Old Bialystok, bearing witness to its rich multicultural past, is more and more yielding room to rapid and slightly chaotic growth and modernization. It is a great pity that it is happening at the expense of old wooden and picturesque houses with twofold roofs, fabulous gardens, 19th century brick rent buildings and old, narrow and cobblestones streets. I do not mind growth and modernization. Bialystok (town in northeastern Poland) especially needs a modern arcihtecture, numerous innovative investments, new roads, airport, but municipality should thoroughly think over the vision of the town. Local officials ought to define the real identity of the town referring to its multicultural history. It is easy to build the town without the spirit, where there are no ideas uniting its inhabitants. In fact, no connection exists between Bialystok from the times before the World War II and contemporary Bialystok.

I heard a story about a Jewish woman who was born in Bialystok in 1920s or 1930s, who came here in the second half of 1990s and stated that she did not recognize her native town. In her opinion the old and present Bialystok were two different worlds.

Unfortunately many its inhabitants do not even know its rich history. Town without its history, inhabitants without consciousness of their native town’s history probably won’t be proud of living here. They won’t know that their town’s face was shaped by Poels, Jews, Germans, Russians, Belarussians. There is a deep necessitiy to refer to its roots.

Bialystok was significantly destroyed during the World War II. Presently we do not have many monuments witnessing its rich history. Those ones which survived do not appear to be especially spectacular and stunning, but they still retian spirit of the past and they are worth preserving.

I think that there is a possibility to save relics of the past and develop the modern architecture without destroying the old and apparently unspectacular buildings, streets or gardens of the town, where before the World War II several nations lived in relative peace. These places still hold the atmosphere of old times and are capable of arousing imagination.

Below there are presented pictures taken about one month ago, they depict old cosy houses, lush gardens which one day may just disappear…

On a beautiful, warm and sunny Sunday we resolved to set off to Polish Tatars. There are left only few villages where Polish Tatars still live - Bohoniki and Kruszyniany. Most Tatars after the II World War moved to towns and cities - Bialystok, Gdansk, Gorzow Wielkopolski, Warsaw, and many of them stayed at their homeland - near Nowogordek (presently Belarussia, before the WW II town belonged to Poland).

First Tatars were settled in Lithuania in the 14th century by the Great Prince of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania - Witold (Vitaut, Vitautas). Here in Podlasie - in villages - Bohoniki, Drahle, Malawicze, Nietupa, Sanniki, Kruszyniany, Luzany, Studzianka, Lebiedziew, Ortel, Malaszewicze, they appeared in the 17th century. Polish king - Jan III Sobieski settled them in royal villages in exchange for money he should have payed them for their service in royal army, but because of lack of money in state treasury soldier’s pays could not have been paid. Tatars obtained many privileges - they could marry Chrisitan women, obtained nobility and were allowed to preserve their Muslim faith and tradition.

Today about 5.000 Tatars live in Poland, most of them in Bialystok (in the north eastern Poland) - about 2.000 - 3.000, they still confess islam. But it seems that many of them lost their Tatar features - not all have slanted eyes, black hair, olive complexion and high cheekbones. They perfectly integrated into Polish society, their islam is very gentle, moderate and peacful, we can say liberal. Tatar women have equal rights as men, they are not discriminated by their husbands, they can learn, study, work and have equal position to men. Their realtions with other national groups in Podlasie (Poles, Belarussians) apppear to be exemplary.

Below I am presenting pictures taken during last Sunday trip to Kruszyniany.

Mosque in Kruszyniany, bulit in the second half of the 18th century or in the first half of the 19th century.

Mizar in Kruszyniany. Mizar it is the name for Tatar cemetery. Many of tombstones come from the 19th century.

Beautiful pine in the mizar a few hundred years old, it may be as old as whole cemetery, which was established in the second half of the 17th century.

The newly explored road through the spring forest between villages - Skrybicze and Lubniki. Pictures taken about 2 weeks ago during the bike trip.

Rubbish in the forest (2 above pictures), a real and very serious problem in Polish forests - some inhabitants of villages and towns used to throw away garbage they produce straight to the forests. It is of course strictly forbidden by Polish law and should be severely punished, but I suppose only few were sentenced to any fine.

Even the most beautiful Polish forests are often marred with old clothes, shoes, cans, cooking pots, sometimies also washing machines or fridges. Apparently it may seem that it is a problem of a poor people, but in fact the real culprits are well off persons.

