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= Cultural Life in the Kraków Ghetto = Cultural life in the Kraków Ghetto was bleak and dangerous for the Jewish population. Each day dragged on, consistently becoming harder and harder to tolerate and survive. There was not much incentive for the Jewish individuals to live for. The mood was somber, spirits were low and majority of the Jews remained lifeless and hopeless.

Jewish individuals in the Kraków ghetto were required to wear a Star of David on their arm, identifying them as Jewish, which led to the revoking of most privileges. A curfew was implemented that stripped Jews of many opportunities to participate in the cultural life. As time went on, Jews needed to obtain permits in order to enter and exit the ghetto, robbing them of any freedom they felt they had left at this point. Even though the Jewish individuals were unable to participate in certain areas of cultural life in the Kraków ghetto, “various cultural and religious activities continued within the ghetto." Although the practice of religion was banned, that did not stop the individuals in the Kraków ghetto from praying and staying true to Judaism. At least three synagogues or other religious facilities were still in use that served as a place for the Jews to go to and pray. There was also a café where artists played live music within the ghetto, which proved to be instrumental in keeping Jewish individuals' spirits up. Finally, there was a ghetto pharmacy, which was a place where people could go to discuss problems, read underground and official newspapers and learn the realities of what was happening and what atrocities they were living through. Numerous songs were created by individuals living the ghetto, serving three major purposes: “documentation of ghetto life, a diversion from reality, and the upholding of tradition.” These songs portrayed their immense suffering coupled with their dedication and determination to survive. Some of the most popular lyrics are “Me hot zey in dr’erd, me vet zey iberlebn, me vet noch derlebn” (“To hell with them, we will survive them, we will yet survive”), conveying and sharing the feelings of the Jewish people through music. Laughter, which was a rarity in the Kraków ghetto, was another way numerous victims attempted to cope with their strong hatred for the enemy. Sometimes individuals performed ghetto songs, while other times small groups performed them with various instruments. Street songs are a sub-genre of ghetto music with four dominant themes: hunger, corrupt administration, hope for freedom and a call for revolt. Music has always been a traditional and important aspect of both Jewish holidays and Jewish home life more generally. The individuals in the Kraków Ghetto did their best to keep this tradition alive, especially during Passover and Yom Kippur. Although music brought some comfort to many individuals, suicide rates were significantly higher among the musicians than other camp workers. Many of the musicians were forced to watch the murder of their families and friends due to the Nazi's insistence that the prisoner-musicians play music while the other prisoners were marched to the gas chambers.

Aleksander Kulisiewicz was an aspiring musician who did his best to “collect, compose, and perform songs” while living in the ghetto even though it was illegal to do so. Individuals in the Kraków ghetto worked 12-hour days that left them more exhausted than imaginable. In order to pass the time, songs were sung throughout the work day.

Mordechai Gebirtig, who is “known for his beautiful and prescient songs and poems” in Yiddish emerged from the Kraków ghetto. His song “Our Town Is Burning” which was written in 1938 became “one of the most popular songs in the ghettos and concentration camps." Unfortunately, Gebirtig was killed by a bullet in the Kraków ghetto, ending his career far too soon.

Another individual who was in the Kraków ghetto, by the name of Roman Polankski, became a film director upon his survival of the Holocaust. Polankski eventually directed a film that told the story of the musician and a Warsaw ghetto survivor.

In order to pass time while trapped in these horrendous conditions, a lot of Jewish children in the Kraków ghetto played the violin and any other instruments they had access to.

Music proved to be an instrumental aspect of cultural life in the Kraków ghetto that aided in keeping the spirits of Jewish individuals up as much as possible during such low and awful times.