This chapter in the Makowski theatre’s history began most likely in March 1927, with the screenings of East and West (dir. Sidney M. Goldin and Ivan Abramson, 1923) and lasted until the end of August 1939. The cultural life of the Jewish community thrived in the Jezuicka theatre. This was where plays in Yiddish were staged, readings and debates were held, and most films in Yiddish were screened. This was partly due to venue’s location – the Jewish community of Lublin was concentrated in the Old Town and its adjacent areas. Natan Gross, director, writer, and author of a monograph on Jewish cinema in Poland, wrote:
Yiddish films enjoyed the interest of the Yiddish-speaking community, and the translation into Polish attracted also non-Jewish viewers. Jewish cinema was an important cultural factor bringing together Jews and Poles. This rapprochement ended with World War II and the Holocaust.
