland, like I like to say – there are no
“hanging chads” here in Poland. That’s really American… And so these individuals,
and this is not a “group” thing going on, it’s individuals, people saying: “I’ve been hiding it from my kids,
grandkids, neighbours, friends, co-workers for 50 years. Is it safe for me
to say it today? Has democracy so changed my world?”
And it’s all very individual. not communal, at the start point.
“Can I say it?” and now, over the past 22 years, thousands of Poles have discovered
they have Jewish roots. And it’s one by one by one. Let me share with you
a couple of stories, how do people find out? Reality is they find out
many different ways. Anything from deathbed confessions, I know one story where a 17 year old girl, her grandma, about 15 years ago,
unfortunately was killed in a car crash, nothing to do with communism,
nothing to do with Nazis, still a tragedy for the family. Her parents are on vacation, she’s going through the papers,
she’s 17, but she has to help. She discovers her grandmother’s last name
is not what she thought, something like Goldberg or Greenberg,
she asks mum, “Was Grandma Jewish?”
“Oh no, no, no, no!” So she asks her aunt
who said: “She was.” She goes back to mum and mum says: “Your sister said…” “Yeah, ok, but dad doesn’t know,
don’t tell him.” (Laughter) Or another story where a woman in her early 40s
comes to me with her two children, 20 year old son
and 16 year old daughter, and says: “I think my mother’s parents were Jewish, Grandma used to make pancakes…”
Pancakes! Thank you, pancakes again. I think she liked her grandma’s pancakes. But no one else made these pancakes. You know, everyone’s grandmother
has something that only she makes, sometimes it’s edible, sometimes not. And most likely not only with grains. I’ve been a vegetarian since 1979. And I’m not a bodybuilder. (Laughter) (Applause) Back to the subject,
the clock keeps going, it’s terrible… She’s never seen these pancakes
anywhere else, grandma’s special pancakes, until one day she’s walking the streets, she bumps into an Israeli tour group
and they are carrying a box of her grandmother’s pancakes,
a box of matza. She says “Wow”. Not only that,
there are several other things. For example, none of the dates match
on any of the documents, very typical of people who survived
the Holocaust, always changing dates. And then she said to me, which was for me the most moving, that as a child
she remembers her grandmother, after serving the grandkids meat,
would not let them drink milk. In Judaism, with the kosher requirements,
we cannot mix meat with milk. Here we have a grandmother who is too afraid
to tell her grandchildren, because of her personal experience,
the trauma of the Holocaust, the persecutions, problems of communism, but still wants to keep something, so what she gave her grandchild was:
“You can’t drink milk after meat.” And you have to imagine kids
like six, seven years old thinking: “What a wonderful grandma!” Every grandma in the world says:
“Drink your milk!” and this grandma says:
“You can’t drink your milk!” You know: “Go Grandma!” And now, some 20 years later,
she’s coming to me with her kids, especially the 20 year old son
really wants to find out. What do you do about it?
Where do you go with it? That is the story
of the Jewish community in Poland today, of discovery, two more quick stories: one is of another group, a sub-group, the people who were children
during the war; given away
by their biological Jewish parents to Polish non-Jewish families
to save them. Some of them were old enough
to remember, some of them not, so there is a man that came to me
several years ago who said: “Rabbi, my mother died in May
and after the funeral the neighbours came over and said –
actually that’s not your mother… your biological mother
gave you away to this woman who brought you up,
who was like your mother during the war, but she never wanted to tell you,
she risked her life to save you, but never wanted to tell you
that you really weren’t hers. Now that she’s gone,
you ought to know.” And he said to me… It was three months later
and he’s thinking about it: “If really I was born to a Jewish mother, I want to know what it means to be Jewish,
but I have a problem, I know nothing about Judaism,
and I feel bad, I don’t even have the Jewish baptism.” In Jewish tradition there is no baptism, we do something else
at the age of eight days old. (Laughter)
That’s circumcision. I was tempted,
I controlled my New York self and did not tell him:
“There’s good news and bad news.” (Laughter) “The good news is we don’t use water,
the bad news is – get me the knife.” I didn’t tell him that. But this man is now
part of the Jewish community. Last story: a young couple, now in their early 30s, met in high school
and fell in love, that’s very romantic, soon after high school
they get married. When the young lady
is about 20 years old, she discovers that she is really Jewish. But at that point she’s 20,
she’s got a husband, a little baby, it doesn’t make any difference to her. Some while later she says:
“I want to check it out.” She goes
to the Jewish Historical Institute, just behind Plac Bankowy, she goes to the genealogical project
and checks it out, and while she’s there, she thinks:
“Maybe my husband’s Jewish.” She comes home for dinner and says: “Hi honey, dinners ready, guess what?
