DAY 14 - THUR 10/2 - TARNOW, POLAND

Today is a very big day in several ways.  First of all we are going outside of Krakow to another nearby town, Tarnow, and we will see the countryside along the way, and not only is Jola coming with us, she is driving us.  I will tell you the story of Tarnow and why we are all going later on in this entry.

Before our excursion, we had the morning free with no plans...it's good to have some down time once in a while.  Marty wanted to take a stroll to the largest Mall in Krakow, which is just on the other side of Market Square.  I really didn't want to go because I could use this quality few hours to try and catch up on our Blog....with no interruptions.  So that's what we each did.

Marty encountered a priest and a horse-drawn carriage as soon as he walked out the door passed ancient elegant buildings that were once palaces and wealthy residences.  Pope John Paul II actually lived on this street in one of the palaces while he was Bishop of Krakow.  So historic, picturesque and charming...just like back home in Scarsdale! 

After walking for about 20 minutes, Marty found the mall, Galeria Krakowska, which is huge, bright and beautiful inside, with hundreds of people browsing and shopping.  The only international brand store he recognized was Timberland.  There were many other high end stores, mostly Polish, although many used English sounding names and spelling to attract buyers.  I stayed in the room, working tirelessly on the Blog, but still didn't totally catch up.

The weeks before we left the States, we were emailing back and forth with Jola and she asked us what we wanted to see while in Krakow.  Besides the main sites, one thing I said we might want to do is go to Tarnow where my sister-in-law, Helen Cammarata, (Marty's brother Bob's wife) was born, but we weren't sure how to get there.  Jola said that if she didn't have student obligations on the day we chose to go, she would love to take us there and see it for herself after many years.  Since Jola is an Architect, and a Professeur of Historical Monument Preservation and Restoration at a local university, this old town Tarnow, with so much medieval and modern history, would interest her very much too.  It would be a win-win for all of us.  So at 1pm Jola shows up ready to drive us to Tarnow, about an hour away.  

Background:  My sister-in-law Helen's mother and father both had lived in Tarnow before the War, with their respective spouses and families.  In 1942 when the Nazis came into Tarnow and rounded up Jews to send them on the first transport to Auschwitz, her parents and their respective families were taken.  They each lost their families in the camp.  

Here's what Helen wrote me in an email with the correct details:

My father was married and had 3 children. During the war his family was killed (wife & 3 children).

I think they might have been in a mass grave so I'm not sure if he was able to retrieve their bodies.  My father was in hiding (during war) with non-Jewish families. He met my mother right after the war.

My mother lost her entire family during war.  She was in concentration camps in Auschwitz & Birkenau. One horrific incident: my mother's sister couldn't go to work one day as she got a burn from a hot water kettle.  When my mother came back from work, her sister was not there anymore. She couldn't work so they probably killed her.  At another time, my mother said she saw her brother's dead body being moved in a cart & she recognized him by his shoes.

There were so many horror stories but unfortunately I don't remember them. Wish we wrote all this down. When my parents told us, it was so painful for me to hear that I almost didn't want to know about it.

I was almost 12 yrs old & my sister was 9 yrs old when we came to the US on a ship named Batory in 1959.  In 1999 i took my own family to Poland. Ready with my camera, we walked to my street from our hotel.  I think Ulica Krakowska was the main street and Ulica Goldhamera 4/4 where I lived was off that street.  We were so excited to see my apartment house. I recognized the tile in the lobby of the apt house. We walked upstairs to apt #4 and I so badly wanted to go inside to see what looked familiar.  

Two little girls happened to walk out of the apt, they reminded me of my sister &

 me when we lived there. I started speaking to them in Polish telling them we lived there.  Then an old woman walked into the building. I ran downstairs and asked her if she remembered the Goldberg family.  In Polish, of course, she said:  'Sure they lived right in this apt.' She went towards the same apt and started knocking on the door and told people inside that we lived there and they have to show us the apt.  That family lived there since my parents moved out.  I was also born in that apartment!  I took so many pictures of the apt.  Just amazing!  

That same lady took us to where our housekeeper lived in Tarnow (whom she also knew),

so we got lucky again and met Kazia, who actually raised me & Lucy.  Kazia lived with her husband and they had no children.  

As we walked inside Kazia's apt., I saw a picture there on the wall of ME AND MY SISTER...she considered us her family...UNBELIEVABLE!  A couple of years later she passed away.  I was so happy to get to see her again and she was so thrilled to see me and my family.

Thanks again guys for going to Tarnow!.  It meant so much to me!!!  Looking so forward to hearing all about Tarnow and the rest of your trip.  The pictures are priceless especially with you Jill in front of the street sign!!!!!!!!   I will show you the pictures we have from our trip

to Tarnow & look forward to seeing all of your pictures from your trip.

So here we go, crossing the Vistula River on our way out to the countryside.

Jola was always checking her GPS to see the best route to avoid traffic and find the scenic byways.