It is still difficult to understand anti - Israeli and anti - American stance of many European politicians. Comparing the present situation of Israeli Arabs to situation of Jews during Holocaust is the most nonsense thing, which one could imagine. It means that persons who aplly such a comparision do not understand meaning of the term “holocaust” and appear to be ignoramus.

Arab - Israeli conflic is not black and white one, there is not one party which is absolutely good and the second one - absolutely bad, as many European leftists see that, they perceive Israelis as a bad guys and Arabs as an exclusively persecuted victims.

Israelis have a right to possess their own state, and so do Palestinians. But it is absolutely unimaginable to tolerate such a situation when some groups of raidcal Palestinians demand destruction of Israel or in their fight for statehood resort to terrorism and attack innocent civilians.

It enjoys me much that Polish government, especially president Lech Kaczynski so unambiguously supports politics of Israeli government. In an interview which he gaved last Saturday to the one of the mot important Polish dailies (”Rzeczpospolita”) he stated that Poles because of its historic and cultural ties whit Jews are lively interested in good relations between these two nations.

I belong to these people who - maybe naivly and sentimentally - believe in brotherhood between nations. I myself live in a town (Bialystok, north eastern Poland), where still live many nations - Poles, Belarussians, Tatars, Russians, descendants of Germans, where coexist different cultures and religions - Catholics, Orthodox faithful, Muslims, Protestants, and traces of the past are visible - former Jewish synagogues, houses, cemetaries.

When I have more free time I will translate that interview with president Lech Kaczynski, in which he spoke so much about Polish - Jewish common history, common national heros, poets, writers. Jewish presence in Poland counts about 800 years, so it is no wonder that these two nations are so close to each other. There is no other possibility than true, deep and sincere reconciliation of Poles and Jews. And it is a good news that Poland appears to be one of the most reliable Israel’s allies.

Yesterday Irena Sendler died in Warsaw. She was a real hero, exceptional person, who appears rarely in all societies or nations. During the World War II she together with her friends and many other unknown people saved about 2.500 Jewish children from Warsaw ghetto.

Irena Sendler worked at that time as a social worker in a municipal office in Warsaw and also as a nurse. Many times as a nurse she visited Warsaw ghetto and “smuggled” little Jewish children hidden in packs, cartons, bags to the Aryan side of the city. Later on those children were taken and looked after by Polish families and nuns in convents. Members of Polish Resistance forged documents for those small survivers to hide their Jewish descent; according to those false documents they were Polish children.

All those people who were involved in helping Jews during the World War II in Poland were exposed to capital punishment. It was not necessary to save or hide Jews to be killed by German Nazis, it was enough to give food, slice of bread, a mug of water, clothing for fugitive from ghetto or from train going to the extermination camp, or for hiding Jews.

In October 1942 Irena Sendler was apprehended by Gestapo and sentenced to death, but her friends bribed a German warder, and even though she was in the list of executed people, she stayed alive.

For many years she was an unknown person, especially in communist Poland. As she was a member of anticommunist Polish Resistance, it was forbidden to talk about such persons in communist country, even if they were real heros.

Only in 1965 Irena Sendler was given the honourable title - the Righteous Among the Nations - title granted by Yad Vashem for people who helped and saved Jews during the horrific period of the war. Israel Institute as a first appreciated greatness, bravery and heroism of that fragile, modest and humble woman.

Irena Sendler was compared to Oskar Schindler, but it was not right. Schindler was a German entrepreneur and as a German he was not exposed to death penalty for his activities on behalf of the Jews, he did not risk his life helping Jews as Irena Sendler did.

She is an excellent example of a quiet, peacful hero, who does not search for a fame and publicity. She has been always smiled, modest, humble and good to all people, who were in need, who were poor and weak.

Irena Sendler was born and raised in Polish intelligentsia family. Her parents taught her that people deserve help regardless of their descent, nationality, material or social status, sex, race, religion. Her father was a doctor in a small town near Warsaw - in Otwock - were he treated mainly the Jewish poor and died when he caught typhus from his patients. It was her first lesson of the sacrifice on behalf of the other and she grasped that lesson very well.

Situated on the borderland of a few cultures and religions Bialystok still bears the traces of its past multicultural identity.

Town rights (statutes) Bialystok gained in 1749; its rapid growth as an improtant trade and cultural centre it owed to Jan Klemens Branicki - representative of Polish nobility, who became the owner of the town in the first half of the 18th century. In that period Bialystok and surrounding region was inhabited by Poles, Rutheninans, Jews and Tatars; Catholic, Greek Catholic, Orthodox, Judaism and Muslim belivers. All these ethnic and religious groups lived in relative peace and tolerance. Later on, in the first half of the 19th century newcomers from German states also appeared here.

