March meeting of the Central European Book Club

We invite you to a meeting devoted to Darek Cvijetic's book “Schindlers Lift”. We will talk about literary testimony of war, the language of memory and the challenges of translating this unique book into Polish.  

10 March 2026, 18.00  

The Central European Book Club meeting in the bookshop on the first floor of Kamienica Pod Kruki will be hosted by Aleksandra Wojtaszek.

About the book

“Schindlers Lift” is a poignant story based on personal experience about the war in the former Yugoslavia and its long-lasting consequences. Cvijetić – a poet, prose writer and director – reconstructs the history of one block of flats in Prijedor, where representatives of different nationalities and religions lived side by side before the war. With the outbreak of conflict, the community falls apart and the neighbourhood turns into a space of violence, fear and loss. The author creates a polyphonic narrative about memory, guilt and responsibility, showing how great history leaves its mark on individual fates.

The book “Schindlers Lift” by Darek Cvijetić was published by Oficyna Literacka Noir sur Blanc, translated by Dorota Jovanka Ćirlić.

Host:

Aleksandra Wojtaszek – Balkanist, literary scholar, translator and expert on Central European culture. Author of the book “Fjaka. Sezon na Chorwację”, scientific monograph ”Topographies of imaginary spaces. Serbian and Croatian speculative fiction” and texts in HERITO magazine and “Tygodnik Powszechny”.

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The ICC will enrich its offer with many innovative events thanks to the project “Modernisation and adaptation of the ground floor of the Ravens House and renovation of the technical infrastructure of the International Cultural Centre in Krakow”, worth PLN 13,541,096.08. This project received PLN 8,744,388.51 in funding from the European Union's European Funds under the FEnIKS programme.

Round table meetings (tastings, discussions and lectures on the cuisine of nations and regions), workshops with elements of sensory perception, city quests, comic book and innovation workshops, as well as meetings of the ICC Youth Council – these are just some of the innovative events offered by the ICC thanks to the implementation of the FEnIKS project!