Performing Songs of the Jewish Thieves and Prostitutes in Today’s Poland: Challenges and Opportunities

After years of silence during the communist rule, since 1989 Jewish culture has been every year more broadly presented in Poland. Today it is most visible through Jewish festivals which take place all over Poland. The most described of them is the Jewish Festival of Cracow. Although greatly popular, the festival (and its surroundings) has attracted a lot of media and academic critique. Concerns are voiced over what seems to be appropriation of Jewish culture by the non-Jewish Poles, kitsch aesthetics of many performances and duplication of stereotypes.

This lecture-recital is based on a project which includes both practical and theoretical insight into songs of Jewish thieves and prostitutes from early 20^th century Poland. These songs have been originally collected to bring to light the fate of many from the deprived (Jewish) communities and have been (re-)discovered only recently. In my research, through a series of concerts for Jewish and non-Jewish audiences, I explore the potential which this repertoire has for (re)telling the his/herstory of the Jewish community of Poland, beyond predominant orientalist, simplified and politicised narratives.