Kosher and Jewish Life in Poland

On the eve of the Shoah, Poland was home to over three million Jews, the second-largest Jewish community in the world at the time. Warsaw, the capital, had a population of over 300,000 Jews, more than 30% of the population of the city—and a larger Jewish community than in most European countries. For sake of comparison, the Jewish population of Poland was greater than the total population of such countries as Ireland, Norway or each of the Baltic States. Following the German onslaught in 1939, about 85% of Polish Jewry was wiped out. Jewish settlement on Polish lands can be traced back more than 1,000 years. Fleeing persecution in western and central Europe, Jews found sanctuary in Poland. In 1264, Prince Bolesław the Pious issued the Statute of Kalisz, the first writ of privileges for Jews in Poland and the basis for subsequent protective charters. Successive Polish kings, notably Kazimierz the Great in the 14th century, encouraged Jews to settle in Poland and acted as their patron. Jews were outstanding mint masters, and the first coins issued in Poland bore Hebrew, not Polish, inscriptions. By the middle of the 16th century, about 80% of world Jewry lived on Polish lands. Today, in addition to the "official" community, there are a plethora of Jewish organizations and institutions catering to virtually every type of Jewish expression. Catering to the needs of Jews, young and old, who are rediscovering their Jewish identity is also a top priority. One Jewish group is composed of persons orphaned in the Holocaust and raised by non-Jews. Many of those orphans only discovered their Jewish origins late in life. Antisemitism remains a problem, but no political party that openly espouses an anti-Jewish agenda is in parliament. Kosher dining facilities can be found in Warsaw and Kraków. Kosher meat and other foodstuffs are available, and Poland has become an important center for the production of kosher spirits and meat, though the latter has been endangered by Poland's recent legislation banning shechita.