Film about Kielce pogrom goes on release

“Bogdan’s Journey” (Polish title “Przy Planty 7/9”) is the title of a new documentary film on a pogrom that took place in the south-central Polish town of Kielce on 4 July 1946, well over a year after the end of the Second World War.

Forty Jews were killed and some 80 injured in a frenzy of violence which was provoked by a false rumour that a Jewish family had abducted a Christian boy and held him overnight.

The film, which went on release across Poland on Friday, focuses on the efforts of Bogdan Białek, a Kielce journalist and psychologist, who persuades members of the local community to confront their town’s painful history. Over the years, at great personal price, he manages to change the image of Kielce as a symbol of antisemitism in post-war Poland and establish close links with the international Jewish community.

The film is the work of Polish and American directors, Michał Jaskulski and Lawrence Loewinger. It took eight years to make, with location shooting in Poland, Israel and the United States.

On the film’s website, Jaskulski writes: “I am a Catholic Pole. My film partner, who got me involved in this journey, is an American Jew, 40 years my senior. While making this film, the fact that we’ve learned to see things [in a similar way] assures me that the message and the empathy we’ve learned from our protagonist will be a lesson to any audience no matter their age or where they come from.”

“Bogdan’s Journey” has received several awards, including the Interfaith Award for Best Documentary at the International Documentary Film Festival in St. Louis in the United States.

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