I’m Jewish, your Jewish.” (Laughter) Maybe that’s a good way
to kill the appetite, I don’t know… Connecting back to the last… (Laughter) At the moment the young man
was not very pleased, he was rather shocked,
it will be clear in a moment why. He goes to his parents,
says: “Mum, dad, my wife’s saying ridiculous things again.” They say: “This time she’s right, in fact, we never told you, both of us are Jewish.” His reaction was to go on a three day
drinking binge. You should not try that at home,
definitely bad for the diet. When he woke up,
some time later, he said: “If I am Jewish, then
I should know what it means to be Jewish.” So he started learning,
now both of them are very active members of our
Jewish Community of Warsaw. So far the story is boring,
the interesting part is that when they fell in love in high school,
the very romantic moment, they were both skinheads.
So it’s very romantic: two skinheads fall in love, get married,
then one after the other find out they are Jewish,
become very into it, are quite traditional now, it’s what I like to call:
“From skinheads to covered heads.” (Laughter) I wanted to touch one more point
before I sum up, that is: “How can you have
the revival of Jewish life when we all know there’s horrible
anti-semitism in Poland?” That’s what I hear abroad. Yes, there is anti-semitism
in Poland, unfortunately, as there is all over Europe.
Doesn’t make me any happier, the fact that
anti-semitism today is worse, and I used to say this
before three days ago: France, England, Belgium, Scandanavia, Austria, Hungary, Ukraine, did I miss any European countries? Andora!
It’s very good in Andora. (Laughter) The question is why do people abroad
think that anti-semitism is really bad? I have a friend
who was at a conference in Africa and one of the women said: “Yes we heard we heard about Poland,
there’s horrible anti-semitism there.” There’s an image, one could talk
a lot longer than 18 or 20 minutes, but in one sentence:
anti-semitism was growing here in Poland in the late 1930s, after the death
of Piłsudski and it was nasty. There were a lot of Jews here,
they fought back, but it was nasty. Then history of Polish-Jewish
relations got frozen from ’39 to ’89. There is no natural contact
between Poles and Jews on any kind of larger basis.
Individuals yes, but not communal or in larger numbers. Polish-Jewish relations
were in a freezer for 50 years. They’ve come out of the freezer
in ’89 and the world is a different place. The biggest change
in terms of anti-semitism are the teachings
of the late Pope John Paul II who did more
to effectively fight anti-semitism than anyone else in the last 2000 years. That fact, along with others, along with building a new-old Poland
after the fall of communism, which means the rejection of communism, facism, and for some also anti-semitism, that today there is an opposite direction,
and this is in my experience of living here since 1990. While there are Poles who, unfortunately, still have those old anti-semitic
feelings, but many more Poles who say: “That’s not part of us today.”
And part of my main mission is to work with people
discovering their Jewish roots, helping to build Jewish life here.
But another thing I do is to talk to people outside to say: “Hey guys, what you’re saying
was true in 1938, maybe, but in 2011/2012
– what year do we have? (Laughter) you are just not right.” The world has a lot to learn
from Poland today in the way they’re dealing
with anti-semitism. I was yesterday in Sokół Mazowiecki
where a cemetery was desecrated two days ago and the mayor, kids
from high school were there, and some important local politicians, we cleaned the cemetery together.