Below there are presented a few pictures depicting old sacred bulidings related to a few religious and national groups inhabiting this town.

It is the oldest Orthodox chuch in Bialystok, founded by Jan Klemens Branicki in 1758, originally as a Greek Catholic church.

Saint Roch’s church - one of the most modern Catholic churches in the interwar period in Europe, designed by outstanding Polish architect - Oskar Sosnowski.

To be continued…

Afraid of possible old textile factories’ disappearance from town landscape I resolved to save them in pictures. Below there are presented next photgraphs taken during my today bike trip across the twon.

Former factory near Czestochowska street.

Old factory close to Jurowiecka street.

At the first half of the 19th century Bialystok’s economy started growing fast. German and Jewish manufacturers began arriving here to set up textile facories, especially after 1831 - the year when customs border between The Polish Kingdom and the enormous part of former Polish and Lithuanian lands was established by tsarist government as a kind of repression for Polish independence uprising in 1830 - 1831 (November Uprising). It was the time of huge influx of German and Jewish textile manufacturers and highly qualified German workers. Bialystok became at that time one of the most important industrial towns in whole Russian Empire, it was even called “Manchester of the north”.

Unfortunately many of the old textile factories have been in so pitiful state that it has not been possible to save and renovate them, some of them were just knocked down, onle a few survived and it is difficult to predict how long they will stay as a part of the town landscape. Some of them are now converted into the lofts and probably it is the only way to protect those old buildings, though there is a great danger that they may lose its original character.

Below I present pictures of two untouched old plants and one being under way of converting into lofts.

It seems that real spring has sprung at last. Today we had almost 20 degrees Celsius and a lot of sunshine. We could take off our shirts, sweaters, jackets and wear only t-shirts. After a long break - lasting almost 6 months we were able to take a bike trip to Knyszynska Forest, set off at 2 p. m. across the busy town. To go through the busy, jammed town may be a really traumatic expereince, and in fact it was so today. Fortunately thanks to EU funds municipal authorities build more and more bicycle paths in Bialystok and we used one of them to reach Suprasl - small, picturesque town, about 15 kilometres from Bialystok.

It is an Orthodox church in Suprasl. First Orthodox church in Suprasl was built in the end of the 15th century. It was blew up by withdrawing German Nazis in 1944.

In Suprasl bicycle path ends and later on we went the road to Krynki, all the time across beautiful and old Knyszynksa forest. After passing a few kilometres we turn right, asphalt ended and we entered the real kingodm of the primeval forest.

Road to Budzisk Reserve in Knyszynska Forest.

“Entrance” to Budzisk Reserve in Knyszynska Forest.

As far as I am personally concerned, especially bike trips makes me fell free, they provide me with a kind of methaphysical sense of happiness and freedom. Forest itself in turn appears to be a real sanctuary for me, it is a place when I am able to believe in God and get rid of all my fears; a place for a deep contemplation and meditation. Real sanctuary…

In the middle of Budzisk reserve.

On our way home we started joking that this forest reminds us of “Blair Witch Project” and for sure it also has its witch whom one day we will meet There are many interesting and mysterious forest stories told by forest village inhabitants about ghosts, devils, but about them next time…

Together with my friends I resolved to immortalize places, buildings, gardens, streets which were witnesses of the most tragic and cruel events in history of our native town. We are Polish inhabitants of Bialystok - town of many cultures, religions, languages in the north - eastern Poland. This is the place where the East meets the West; towers of Catholic and Orthodox churches soar above the town, Protestant churches, muslim mosque enrich Bialystok’s face.

Poles, Belarussians, Tatars, Russians, descendants of Germans are still hosts of our town, but Jews who before the II World War made up 50% of Bialystok’s population are absent. Majority of Jewish inhabitants was exterminated by German Nazis in 1941 - 1944. Only a few hundreds of Jews were able to save their lives. Presently there are no open and functioning synagogues or houses of prayer, no lively Jewish community in Bialystok.

This post is dedicated to places which during the II World War found itself in the borders of the ghetto area, where German Nazis gathered about 50.000 Jews.

Evening in Czysta street. View from Czysta street, on the left - house in ghetto were Samuel Pisar lived.

House in the courtyard in Czysta street no 5

Old buildings in Czestochowska street, near Czysta and Warynskiego street.

Warynskiego street, near Cytron Synagogue, in front of - yellow and brown building was a school for Jewish girls before the Second World War