Leszno 2

Before World War II, the building on Leszno 2 housed the headquarters of the Union of Jewish Stage Artists (Yidisher Artistn Fareyn). It was founded in 1919 to support Jewish directors and actors and to defend their rights.

On the face of the building was a clock created by the watchmaker Epstein. All the residents of the neighbourhood adjusted their timepieces to the clock, which worked perfectly until the bombing of Warsaw in 1939.

The address also housed a number of cinemas as well as the luxurious Bar Central, run by the renowned restaurateur Izaak Gertner.

Gertner’s restaurant was closed down at the beginning of 1940. In its place, a year later, the Sztuka Café was established – the largest and most famous café in the Warsaw Ghetto.

It was a venue available to a small group of wealthy and polonised elites. The cream of Polish-Jewish entertainment performed at the Sztuka, including Andrzej Włast, Władysław Szpilman, Pola Braun, Wiera Gran and Marysia Ajzensztadt, a young artist dubbed the ‘nightingale of the ghetto’.

Further reading:

• Artists of the Warsaw Ghetto // on Culture.pl
• ‘Tango Milonga’: The Remarkable Journey of a Polish Interwar Hit // the story of Andrzej Włast’s most influential song, on Culture.pl
• Władysław Szpilman // bio on Culture.pl
• Wiera Gran // bio on Culture.pl
• Marysia Ajzensztadt // bio on Culture.pl
• 8 Remarkable Yiddish Books from Poland // on Culture.pl
• From ‘Last Sunday’ to ‘Last Shabbos’: Poland’s Legendary Jewish Tangos // on Culture.pl
• The Lost World of Yiddish Films in Poland // on Culture.pl
• The Rise & Fall of Polish Song // on Culture.pl

How to listen:

Unseen is available as a downloadable podcast, although it is best experienced through the Echoes geolocative storytelling app available for iOS and Android. After loading the app, search for soundwalks in Warsaw and you’ll find Unseen.