We arrive in Tarnow and quickly find Ulica Goldhammera, Helen's street.

The street is lively, right off a main square and near a park.

We found building #4, the address of her building.  I even got a chill just being there.  The building is somewhat run down now because the tenants cannot keep it up, and some apartments, including Helen's, have been sold to businesses, so it's not so residential any more.

We decide to go in and find Helen's actual apartment, and Jola leads the way.

The stairs show lots of wear and tear.

We actually go up to the floor where Helen's apartment #4, is located.  Now I really get a chill.  But there is no family living there any more.  An insurance business has recently bought it and turned it into offices.  Jola says let's ring the bell and go in, and we do.  Two people are sitting behind desks in semi-darkness with stacks of papers and books all around...not a very pleasant atmosphere compared to American standards.  Jola explained to them our story and why we were there.  We looked around a little at the poor state of the apartment, and then left.

Marty finds a local electronics repair store and buys a needed US-to-Europe adapter.

  

On the corner is a statue of a famous Polish, Jewish poet from Tarnow.

Some local scenes...

  

We come across the ancient historic remains of the original Synagog in Tarnow. Only the Be mah survives.

Now there are gypsies hanging all around.

What the streets of Tarnow looked like at the turn of the 20th century.

We turn into the main square which is quite charming.

Then walking back to our car we pass a prominent Jewish star, with an Announcement below it.

We get closer and realize that it is a replica of the very announcement of 10 September 1942 stating that the evacuation by transport of all Jews will take place, and any Poles interfering in any way will be severely punished, and any Poles providing hiding places for Jews will be shot.

This is the moment when Helen's parents were taken away, and would lose their entire families.

And this plaque is in eternal honor of the memory of the inhabitants of these buildings who were among the 40,000 Tarnowians slaughtered by the German Nazi's bestial aggression.  It's so eerie how real this history becomes when you're standing on the same soil where these acts occurred.  

After that Jola said we should go to the cemetery and look at some of the graves.  We arrived and the main gate was closed and the grounds looked like they hadn't been tended to in many years.  But being interested in historical monument preservation, she remembered she had seen a break in the wall surrounding the cemetery.  So we found it and snuck in.

As you can see it is totally overgrown and uncared for.  We walked in a little further and got caught in some of the vines and underbrush that had grown over the years.

But in it's own way, the cemetery was beautiful, bucolic, and serene, almost like velvet.

When we got back into the car we smelled something.  We figured out that dogs must romp in there, and I got lucky!

As we returned to Krakow, one of the biggest brand names," MacDonald's" greeted us...we do export our best, even to Poland.  It's a small world after all.

As we arrived on the street of our hotel, there was a restaurant all lit up with a fabulous band playing jazz out front.  We listened for a while, and then went to the hotel to get freshened up. Jola went home to feed her dog, and then she would come back at 20:00 (8pm) to pick us up for our 20:30 dinner reservation in the Jewish quarter....she was joining us.

We were punctual and got in the elevator at about 5 minutes before 8 o'clock.  Just as the elevator was 1 inch from the ground floor, it abruptly stopped and all the lights in the elevator went out.  I said 'Oh no, we're stuck!'  We pushed the alarm button and no one came right away.  Then we saw through the glass door that all the lights were out in the entire hotel.  A Concierge came to the door with a candle and said someone would come and try to open the door.  The hotel guys tried to force the door open but they couldn't because it wasn't exactly aligned with the floor.  Then they said the entire district was blacked out.  They said an emergency technician was on his way, but we knew that wasn't going to be so soon, since the problem was so widespread.  They were able to prop open the door a crack so that we could get some air, which was a great help.  At that point Jola had been waiting outside for us, but she realized something was wrong.  All of a sudden she appeared and we could talk to her through the glass door.  She stayed with us, and the hotel staff kept coming over to see of we were alright, and we were because we had air and we could see through the glass door, and there was a mirror in the elevator so it seemed bigger than it was.  Finally after about a half hour a technician did show up, and he eventually got the door to open and we got out.  Needless to say, we thought of postponing our dinner and the hotel Manager knew I had once suffered from claustrophobia, so she said at least this proved that you are cured.  I guess I am, but I don't want another test like that again!  The Salt Mines test was enough!

We then went and had a lovely dinner at this restaurant called, in English, Three Steps to Madness.  Maybe it was an omen of what just happened in the elevator!  Actually the owner said the name is from an old Fellini, Vadim, and Bertolucci movie by the same name and he loves these three directors, ergo the name.

We had a great intimate conversation with Jola at dinner, and we got to know each other even more.  

The food was delicious...

It turned out to be another great night, despite the unexpected challenge. 

And Jola liked the restaurant so much that she wants to bring her husband Jarec here for a special occasion.  Unfortunately he has been away all week on business in Warsaw, so we never got to meet him, but we're sure some day somewhere we will.

All in all it was a very power-packed and emotional day, to say the least!