Activity of Jewish Family Search members is not focused only on genealogy. In our free time we explore and protect other aspects of the Jewish history, e.g. collecting and transferring pre-war shellack records…

On 19th and on 20th of May , the main polish newspaper , Gazeta Wyborcza, will be sold with additional CDs including re-issues of pre-war tangos with lyrics written by a Jewish-Polish poet from Warsaw, Władysław Szlengel. Tomasz from Jewish Family Search worked as sound engineer for the project, transferring and remastering the original shellack records, removing all the unnecessary clicks and noises but at the same time trying to preserve the original vibe of the 1930’s shellack records.

Władysław Szlengel, born in 1914, was the most recognizable lyricist in Poland in late 1930’s. During the War he stayed in the Warsaw Ghetto, where he wrote several poems describing everyday life during the Holocaust. He and his wife were killed during the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising in 1943.

More about Władysław Szlengel on Gazeta Wyborcza (in Polish). The records for the CDs were selected by dr Katarzyna Zimek.

After 20th of May the CDs will be available on Kulturalny Sklep.