That for me is the new Poland and that is the new Poland
which we are building – a new-old, re-emerging
Jewish community. Just to conclude, just to think about one of the amazing miracles of democracy, this blessing of democracy that Poland
has fought so long for, but really came to fruition
only in 1989, one of the outcomes of this blessing,
are that small Jewish communities, other small minority communities
today in Poland, can flourish, grow, nuture,
and are supported by the larger society. That, for me, is one of the great examples of the blessing of democracy
here in Poland in 2012. Thank you. (Applause)
Understanding religious roots: David Rosen at TEDxViadellaConciliazione TedxVienna – Niko Alm – The End of Freedom of Religion Myths about religion: Tamara Sonn at TEDxCollegeofWilliam&Mary How we found out evolution is true: John van Wyhe at TEDxNTU
38 thoughts on “Jewish descent on the rise: Michael Schudrich at TEDxWarsaw”
Marek Stankiewicz says:
Fantastyczna wiedza o żydowskiej mentalności, opowiedziana po amerykańsku z humorem i swadą, ale również należną powagą. Dziękuję Ci Mike, za to co powiedziałeś do Polaków w ostatnim zdaniu. Keep up the good work!
Have you no sympathy for the horrific suffering of your own people? One does not have to have an image of evil to relive the most ungodly actrocities ever experienced?? So distraught over your allowing this image, howsoever small, of satans henchman..
missaggiepoos says:
I love this guy. He is the best thing that has happend to Poland.
Thanks to Zeeva livshitz and by Ido Dekkers for the Hebrew subtitles
Nat OdJ says:
Hi everyone I'm Jewish raised in warsaw
Baila Brown says:
I visited Poland 2 months ago and was so impressed with the revival of the Jewish communities in Warsaw, Krakow and other locations. People are genuinely excited to find out about and explore their Jewish roots! Great work is being done! Kol Hakavod!
Philipp Sonntag says:
As a Child Survivor in Berlin I thank Michael Schudrich for the excellent and encouraging lecture. Also here in Berlin we have and enjoy marvellous support and understanding out of many parts of society including official offices. This includes support against anti-semitic provocations. I trust the step-wise re-integration of Jewish science and culture as valuable for any society – I even trust it will stepwise succeed in Middle East.
Milind S Vashist says:
Aah enough of holocrap. I won't fall for this again.
ZRTSTRA says:
Fun and informative lecture Rabbi!
Stan Wrzesinski says:
I have an obvious question. Can you point me to a showcases of individual cases of Jewish families saving the home of bulldozed Palestinian neighbor's home? And I do understand the perversion of justice in such case when a parent gets his house bulldozed because of an action of their son. Take a more extreme example of Jewish neighbor laying his life for his Palestinian neighbor? Why is it that we don't see this. This would be such a wonderful correction and a exemplary model of human shortcomings when, as a recipients of many that are alive today are do to sacrifices of their neighbors in a time of holocaust. I only heard of one survivor that was saved in Warsaw and he only complains that he was not brought up in Jewish custom and that not enough people were willing to lay their life for others.
POLES ARE JEWS, JEWS ARE POLES! Jews are Germans, Germans are Jews. I say that as a German American who's ancestors lived in Frederick's Prussia.
Edward Krzysik says:
akcent masz zydowski.
Jews kil milion poland
Jews are opodofail.
Matt Slowik says:
Read your Bible.. There are Jews that call themselves Jews that are not Jews.. Zionist Pharisee s.. The pit of vipers, bankers that control the world economy .. Who was killed during both World Wars? Christian polish Jews and non Jewish Poles were the target. They were the ones destroyed by Germans, Russians, and some NonJewish Poles .. Not Talmudic Jews who are the Zionist who live in Israel now..Because Polish Jews are the largest remnant of Gods people left. These 2 wars and the next war that's coming, this time by Arabs and Zionist will kill Christian Jews again..why do you think Arabs are moving to Europe? Your brothers Esau and Ishmael have always hated you for being God's chosen people. That's why Hasidic Jews are always thrown out of every country the move to.. They make war with the Christian Jews everywhere they go and always have all thru history . Egypt Babylon Greece Rome Germany Briton and now in the United States. Where Christian jews are considered radical now by the world. This hatred is biblical and real.. Learn your true history. How every nation has tried to kill or enslave you throughout history. The goal of the whole world is to put you under their feet. Because you were born with God s law written in your hearts.. Find your true heritage.
interesting, told with vividly , with humor
Polish Jews were Hasidic not Ashkenazy…
FLOWERS GARDENS says:
Why do not you ask you self why you have been expelled from many countries for thousands of years?. because such questions would destroy you system?
