In this momentous year, the 25th anniversary of the victory of democracy over communism in Poland, the Taube Foundation for Jewish Life & Culture, the Taube Center for the Renewal of Jewish Life in Poland, and the Honorary Consulate for the Republic of Poland in the San Francisco Bay Area are proud to announce our newly released journal publication entitled Deep Roots, New Branches: Personal Essays on the Rebirth of Jewish Life in Poland Since 1989.
Recently, the Taube Foundation hosted two book launches for the journal, one in Warsaw and one in Krakow, with over 100 people in attendance. The book launch in Warsaw was held in the Museum of the History of Polish Jews, which will have its official Grand Opening on October 28, 2014. In Krakow, the launch was held at Cheder Cafe, the year-round performance space and cafe of the Jewish Culture Festival. At both launches, authors of essays in the journal, members of the Jewish community, Taube Foundation grantees, media, visitors from abroad, activists, academics, and government leaders gathered to celebrate the publication.
This collection of personal essays by leading Jewish thinkers and activists in Poland, representing four generations, provides invaluable insights into how the nation’s democratic aspirations made the reclamation of Jewish life possible. Though their assessments of the present and expectations for the future may differ, the authors are united in their commitment to a continued presence of Jews in a country that for ten centuries has been a Jewish homeland. This publication enables us to learn about Poland’s past, present and future from inside the culture, which today is free and democratic, a member of NATO and the European Union, an ally of the US and Israel, and protective of its ethnic minorities.
Deep Roots, New Branches is divided into five thematic sections, based on the age and perspective of the contributors: Fighters: Survivors who stayed in Poland or returned after the fall of the Soviet Bloc; Dreamers: Activists who dared to face down authoritarianism and reclaim their Jewish birthright; Expats: Foreigners who came, stayed, and made Poland their home; The Third Generation: Those raised in the shadow of the Iron Curtain as Communism fell; and The Millennials: Young people effecting change in today’s free and democratic Poland. To offer perspective on all these viewpoints, we included a timeline of Polish Jewish history from 1989 to the present.
