In February, What Came After sat down with the Chief Rabbi of Poland and native New Yorker, Michael Schudrich. Their conversation was recorded in Warsaw, where Rabbi Schudrich has lived and worked for the past 35 years.

Host Manya Marcus speaks with Schudrich about his personal journey to Poland, how there are many more Jews- or those with Jewish heritage- who live in Poland than anyone realized or expected when Schudrich took his post in 1990, and how Poland’s Jewish community is growing to include more Poles whose Jewish parents, grandparents and great grandparents stayed in Poland after the war and chose not to share with their own families that they were Jewish. Schudrich speaks to the process of self-discovery among these community members, as well as the need for the broader international Jewish community to recognize and support the Jewish life that has not only survived in Poland, but begun to thrive.

Schudrich talks about the Polish response to October 7th, and how, in the wake of the tragedy, more Polish Jews have come out of the woodwork and chosen to live Jewish lives.

Host and Creator: Manya Marcus

Managing Producer: Maya Zanger-Nadis

Editor and Producer: Ben Wallick

Editor: Keren Glicksman

Logo Design: Samuel Vilemar

Outro Music: "It's Never Too Late" by Elijah Aaron

Listen on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Spotify⁠⁠⁠ ⁠or ⁠⁠⁠⁠Apple Music⁠⁠