Mary Sally says:
Michael Schudrich has been disfigured.
Poland makes alot of profits from tourism of death camps……..They built malls restaurant gift shops all over dressing up as fake Chassidus…
Yet behind the scenes their New Testament and priests still curse us Jews….
Hebrew subtitles. Even Korean subtitles. But no Yiddish subtitles. The link with the past is lost thanks to Zionism.
If yiur worried so much about anti-semitism , quit insisting that we take every damn Muslim in.
Finally, the Polish Prime Minister defended Poland and Poles, reminding aggressive Jewish-American liars that the compensations was settled long ago, in accordance with the indemnization agreement signed in 1960 between Poland (PRL) and the USA, for which the USA received a total of 40 million dollars from Poland! The current behavior of the Jewish-Americans and the re-raising the subject of compensation again is simply betrayal, manipulation and a greedy lie! It is obvious that the US authorities are used to treason and betrayed Poland at conferences, in Tehran – 1943, Yalta – 1945, and now for the third time – shame to traitors and greedy liars!!! As for Israel, it has not yet paid Poland compensation for the crimes committed in post-war Poland by the Jewish-Russian stalinist, functionaires sent to Poland by Stalin, to persecute and murder Poles! Jewish-Russian employees of the NKVD, SMIRSZ, MBP and other criminal formations murdered thousands of Polish Invincible Soldiers! Jewish-Russian stalinist's criminals robbed, persecuted and murdered thousands of Polish patriots! Those stalinit's crilinals found shelter in Israel, in western Europe and in the USA, and they have never been punished for their crimes!!!
Andrzej Grzegorczyk says:
No information about Judeo communists? Something about Jakub Berman, Salomon Morel?
World jewry is the greatest threat to the contemperary west..
If you repeat a lie often enough…..
NO TAK WIELKI RABIN Z WYKSZTALCENIA SPAWACZ I TAKI TUTAJ ROBI SIE WIELKIM PANEM.SXOK KU WA
Judaism is not in the genes, it's a religion, not a race.
So there are no "people of Jewish descent."
Allow this man one lie — and he will build a whole world on it.
The Christian Poles collaborated with the Nazi's to round up the Jews.
As a Pole with Little Jewish blood i can say most of radical people are people with personal problems. Poland changing but still is place for work.
who were the Khazars back in 900AD? which religion they chose to become? weren't they the ones who invented Yiddish?
maybe if Jews didn't Crush people financially everywhere they go people would enjoy them more.
jews think they gonna take over entire country because they have a money but that never happens like happened to USA
Ingrid Norlander says:
Capoto?
Jewish descent on the rise: Michael Schudrich at TEDxWarsaw - Your Awake
Translator: Richard Lucas
Reviewer: Maciej Mackiewicz I will try to speak English, it’s unusual for me
to speak in English publicly in Poland and actually I never speak in English,
I speak in American. I thought a couple
of you would enjoy that. I even actually speak “New York”,
that’s even worse. Jews in Poland. Most people outside of Poland, when they hear the idea
of a living Jewish community in Poland imagine that I’m hallucinating. That what happened to the Jews
during the Holocaust was so horrific that there couldn’t be
a Jewish community left today in Poland. What happened? Why are there Jews in Poland today
and what’s going on? September 1st, 1939 – World War II begins. At that point there are
3.5 mln Jews living in Poland, over 10% of the general population, the heart, the soul
of the Ashkenazi Jewish world. It was here for that point
for almost 900 years, creating, nurturing, blossoming
Jewish culture, religion, tradition. September 1st, 1939, Germany invades Poland. By the end of 1944 90% of the 3.5 mln Jews are no longer alive, having been murdered by Germans and their accomplices. That statement is so horrific,
so overwhelming that it’s almost inappropriate to ask how many Jews are alive
at the end of the war? But if we want to talk
about a Jewish community today, we need to know where were we
at the end of World War II. 10% survived, many of them having fled
into the Soviet Union, returning, about two thirds. Another third either having survived
through the camps, and the other half of that third, having survived by being saved
by Righteous Gentiles, by Polish non-Jews who risking their lives, saved those Jews. I should add some of them
actually gave their lives and the lives of their families. It means that in 1945/46 by the time the Jews started coming back
from the the Soviet Union, there were about
350,000 Jews in Poland, 10%, that represents more Jews in Poland in ’46/47
than in the United Kingdom today, it could’ve been
a vibrant Jewish community. What happened? As we know the Soviet Army
