What does it really mean to be a Tatar in Poland today? In this episode, Ewa and Maurits explore the blurred lines between religion, culture, and identity among the oldest native Muslim community in Europe. They speak with theatre director Róża Chazbijewicz and members of a local Tatar association, unearthing contrasting views on whether being Tatar is a matter of faith, blood, or heritage.

Along the way, they examine centuries-old prayer books written in Arabic script but in Polish and Ukrainian languages—and meet a sociologist whose research reveals how funding, nationalism, and Islamophobia shape modern Tatar identity. As they move between museum archives, family stories, and academic insight, they discover that Tatarness is both proudly preserved and constantly reinvented.

Visit the website for more details, maps and photos: ⁠tatarpodcast.eu/episodes/episode-4-religion-or-culture/

In this episode, Ewa and Maurits travel through Poland’s eastern borderlands of Podlachia (Podlasie)—once the heart of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, now a quiet region marked by layered histories.

They visit grand palaces, mosques, and forgotten synagogues, exploring the multicultural past of Podlachia. But the journey takes a somber turn as they reach a remote Tatar cemetery where recently buried graves belong not to local families, but to Muslim refugees who died crossing the Belarus-Poland border. What begins as a historical exploration ends in a confrontation with Europe’s present-day borders—and the people lost along the way.

Visit the website for more details, maps and photos: tatarpodcast.eu/episodes/episode-3-the-cemetery/

Ewa and Maurits travel to Kruszyniany, a quiet village on Poland’s eastern border—and the heart of the country’s Tatar heritage. What they find is part cultural revival, part tourist attraction. Over meals, mosque visits, and long conversations with local Tatars, they uncover stories of resilience, memory, and unexpected religious traditions. What does it mean to preserve identity in a place where Islam blends with local customs—and what happens when tourists become part of that story.

We ask ourselves to what extent the Islam practices of the Tatars are influenced by Catholicism, and pose this question to professor Drozd who comes with a surprising answer.

Visit the website for more details, maps and photos: tatarpodcast.eu/episodes/episode-2-the-tourists

In this opening episode, we begin our journey with the legendary trumpet call in Krakow and the story that frames the Tatars as ancient invaders. But the truth is far more complex.

Hosts Ewa Górska and Maurits Berger trace the history of Tatar warriors who became part of the Polish nobility and military tradition. Along the way, they visit a mosque in Gdańsk, meet a Turkish imam, and reflect on what happened to Poland’s Tatar Muslims—and where to find them today.

tatarpodcast.eu/episodes/episode-1-the-warrior

Join hosts Maurits Berger and Ewa Górska as they introduce Tatars in Poland—a podcast exploring the rich, six-century history of Poland’s Muslim Tatar community. In this series, we travel across the country to meet Tatars from all walks of life, uncovering stories of faith, heritage, and identity in a largely Catholic society. This trailer sets the stage for a journey into one of Europe’s most overlooked yet enduring Muslim communities.