Diapositive.pl Jewish Identity and Culture

The Malopolska region is richer in monuments of Jewish culture than any other part of Poland. It was once home to a number of great centres of Jewish intellectual, political and religious life; among them Cracow, Przemysl, Jaroslaw and Lvov. It was also an area where numerous Chasidic groups thrived: in Bobowa, Nowy Sacz, Dabrowa Tarnowska and Lezajsk, to mention but a few. Along with Cracow, other towns in this region stand out for the number of their Jewish monuments of nationwide significance. This includes architecture of the highest class (Lesko) as well as testimony to Jewish spirituality in the form of the oholot in Bobowa, Brzesko, Dabrowa Gornicza and Lezajsk. Many figures of international standing have roots in Małopolska, for instance Billy Wilder (1906-2002), born in Sucha Beskidzka, famous as the director of many Hollywood movies, including Sunset Boulevard.