liberated Poland from Nazi Germany and then occupied Poland
four minutes later, it was only three, and then became
the new occupiers of Poland. These survivors who survived
the indescribable, horrible, had a question:
“Where do I want to rebuild my life? Do I want to do it here? In a country that is still traumatic, post-Holocaust, occupied by Soviets
in a communist regime?” The overwhelming majority
of the survivors said: “No, it’s not gonna be the place
we want to rebuild our lives.” I’m simplifying things,
you try to get all this in 18 minutes. The overwhelming majority
of the 350,000 survivors leave Poland in the 25 years
after World War II. In this way I bring it
all the way through ’68/69. If you want to feel safe saying
the statement: “I am a Jew”, it makes good sense
to leave post-Holocaust, Soviet occupied communist Poland. And so the majority do, but not everyone. And those who remain,
in agreement with those who leave, so – if I want to stay Jewish,
feel safe saying: “I am a Jew” I leave, but if I want to stay,
I stop being Jewish. To the extent that often I don’t even tell
my children, or my grandchildren. And so there’s a hiding, a secret,
for 50 years from ’39 to ’89 to the collapse of the communist system. At which point, think about this: someone who is out of fear, out of trauma, it’s not of assimilation,
it’s not lack of cultural meaning, fear, for 50 years, about having this identity of being a Jew. And then 1989 comes,
this unbelievable miracle. Poland is a free, democratic country and there is real democracy in Poland, like I like to say – there are no
“hanging chads” here in Poland. That’s really American… And so these individuals,
and this is not a “group” thing going on, it’s individuals, people saying: “I’ve been hiding it from my kids,
grandkids, neighbours, friends, co-workers for 50 years. Is it safe for me
to say it today? Has democracy so changed my world?”
And it’s all very individual. not communal, at the start point.
“Can I say it?” and now, over the past 22 years, thousands of Poles have discovered
they have Jewish roots. And it’s one by one by one. Let me share with you
a couple of stories, how do people find out? Reality is they find out
many different ways. Anything from deathbed confessions, I know one story where a 17 year old girl, her grandma, about 15 years ago,
unfortunately was killed in a car crash, nothing to do with communism,
nothing to do with Nazis, still a tragedy for the family. Her parents are on vacation, she’s going through the papers,
she’s 17, but she has to help. She discovers her grandmother’s last name
is not what she thought, something like Goldberg or Greenberg,
she asks mum, “Was Grandma Jewish?”
“Oh no, no, no, no!” So she asks her aunt
who said: “She was.” She goes back to mum and mum says: “Your sister said…” “Yeah, ok, but dad doesn’t know,
don’t tell him.” (Laughter) Or another story where a woman in her early 40s
comes to me with her two children, 20 year old son
and 16 year old daughter, and says: “I think my mother’s parents were Jewish, Grandma used to make pancakes…”
Pancakes! Thank you, pancakes again. I think she liked her grandma’s pancakes. But no one else made these pancakes. You know, everyone’s grandmother
has something that only she makes, sometimes it’s edible, sometimes not. And most likely not only with grains. I’ve been a vegetarian since 1979. And I’m not a bodybuilder. (Laughter) (Applause) Back to the subject,
the clock keeps going, it’s terrible… She’s never seen these pancakes
anywhere else, grandma’s special pancakes, until one day she’s walking the streets, she bumps into an Israeli tour group
and they are carrying a box of her grandmother’s pancakes,
a box of matza. She says “Wow”. Not only that,
there are several other things. For example, none of the dates match
on any of the documents, very typical of people who survived
the Holocaust, always changing dates. And then she said to me, which was for me the most moving, that as a child
she remembers her grandmother, after serving the grandkids meat,
would not let them drink milk. In Judaism, with the kosher requirements,
we cannot mix meat with milk. Here we have a grandmother who is too afraid
to tell her grandchildren, because of her personal experience,
the trauma of the Holocaust, the persecutions, problems of communism, but still wants to keep something, so what she gave her grandchild was:
“You can’t drink milk after meat.” And you have to imagine kids
like six, seven years old thinking: “What a wonderful grandma!” Every grandma in the world says:
“Drink your milk!” and this grandma says:
“You can’t drink your milk!” You know: “Go Grandma!” And now, some 20 years later,
she’s coming to me with her kids, especially the 20 year old son
really wants to find out. What do you do about it?
