Travel to Ulanow, 2003
By David Wurtzel (with
some editing by Melody Katz)
Getting to Ulanow is very simple. Assuming one flies directly to
Poland, there are airports at Warsaw and (at least from London)
Krakow. In 1999 I drove to Ulanow from Krakow, a journey of about
3 hours each way, on not very good roads. I do not recommend it.
The long drive there, with the emotional impact of being in Ulanow and
the long drive back, makes for quite a day.
I suggest stopping at Lublin first, which is much closer (probably less
than 2 hours). Lublin is a fascinating city in its own right and
is very important to Polish Jewish history. It is well worth
visiting, and a good base. It is thriving city, with new
hotels. The restoration of something suitably called the Grand
Hotel has its own web site (it is always worth staying in the best
hotel in town in former communist countries). My advice is always
to avoid staying in an Orbis Hotel--over
priced and not good, with a 1989 hangover. Lublin itself is 165
km from Warsaw, an easy car journey.
It is essential to have a car. Hiring cars within Poland
are very expensive. For example, the car I hired in August from
Berlin (Hertz will allow you to take Fords into Poland, but not more
expensive vehicles) cost 2/3 of what the Polish rate would have
been. However, Berlin, the closest major German airport to
Poland, is in itself a couple of days' car journey to Ulanow.
So arrangements clearly depend on how long people have available.
When visiting Ulanow itself, it would help immeasurably to meet Father
Lizak, if he is still there (Koscielma Str. 29, 37-410 Ulanow; phone
number: +48-15-8763024). Father Lizak is responsible for
restoring the cemetery (to whom we owe immense thanks). It is
also helpful to meet Mr. Tumik, the local historian [he wrote a book on
Ulanow, which includes a large chapter on the Jews of Ulanow].
However, they both only speak Polish, so you must go with an
interpreter. I arranged this through someone in the Jewish
Genealogical Society in London who knew someone who knew someone in
Krakow, a young student who was interested in Jewish history, and who
rang Father Lizak ahead of time to make the arrangements.
Orbis, a reputable travel service (but don't stay in their hotels), can
probably arrange for an interpreter in Lublin or Krakow, who can travel
with you. The cemetery is not marked by signs or on a map;
I couldn't find it at first in August, so eventually I wrote the Polish
words for 'Jewish cemetery' and showed it to a man in a cafe.
It is all in fact easier than it sounds; of course it SEEMS difficult
if one is from another country and is trying to imagine it. I
tend to make my own arrangements when traveling.
Rewritten here with the kind
permission of David Wurtzel
Copyright © 2003 Melody Katz