78. Anniversary of the Liquidation of the Litzmannstadt Ghetto
80. Anniversary of the Great Szpera
MAIN COMMEMORATIONS
29.08.2022 (Monday)
10.00 AM – Presentation of the conceptual designs for the restoration of the Ghetto Field [PL]
Venue: The Jewish Cemetery | Zmienna St entrance
Organizer: Jewish Community of Łódź
The Head of the Jewish Community, Józef Weininger, and the co-authors of the concept, Helena Kułak-Świerblewska and Jakub Cap (LAAR.studio), will present the conceptual designs for the planned restoration.
11.00 AM – Religious commemorations and symbolic lighting of candles at the Monument to the Memory of Łódź Jews at the Jewish Cemetery in Łódź [PL/ENG, translation into Polish Sign Language]
Venue: Jewish Cemetery | 40. Bracka St.
The March of Remembrance from the Jewish Cemetery to the Radegast Station Memorial
Route: Zmienna St. – Inflancka St. – Radegast Station
12.00 PM – Official commemorations (laying flowers and candles) at the Radegast Station Memorial [PL/ENG, translation into Polish Sign Language]
Venue: Museum of the Independence Traditions in Łódź – The Radegast Station Branch | 12. Pamięci Ofiar Litzmannstadt Getto Av.
7.00 PM – „The Flood of the World” a concert inspired by the poems of children from the ghetto: Aliza Cygelman, Abramek Cytryn, Abramek Koplowicz, Chawa Ryng, Stella Szafir [PL/ENG, translation into Polish Sign Language]
Performers: Elżbieta Mielczarek, Łukasz Lach, Adam Lewartowski with the Bajgelman Band Chamber Orchestra. Music by Łukasz Lach, written and directed by Miron Zajfert.
Venue: The Kazimierz Dejmek New Theatre in Łódź | 15 Więckowskiego St.
Limited number of places. Obligatory invitations and registration from August 16, 2022
by email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
[“When I am twenty years of age,
I will burst forth from this cage
And begin to see our splendid Earth
For the first time since my birth!
In my motorized bird I’ll soar so high
Above the world, up in the sky (...)”]
Abram Koplowicz was 13 years old when he wrote these words. He was one of the thousands of children who lived in the Litzmannstadt Ghetto. Children for whom fear, hunger and the awareness of the ever-present Holocaust were the daily reality. He died in Auschwitz.
Koplowicz was not the only ghetto child writing poetry. In their world, it was an attempt to engage in conversation with an unforgiving time. An attempt to put a cover over a traumatic reality in words. A real attempt, coming straight from the heart.
The poems of the teenage poets from the Litzmannstadt Ghetto, although sometimes immature, jumbled up with form, carry an electrifying load of emotion, are full of dreams that would not come true. They are painfully real, full of basic, and bittersweet values: life – death, smile – despair. These children had truly had everything taken away from them. All that remained were dreams spelled out in words, and their work is a screaming, silent witness to these shameful times.
We look into the poetry of ghetto teenagers to create, together with the extraordinary composer Łukasz Lach, an exceptional and insightful musical fresco of memory. The memory of the children of the Litzmannstadt Ghetto.
To commemorate the 78th anniversary of the liquidation of the ghetto, and the round 80th anniversary of the Great Szpera, we offer a musical performance filled with universal emotions entitled “Potop świata” / “The Flood of the World”, the scenario of which is based on selected poems by teenage poets from the ghetto: Chawa Ryng, Stella Szafir, Aliza Cygelman, Abram Cytryn and Abram Koplowicz.
To participate in the “Potop świata” / “The Flood of the World”, we invited:
– Elżbieta Mielczarek – the grand dame of Polish blues, an artist of extraordinary sensitivity and an intriguing timbre of voice;
– Łukasz Lach – composer, vocalist and instrumentalist, leader and founder of the legendary L Stadt band;
– Adam Lewartowski – outstanding guitarist and bassist,
and
– the Bajgelman Band Chamber Orchestra – formation brought to life by the Marek Edelman Dialogue Center, bringing together young graduates of the Łódź Academy of Music.
The Bajgelman Band Chamber Orchestra consists of:
Violin:
Maria Włastowska - concertmaster
Elżbieta Adamska-Mross
Marta Jabłońska
Julia Iskrzycka
Konstancja Bukojemska
Martyna Kochaniec
Oliwia Królak
Violas:
Piotr Wróblewski
Magdalena Gonos
Cello:
Monika Korzepa
Paweł Mirowski
Contrabass:
Miłosz Krupka
Concept, poem selection, script, preparation of visualisations and direction – Miron Zajfert
Original compositions and arrangement (music scores) – Łukasz Lach