Where do you go with it? That is the story
of the Jewish community in Poland today, of discovery, two more quick stories: one is of another group, a sub-group, the people who were children
during the war; given away
by their biological Jewish parents to Polish non-Jewish families
to save them. Some of them were old enough
to remember, some of them not, so there is a man that came to me
several years ago who said: “Rabbi, my mother died in May
and after the funeral the neighbours came over and said –
actually that’s not your mother… your biological mother
gave you away to this woman who brought you up,
who was like your mother during the war, but she never wanted to tell you,
she risked her life to save you, but never wanted to tell you
that you really weren’t hers. Now that she’s gone,
you ought to know.” And he said to me… It was three months later
and he’s thinking about it: “If really I was born to a Jewish mother, I want to know what it means to be Jewish,
but I have a problem, I know nothing about Judaism,
and I feel bad, I don’t even have the Jewish baptism.” In Jewish tradition there is no baptism, we do something else
at the age of eight days old. (Laughter)
That’s circumcision. I was tempted,
I controlled my New York self and did not tell him:
“There’s good news and bad news.” (Laughter) “The good news is we don’t use water,
the bad news is – get me the knife.” I didn’t tell him that. But this man is now
part of the Jewish community. Last story: a young couple, now in their early 30s, met in high school
and fell in love, that’s very romantic, soon after high school
they get married. When the young lady
is about 20 years old, she discovers that she is really Jewish. But at that point she’s 20,
she’s got a husband, a little baby, it doesn’t make any difference to her. Some while later she says:
“I want to check it out.” She goes
to the Jewish Historical Institute, just behind Plac Bankowy, she goes to the genealogical project
and checks it out, and while she’s there, she thinks:
“Maybe my husband’s Jewish.” She comes home for dinner and says: “Hi honey, dinners ready, guess what?
I’m Jewish, your Jewish.” (Laughter) Maybe that’s a good way
to kill the appetite, I don’t know… Connecting back to the last… (Laughter) At the moment the young man
was not very pleased, he was rather shocked,
it will be clear in a moment why. He goes to his parents,
says: “Mum, dad, my wife’s saying ridiculous things again.” They say: “This time she’s right, in fact, we never told you, both of us are Jewish.” His reaction was to go on a three day
drinking binge. You should not try that at home,
definitely bad for the diet. When he woke up,
some time later, he said: “If I am Jewish, then
I should know what it means to be Jewish.” So he started learning,
now both of them are very active members of our
Jewish Community of Warsaw. So far the story is boring,
the interesting part is that when they fell in love in high school,
the very romantic moment, they were both skinheads.
So it’s very romantic: two skinheads fall in love, get married,
then one after the other find out they are Jewish,
become very into it, are quite traditional now, it’s what I like to call:
“From skinheads to covered heads.” (Laughter) I wanted to touch one more point
before I sum up, that is: “How can you have
the revival of Jewish life when we all know there’s horri
ble
anti-semitism in Poland?” That’s what I hear abroad. Yes, there is anti-semitism
in Poland, unfortunately, as there is all over Europe.
Doesn’t make me any happier, the fact that
anti-semitism today is worse, and I used to say this
before three days ago: France, England, Belgium, Scandanavia, Austria, Hungary, Ukraine, did I miss any European countries? Andora!
It’s very good in Andora. (Laughter) The question is why do people abroad
think that anti-semitism is really bad? I have a friend
who was at a conference in Africa and one of the women said: “Yes we heard we heard about Poland,
there’s horrible anti-semitism there.” There’s an image, one could talk
a lot longer than 18 or 20 minutes, but in one sentence:
anti-semitism was growing here in Poland in the late 1930s, after the death
of Piłsudski and it was nasty. There were a lot of Jews here,
they fought back, but it was nasty. Then history of Polish-Jewish
relations got frozen from ’39 to ’89. There is no natural contact
between Poles and Jews on any kind of larger basis.
