Obituaries
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J TA pho tos by Pa tt i Mc Crac ken
Memory Factory
Exhibit at Schindler work site
recalls Nazi-era Krakow.
Patti McCracken
Jewish Telegraphic Agency
Krakow, Poland
I
n January 1994, an American tour-
ist stepped out of a taxi into a cold,
drizzling rain and entered the Jarden
Jewish Bookshop at the far end of the
square in the Jewish quarter of Krakow.
On the counter he splayed a weeks-old
copy of the New York Times before book-
shop owner Les Zdzislaw.
"The man was pointing to photos of
sites that were in Schindler's List and
demanded to know where they were':
Zdzislaw recalls. "But what he didn't
understand is that the movie had not yet
premiered in Europe. We ourselves didn't
know where many of these locations were."
The debut of Spielberg's film in
December 1993 sparked a stunning flood
of tourists to Krakow that still continues.
Many come on a pilgrimage to pay hom-
age to Oskar Schindler, the war infor-
mant-turned-Nazi who daringly saved
more than 1,000 Jews.
Seventeen years after the film brought
fame to the factory, the facility was sched-
uled to open as a museum on June 11.
The Historical Museum of the city of
Krakow has transformed the site into
what it calls a "memory factory': the city's
first permanent exhibit of Nazi-occupied
Krakow.
"The world already knows about
Schindler," says Marta Smietana, a muse-
urn spokeswoman. "Now we can show
what all of Krakow was like when the
Jews were working for him."
The $4.3 million renovation took three
years to complete.
"Krakow Under Nazi Occupation: 1939-
1945" will showcase life during the war
for Poles and Jews, concentrating at least
some of its narrative on the disruption of
Polish-Jewish relations against the back-
drop of Nazi brutality.
Ablecop
LEONARD JACK
ABLECOP, 76, of
Huntington Woods,
died June 14, 2010.
He was a building
contractor, specializing
in residential adapting
for the handicapped.
The project wasn't without controversy
— some were displeased that Schindler had
to share the spotlight with the war-era city.
"Since the renovation, the factory
seems to have lost some of its character':
Zdzislaw said. "I think having it devoted
to the German occupation doesn't do
Schindler and others like him justice.
They are two separate things."
Others argued that Schindler was one
among many heroes of the Holocaust in
Poland, and a museum devoted solely to a
man made famous by a Hollywood movie
would distort history.
"If you focus on one person, what
about all the other heroes?" asked
Jonathan Ornstein, director of the Jewish
community center in Krakow.
"When you talk about people who
saved Jews on Polish soil, he's not the only
one. Take, for example, the Polish teachers
and orphanage workers who saved 2,000
Jews. There are many, but the world just
doesn't know about them."
The Emalia Factory, where Schindler
manufactured tinware, sits on a broad
stretch of a bending road among many
plants and workshops in the industrial
zone of Krakow. As one of the largest, it
has a commanding presence.
After the war, Soviet forces nationalized
the factory and turned it into a telecom-
munications equipment manufacturer.
But eventually the facility was abandoned
and fell into receivership, which is when
the city bought it in 2005.
Oskar Schindler's office and desk are on display in the Schindler museum.
The factory in which Oskar Schindler used Jewish slave labor during World War
II has been turned into a Holocaust museum.
Tourist Attraction
Tourists for nearly two decades have been
wandering out to Lipowa Street to see
the factory. Tourist trolleys would trundle
through the heavily commercial zone just
to draw up to the unmarked gates and
then turn back, sightseers standing on
tiptoes and madly clicking their cameras.
At the new museum, modern exhibits
are intended to take visitors back in time
include life-size photomurals, voiceovers,
digital displays and multimedia touch
screens. The museum also will feature a
Hall of Choices, a sculptural installation
highlighting ethical dilemmas faced by
citizens during the war.
Some visitors may be shocked by the
black-on-white, swastika-like floor tiles
in one of the rooms. The company that
produced the tiles refused to do so without
first receiving assurance from the govern-
ment that it would not be committing a
crime if it went through with the order,
since Nazi symbols are banned in Poland.
"We used the swastika symbol because
it says so much about the occupation':
Smietana said. "At first you think how
banal it is; then you start to understand
how dangerous it is."
The exhibit is meant to provoke, as in
the case of the floor tiles; but to many,
Mr. Ablecop is survived by his wife,
Susan Karabelnick; daughters and
son-in-law, Cheryl and Bud Pope of
Farmington, Renee Ablecop of Alaska;
grandchildren, Marlee Pope, David and
Daniel Ablecop; brother and sister-in-
law, Saul and Vivian Ablecop; sister,
Ethel Elkind; brother-in-law, Milton
Shulman; cousins and close friends.
He was the beloved son of the late
Minnie and the late Charles Ablecop;
loving brother of the late Bernice
Shulman, the late George Ablecop and
the late Arnold Ablecop; his late devoted
companions were Sadie 1 and 2, Trinka,
Trax and Tasha.
Obituaries
the "memory factory" will be about the
memory of Schindler.
"A couple of months ago, an Israeli
woman came to me and wanted to know
if it was true that it was her grandfather
who sold the factory to Schindler," said
Zuzanna Mistal, project director for the
new museum. "I was able to tell her yes.
It was a beautiful feeling, and it was the
first time I understood how important
my work is."
Bookshop owner Zdzislaw is unlikely to
hurry out to the museum when it opens,
preferring instead his own memories of
generations of Schindler survivors — the
ones he has watched grow up, traipsing in
and out of his store year after year, and now
bringing their own young ones with them.
"To me he said, "Oskar Schindler is
like a god." ❑
Contributions may be made to
Amyloidosis Research Program for
Karmanos Institute, 4100 John R,
Detroit, MI 48201 mail code VE01FS.
Arrangements by Ira Kaufman Chapel.
Obituaries on page 66
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June 17 • 2010
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