Text: Magdalena Krysińska-Kałużna, March 2022 The Jewish Konin has disappeared. Alike its memory has practically vanished from the collective consciousness of Konin’s inhabitants; a memory about the people who, over the centuries, co-created this town with ethnic Poles and representatives of other minorities. Our connection with the past has been severed. Maybe we severed it... Continue reading→
Jewish Konin – a place beyond the map (the blog and the map)
II. Mezuzah (מזוזה)
Text: Magdalena Krysińska-Kałużna, March 2022The librarian walks over to me with a box that looks like a jewel case more than a normal box. She opens it and gently unwraps the many layers of paper. A mezuzah appears in front of my eyes. I have never seen one before in my life. I think hardly... Continue reading→
III. Sukkah (סוכה)
Text: Magdalena Krysińska-Kałużna, March 2022‘I’ll show you where it is’ says Aleksander Chojnacki as he puts on his coat. He seems to be in a bit of a hurry. We put distance between his legal office at Wojska Polskiego and 3 Maja 42 in three minutes.I remembered Mr. Aleksander and how knowledgeable he was about... Continue reading→
IV. The Leszczynskis and the Ejzens (part 1)
Text: Magdalena Krysińska-Kałużna, April 2022Prewar Konin was inhabited by approximately 10,000 people, a third of which were Jewish*. Those among them who were particularly religious, but not especially rich, lived next to the synagogue. One such individual was Mojżesz Abram Ejzen. His house and furrier’s workshop were located nearby the Potters’ Square, Teper Mark, by... Continue reading→
V. The Leszczynskis and the Ejzens (part 2)
Text: Magdalena Krysińska-Kałużna, April 2022Majer Juda Ejzen, an attorney from prewar Konin, graduated from a junior high school in Kalisz, and his future wife, Magdalena, studied in the Coeducational Jewish Junior High School which operated in Konin in the years 1919-1929. The language of instruction there was Polish, while Hebrew was a taught subject.The junior... Continue reading→
VI. The Leszczynskis and the Ejzens (part 3)
Text: Magdalena Krysińska-Kałużna, April 2022 The Jewish Konin, A Place Beyond the Map project as well as the blog that forms part of it, portray the small-town world of the local Jewish community that existed here until the Second World War. And yet, today is the anniversary of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising, and just beyond... Continue reading→
VII. Atlantis
Text: Magdalena Krysińska-Kałużna, May 2022I’m at the Castle Square again (the Jewish name of the place, “Teper Mark”, keeps appearing in my mind recently). This time I’m here with Mr. Andrzej Moś, a photographer from the Cultural Center of Konin (CCK). Mr. Andrzej recorded a phenomenal film about Józef Lewandowski (Izaak Lipszyc) in 1990s, when... Continue reading→
VIII. Frumit and Yoel Porat
Text: Magdalena Krysińska-Kałużna, Konin, May 12th, 2022 Frumit Porat’s family lived in Konin until the beginning of the World War II. Frumit herself lives in Israel. I’m on a Zoom call with her and her husband, Yoel. Frumit’s father was the only family member to survive the war. He was 13 when it started. Frumit... Continue reading→
