POLIN Reading Room: "Republic of the Pious. The Hasidic History of Poland" We invite you to a conversation about the book "Republic of the Pious. The Hasidic History of Poland." The author of the book, Dorota Bidzińska, will be interviewed by Katarzyna Jankowska. The book was published by Znak Publishing House. ✨ November 26, 2025 (Wednesday), 6:00 PM 📍 Main Hall of the POLIN Museum The meeting will be held in Polish Admission is free In the logo of Lublin, two gates intertwine. The place where they cross forms an eye—symbolic, but also real. The Eye of the Seer. A mystic whose gaze reached further than others. Jakub Izaak Horowitz truly existed. His grave, hidden in the old cemetery, is today one of the last traces of Jewish Lublin—a city once radiating mystical power. From here, Dorota Bidzińska begins her journey through Hasidic Poland—once the spiritual center of Europe, now a collection of half-forgotten stories and an atlas of cemeteries. She visits places marked by the presence of mystics, tracing not only the footsteps of the most important leaders and teachers, but also others without whom this history would be incomplete: women, contemporary Hasidim, artists, and guardians of memory. This is how a book was created about a culture where song was prayer and dance—a celebration. About faith that meant community, imagination, and rebellion. About memory that endures in stories, in music, in annual pilgrimages to the graves of tzaddiks. And about the Holocaust, which interrupted this world but did not invalidate it. This is not a journey into the past. It is a meeting with what remains and still returns. How to write about Jewish life here in Poland without the word "Holocaust" devouring all that is alive? And at the same time, not to close oneself in a drawer labeled "Fiddler on the Roof and goose necks"? Not to drown all those lives woven of blood and flesh in a space tailored to folklore, where they are forever frozen in caftans, with a glass of pejsachówka and a witty joke. With a goat in the room or without. Absolutely paper and dead. Dorota Bidzińska—a journalist and reporter, graduate of the Polish School of Reportage. She collaborates with "Tygodnik Powszechny," and has published reports in "Duży Format" and "Ale Historia." Her interest in reportage, discovering and telling the world, is combined with social engagement. For over five years, she has been a volunteer at the "First of All, HUMAN" foundation, supporting people in homelessness crisis. Katarzyna Jankowska—a Varsavianist, cultural expert, and promoter of herstory. She works daily in the Education Department of the POLIN Museum, where she creates guided tours, thematic city walks, and trains guides. For 13 years, she has been a licensed city guide in Warsaw. More information: https://polin.pl/.../czytelnia-polin-republika-poboznych...
