Concert ‘The song won't let you forget...’ - Jewish authors of pre-war Polish hits
On 20.09.2024, a concert of pre-war hits entitled ‘Piosenka ci nie da zapomnieć...’ (“The song won't let you forget”) took place in the Municipal Library in Mszana Dolna. The event was extremely popular. The hall was filled to the brim, also the webcast was watched by many spectators who commented vividly on the event. As organizers we couldn’t be happier!
Gabriela Bochniarz, a musically talented psychologist, and Jakub Antosz-Rekucki, a literary scholar and translator of mellifluous poetry, took us into the world of pre-war hits, but also the beginnings of Polish cinema, cabarets and literary cafés. The concert was enriched with interesting stories of the creation of the presented songs, the often tragic lives of the creators in the pre-war, occupation and post-war history of Poland. Jewish composers of great hits were Polish citizens. Some of them fought for their homeland: in the war against the Bolsheviks in 1920, during the September campaign, both Warsaw uprisings or in the army of General Anders, while others shared the fate of their Jewish fellow citizens, forced into hiding, persecuted, dying in ghettos and Holocaust camps.
Participants had the opportunity to learn about the lives of such great figures as Julian Tuwim, Henryk Wars, Jerzy Petersburski, Ludwik Starski, Emanuel Schlechter, Zenon Friedwald, Andrzej Włast and Marian Hemar.
Let this important event be summed up by a reflection from the concert's finale, that Polish-Jewish fates, like its braided braids, have come together to form a common, inseparable history. And without Polish artists with Jewish roots, there would be no Polish poetry, music or culture. This is what we wanted to convey through this extraordinary concert.
The moved audience thanked the performers with a thunderous, standing ovation before sharing our traditional Friday hallach.
The concert was also broadcast on our FB profile, and will soon be available on the @sztetlmszanadolna channel on YT
Many thanks to the Senior+ Club of Mszana Dolna for the wonderful refreshments for the participants!
The event was part of our educational project ‘The story of bicultural, pre-war Mszana Dolna. Edition 2024’
Event under the Honorary Patronage of the Town Mayor, Agnieszka Orzeł
Co-financed by the Minister of Culture and National Heritage under the Programme of the National Centre forCulture EtnoPolska. Edition 2024
Co-financed by the Association of the Jewish Historical Institute of Poland
Photo: Rachela Antosz-Rekucka, Henryk Musiał, Marek Rekucki
