a story lives forever
Register
Sign in
Form submission failed!

Stay signed in

Recover your password?
Register
Form submission failed!

Web of Stories Ltd would like to keep you informed about our products and services.

Please tick here if you would like us to keep you informed about our products and services.

I have read and accepted the Terms & Conditions.

Please note: Your email and any private information provided at registration will not be passed on to other individuals or organisations without your specific approval.

Video URL

You must be registered to use this feature. Sign in or register.

NEXT STORY

A rebel from the beginning

RELATED STORIES

My parents' separate lives
Aleksander Smolar Political scientist
Comments (0) Please sign in or register to add comments

On rozstał się z matką, te stosunki nie były bardzo bliskie. Żyli razem zawsze, ale stosunki nie były bardzo bliskie. To rozstanie było z rozsądku, zresztą ja ich zachęcałem do tego, dlatego że matka była historykiem Polski, kulturowo była Polką zupełnie. Izrael, świat żydowski ją kompletnie nie interesował. Pisała o Polsce – Polska była jedynym miejscem, w którym mogłaby pracować, a poczucie sensu życia – w jakimś sensie odziedziczyłem to po nich – było u nich związane z ich aktywnością, z ich pasjami. Wobec tego, że on nie miał już czytelników w Polsce, Żydzi wyjechali w większości, w każdym razie ci, którzy mogli czytać to, co on pisze. Zresztą nie mógłby pisać. Miał w istocie wybór między Izraelem a Stanami Zjednoczonymi, w sumie wyjechał przez Francję. Nie chciano go wypuszczać do Izraela, bo to byłoby jednak wykorzystane przez propagandę, że taki ober Żyd, taki główny Żyd, wyrzucony jest, i wyjeżdża do Izraela. Dano mu paszport polski, wyjechał dzięki temu na paszport polski do Francji, stamtąd do Izraela. Spotykaliśmy się później z obojgiem... oni do nas przyjeżdżali.

Ale przechodzę, że tak powiem, już do mojej własnej biografii po tej bardzo długiej opowieści o historii rodzinnej.

He and my mother had separated; they had never been very close. They still lived together, but they weren't close. It was the sensible thing to do and besides, that's what I'd encouraged them to do because my mother was a Polish historian, culturally she was completely Polish. Israel and the Jewish world held no interest for her. She wrote about Poland – Poland was simply the only place where she could have worked, and her notion of the meaning of life – both of them, in some way I have inherited this from them – was associated with their activism, their passion… their passions so that it gave their lives a purpose. He no longer had a readership in Poland – most Jews had left or at least those who were able to read what he wrote. Besides, he wouldn't have been able to write. In effect, he had the choice of either Israel or the United States; he was travelling via France. They didn't want to let him go to Israel because that would have been exploited as propaganda, that this uber Jew, this major Jewish figure was being kicked out, but he did leave for Israel and he was given a Polish passport thanks to which he left for France, and from there, from France to Israel. We'd both meet later, they used to come to see us... but I'm digressing into my own biography after this very long family history.

Aleksander Smolar (b. 1940) is a Polish writer, political activist and adviser, vice-president of the Institute for Human Sciences and president of the Stefan Batory Foundation.

Listeners: Vitek Tracz

Vitek Tracz is a London-based entrepreneur who has been involved in science publishing, pharmaceutical information and mobile phone-based navigation.

Tags: Poland, France, Israel, Hersh Smolar, Walentyna Najdus

Duration: 1 minute, 36 seconds

Date story recorded: September 2017

Date story went live: 09 November 2018