“Kaddish 1942” – Krzesimir Dębski

“Kaddish 1942” is a composition by Krzesimir Dębski for symphony orchestra. A 32-member orchestra will perform it under the composer's baton. The piece is a musical tribute to Polish Jews murdered by the German Nazis during World War II. It has a prayerful, mournful and reflective character. It commemorates the victims of the Holocaust and the world of Jewish culture that was almost entirely destroyed by it.

The title refers to the Kaddish, one of the most important prayers in Jewish tradition, recited among others by those in mourning. Its words do not speak directly of death but express praise of God, spiritual hope and remembrance of the dead. The year 1942 recalls one of the most tragic periods in the history of European Jews, marked by mass deportations and murders carried out by Nazi Germany, particularly as part of the operation “Reinhardt”.

Krzesimir Dębski seeks to express in music emotions that words cannot fully convey: pain, despair and longing, but also dignity, hope and the need to preserve memory. The symphony orchestra serves as a symbolic voice for those whose lives were taken. The music is meant to be a space for contemplation on the fate of millions of innocent people.

The composition also recalls the centuries-long coexistence of Polish and Jewish communities, and their shared history, traditions and culture, which for centuries shaped the identity of many towns and cities of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. The Holocaust meant the death of millions and the destruction of entire communities, families, houses of prayer, schools and creative circles. Marking the 88th anniversary of Kristallnacht, the piece stands as an artistic testimony to the victims of one of the greatest crimes in human history and a reminder of the responsibility of later generations to preserve historical truth. It is a symbolic prayer, a tribute to the murdered, and a call to save from oblivion their names, their history and a world that has irretrievably vanished.