Individuals yes, but not communal or in larger numbers. Polish-Jewish relations
were in a freezer for 50 years. They’ve come out of the freezer
in ’89 and the world is a different place. The biggest change
in terms of anti-semitism are the teachings
of the late Pope John Paul II who did more
to effectively fight anti-semitism than anyone else in the last 2000 years. That fact, along with others, along with building a new-old Poland
after the fall of communism, which means the rejection of communism, facism, and for some also anti-semitism, that today there is an opposite direction,
and this is in my experience of living here since 1990. While there are Poles who, unfortunately, still have those old anti-semitic
feelings, but many more Poles who say: “That’s not part of us today.”
And part of my main mission is to work with people
discovering their Jewish roots, helping to build Jewish life here.
But another thing I do is to talk to people outside to say: “Hey guys, what you’re saying
was true in 1938, maybe, but in 2011/2012
– what year do we have? (Laughter) you are just not right.” The world has a lot to learn
from Poland today in the way they’re dealing
with anti-semitism. I was yesterday in Sokół Mazowiecki
where a cemetery was desecrated two days ago and the mayor, kids
from high school were there, and some important local politicians, we cleaned the cemetery together.
That for me is the new Poland and that is the new Poland
which we are building – a new-old, re-emerging
Jewish community. Just to conclude, just to think about one of the amazing miracles of democracy, this blessing of democracy that Poland
has fought so long for, but really came to fruition
only in 1989, one of the outcomes of this blessing,
are that small Jewish communities, other small minority communities
today in Poland, can flourish, grow, nuture,
and are supported by the larger society. That, for me, is one of the great examples of the blessing of democracy
here in Poland in 2012. Thank you. (Applause)
Understanding religious roots: David Rosen at TEDxViadellaConciliazione TedxVienna – Niko Alm – The End of Freedom of Religion Myths about religion: Tamara Sonn at TEDxCollegeofWilliam&Mary How we found out evolution is true: John van Wyhe at TEDxNTU
38 thoughts on “Jewish descent on the rise: Michael Schudrich at TEDxWarsaw”
Marek Stankiewicz says:
Fantastyczna wiedza o żydowskiej mentalności, opowiedziana po amerykańsku z humorem i swadą, ale również należną powagą. Dziękuję Ci Mike, za to co powiedziałeś do Polaków w ostatnim zdaniu. Keep up the good work!
Have you no sympathy for the horrific suffering of your own people? One does not have to have an image of evil to relive the most ungodly actrocities ever experienced?? So distraught over your allowing this image, howsoever small, of satans henchman..
missaggiepoos says:
I love this guy. He is the best thing that has happend to Poland.
Thanks to Zeeva livshitz and by Ido Dekkers for the Hebrew subtitles
Nat OdJ says:
Hi everyone I'm Jewish raised in warsaw
Baila Brown says:
I visited Poland 2 months ago and was so impressed with the revival of the Jewish communities in Warsaw, Krakow and other locations. People are genuinely excited to find out about and explore their Jewish roots! Great work is being done! Kol Hakavod!
Philipp Sonntag says:
As a Child Survivor in Berlin I thank Michael Schudrich for the excellent and encouraging lecture. Also here in Berlin we have and enjoy marvellous support and understanding out of many parts of society including official offices. This includes support against anti-semitic provocations. I trust the step-wise re-integration of Jewish science and culture as valuable for any society – I even trust it will stepwise succeed in Middle East.
Milind S Vashist says:
Aah enough of holocrap. I won't fall for this again.
ZRTSTRA says:
Fun and informative lecture Rabbi!
Stan Wrzesinski says:
I have an obvious question. Can you point me to a showcases of individual cases of Jewish families saving the home of bulldozed Palestinian neighbor's home? And I do understand the perversion of justice in such case when a parent gets his house bulldozed because of an action of their son. Take a more extreme example of Jewish neighbor laying his life for his Palestinian neighbor? Why is it that we don't see this. This would be such a wonderful correction and a exemplary model of human shortcomings when, as a recipients of many that are alive today are do to sacrifices of their neighbors in a time of holocaust. I only heard of one survivor that was saved in Warsaw and he only complains that he was not brought up in Jewish custom and that not enough people were willing to lay their life for others.
