THE DEATH OF RAFAEL (FELEK) SCHARF

WWW.FORUM-ZNAK.ORG.PL

October 2003

On September 16th, 2003 in London died Rafael (Felek) Scharf - a Krakow Jew, a grand friend of Poland, one of the founders of the Oxford Institute for Polish-Jewish Studies, the co-creator of the Judaica Foundation - The Center for Jewish Culture in Krakow.

Rafael F. Scharf

Scharf was born on June 18th, 1914 in the Krakow Kazimierz district. He attended a Hebrew grammar school; later he studied law at the Jagiellonian University. He was a dedicated Zionist and wrote articles for the Krakow "Nowy Dziennik". In 1938 he emigrated to Great Britain and served in the army during the war. After the war Scharf worked in a team that prepared the trials of the Nazis. He was both a journalist and a free-lance writer. "The Jewish Quarterly", a literary-political periodical, was created on his initiative.

"I am an authentic homo cracoviensis and a Jews, a Krakow Jew, who is ready to cross mountains and rivers for that city," Scharf wrote about himself. In 1999 the Judaica Foundation and the Universitas publishing house published his book "Co mnie i Tobie, Polsko... Eseje bez uprzedzen", an important source of information about pre-war Krakow and a guide explaining the Polish-Jewish issues. In the foreword professor Jan Blonski wrote that the author of the book took upon himself "the role of a guard of the memory of Jews and Krakow; the role of the last witness, who wanted to preserve the uniqueness of Jews and Krakow".

"Felek" died after a prolonged sickness. Norman Davis, upon hearing of his death, wrote: "He managed to be both a Pole and a Jew. Without contradictions, without embarrassment. Felek Scharf was one of the few capable of uniting Poles and Jews. He addressed them warmly and quietly".