POLES ARE JEWS, JEWS ARE POLES! Jews are Germans, Germans are Jews. I say that as a German American who's ancestors lived in Frederick's Prussia.
Edward Krzysik says:
akcent masz zydowski.
Jews kil milion poland
Jews are opodofail.
Matt Slowik says:
Read your Bible.. There are Jews that call themselves Jews that are not Jews.. Zionist Pharisee s.. The pit of vipers, bankers that control the world economy .. Who was killed during both World Wars? Christian polish Jews and non Jewish Poles were the target. They were the ones destroyed by Germans, Russians, and some NonJewish Poles .. Not Talmudic Jews who are the Zionist who live in Israel now..Because Polish Jews are the largest remnant of Gods people left. These 2 wars and the next war that's coming, this time by Arabs and Zionist will kill Christian Jews again..why do you think Arabs are moving to Europe? Your brothers Esau and Ishmael have always hated you for being God's chosen people. That's why Hasidic Jews are always thrown out of every country the move to.. They make war with the Christian Jews everywhere they go and always have all thru history . Egypt Babylon Greece Rome Germany Briton and now in the United States. Where Christian jews are considered radical now by the world. This hatred is biblical and real.. Learn your true history. How every nation has tried to kill or enslave you throughout history. The goal of the whole world is to put you under their feet. Because you were born with God s law written in your hearts.. Find your true heritage.
interesting, told with vividly , with humor
Polish Jews were Hasidic not Ashkenazy…
FLOWERS GARDENS says:
Why do not you ask you self why you have been expelled from many countries for thousands of years?. because such questions would destroy you system?
Mary Sally says:
Michael Schudrich has been disfigured.
Poland makes alot of profits from tourism of death camps……..They built malls restaurant gift shops all over dressing up as fake Chassidus…
Yet behind the scenes their New Testament and priests still curse us Jews….
Hebrew subtitles. Even Korean subtitles. But no Yiddish subtitles. The link with the past is lost thanks to Zionism.
If yiur worried so much about anti-semitism , quit insisting that we take every damn Muslim in.
Finally, the Polish Prime Minister defended Poland and Poles, reminding aggressive Jewish-American liars that the compensations was settled long ago, in accordance with the indemnization agreement signed in 1960 between Poland (PRL) and the USA, for which the USA received a total of 40 million dollars from Poland! The current behavior of the Jewish-Americans and the re-raising the subject of compensation again is simply betrayal, manipulation and a greedy lie! It is obvious that the US authorities are used to treason and betrayed Poland at conferences, in Tehran – 1943, Yalta – 1945, and now for the third time – shame to traitors and greedy liars!!! As for Israel, it has not yet paid Poland compensation for the crimes committed in post-war Poland by the Jewish-Russian stalinist, functionaires sent to Poland by Stalin, to persecute and murder Poles! Jewish-Russian employees of the NKVD, SMIRSZ, MBP and other criminal formations murdered thousands of Polish Invincible Soldiers! Jewish-Russian stalinist's criminals robbed, persecuted and murdered thousands of Polish patriots! Those stalinit's crilinals found shelter in Israel, in western Europe and in the USA, and they have never been punished for their crimes!!!
Andrzej Grzegorczyk says:
No information about Judeo communists? Something about Jakub Berman, Salomon Morel?
World jewry is the greatest threat to the contemperary west..
If you repeat a lie often enough…..
NO TAK WIELKI RABIN Z WYKSZTALCENIA SPAWACZ I TAKI TUTAJ ROBI SIE WIELKIM PANEM.SXOK KU WA
Judaism is not in the genes, it's a religion, not a race.
So there are no "people of Jewish descent."
Allow this man one lie — and he will build a whole world on it.
The Christian Poles collaborated with the Nazi's to round up the Jews.
As a Pole with Little Jewish blood i can say most of radical people are people with personal problems. Poland changing but still is place for work.
who were the Khazars back in 900AD? which religion they chose to become? weren't they the ones who invented Yiddish?
maybe if Jews didn't Crush people financially everywhere they go people would enjoy them more.
jews think they gonna take over entire country because they have a money but that never happens like happened to USA
Ingrid Norlander says:
Capoto?