Przemysław Iwanek | Forum for Dialogue

Meeting with George Elbaum

June 2017

In June 2017, George Elbaum, a Holocaust survivor, came to Poland with his wife Mimi, his son Jordan and his daughter-in-law Rebecca. During their stay in Poland, they met with School of Dialogue alumni in the Mazovia region, including students from School Complex in Mszczonów and the two-time School of Dialogue in 2013 and 2017.

Talking to young people about the Holocaust with honesty and sensitivity can be difficult at times. Nevertheless, Warsaw-born George Elbaum mastered this art to perfection.

With his book “Neither Yesterdays, Nor Tomorrows. Vignettes from the Holocaust”, published in Polish with the help of the Forum for Dialogue, and depicting his childhood during the war and further fate, he moved the audience and inspired a lively discussion. The conversations were so lively that the meeting in Mszczonów was prolonged by an hour! The students queued up to have their copy of the book signed.

We invite you to watch a film from George Elbaum’s meetings in Grójec, Błonie and Mszczonów:

Contributors

The program is co-financed by Malka and Pinek Krystal Scholarship Fund.

Meeting with a Study Trip Group

September 2015

In the fall of 2015, guests from Israel came to Poland on a study trip to learn about the history and present day of Polish/Jewish relations. They visited Radoszyce to meet with Barbara Tkacz, a local Leader of Dialogue, who told them about local memory of the Jewish community. As a teacher at Kazimierz Wielki Junior High School No. 1, she has stayed involved with the School of Dialogue program for many years.

See more about Leader of Dialogue Barbara Tkacz

Przemysław Iwanek April 4th, 2020

Posted In: EN Meetings

A Visit of the Rubensohn Siblings

May 2015

In May 2015 three Rubensohn siblings, descendants of Chełm Jews, came to Chełm. They devoted their visit to search for family roots. In Chełm, they received help from graduates of Jadwiga Młodowska High School No. 4, School of Dialogue in 2011 and 2012. They came back to school for the occasion and took the guests on a walking tour of their town following the traces of its Jewish past.

Meeting with a Group of Students from Brandeis University in the United States

February 2017

At the end of February 2017, participants of the Hornstein Jewish Professional Leadership Program from Brandeis University in Massachusetts visited Poland following the traces of its Jewish history. During their stay they wanted to learn about the local Jewish heritage and what its function is today. American students met with students of the Władysław Stanisław Reymont Junior High School in Brzeziny, the alumni of School of Dialogue 2016, who took their guests on a tour of their town following the traces of its Jewish past. One of the participants, Tamar, said that while browsing the Internet that day, she came across information indicating that her family was partly from Brzeziny.

High school and university students immediately found common conversation topics, also the difficult ones. The guests emphasized the great commitment and maturity of the students, who were able to talk about complex issues related to Polish/Jewish dialogue in a sincere and open way in respect of everyone’s feelings.

Contributors

The program is co-financed by Malka and Pinek Krystal Scholarship Fund.

A Visit of Study Trip Participants

December 2016

In December 2016, a group of Israeli and American participants of the Study Trip to Poland met with students from Vocational School Complex No. 2 in Skierniewice. The meeting began with a “speed dating” exercise which helped everyone to quickly get to know each other. Next was a walking tour which included the most important sites of everyday life of the prewar Jewish community in Skierniewice.

When the group came back to the school building, they enjoyed a treat, which turned out to be a great opportunity for casual conversations and perfect summary of the meeting, allowing the students and the participants talk about the present day and cherish new connections.

More about the meeting in Skierniewice in the following video:

A Visit of Study Trip Participants

June 2017

At the end of June 2017, while on a study trip to Poland, a group of teachers affiliated with Classrooms Without Borders, an American organization for professional development of teachers, met with Schools of Dialogue alumni from Starachowice – students from Kamil Baczyński High School No. 3 with Integrated Classes and Polish Nobel Prize Winners Junior High School No. 4. After icebreaker activities, the students invited their guests on a walking tour following the footsteps of the Jewish community in Starachowice.

The most moving part of their visit was the meeting with Howard Chandler, a Holocaust survivor from Starachowice, who also accompanied the group during the walk. He shared his story with the participants who gatehered in the Starachowice Cultural Center.

More about the meeting in Starachowice in the following video:

Contributors

The program is co-financed by Malka and Pinek Krystal Scholarship Fund.

A Visit of the Jewish Museum of Australia Goup and Marcin Grynberg

June 2017

In June 2017, a group from the Jewish Museum of Australia visited the School of Dialogue alumni from Stefan Czarniecki High School in Kozienice. The group was accompanied by Marcin Grynberg, a descendant of Kozienice Jews. As he said before the meeting: “When I found out that Forum is coming to Kozienice, I knew that I was going to meet experts, the young people who searched all over the place and found out different things”.

After a warm welcome, speeches by representatives of local authorities, including the mayor of Kozienice, and premilinary icebreaker activities, the students took their guest on a walking tour around Jewish Kozienice they prepared as part of the School of Dialogue program. The community of Kozienice welcomed the guests with open arms, helping them reconnect with their ancestors.

For more watch the film made from the meeting:

Contributors

The program is co-financed by Malka and Pinek Krystal Scholarship Fund.

Meeting with George Elbaum

March 2018

March 2018 gave students of the School of Dialogue from three localities the opportunity to meet with George Elbaum, a Warsaw-born Holocaust Survivor, the author of “Neither Yesterdays, Nor Tomorrows. Vignettes from the Holocaust” – a special guest of the School of Dialogue Gala 2017.

The meeting in Żyrardów gathered students from Stefan Żeromski High School called “Czerwoniak” who took part in the School of Dialogue program in 2010, supervised by their teacher Bożena Gąsiorowska, a Leader of Dialogue involved in keeping the memory of Żyradów Jews.

“The meeting felt very good. I hope to have more classes based on personal stories. We want to thank Forum for Dialogue for this opportunity. It is worth mentioning that in 2010 we took part in the School of Dialogue project, maybe someone else would like to join in?”, said a note left by one of the participants. And indeed, there were new students who joined the program. In the fall of 2018, the high school in Żyradów once again took part in the workshops and another group of young students rediscovered the local Jewish history. Maybe the meeting with George Elbaum inspired the curiosity of “Czerwoniak” students.

Contributors

The program is co-financed by Malka and Pinek Krystal Scholarship Fund.

See more about Leader of Dialogue Bożena Gąsiorowska

Przemysław Iwanek April 3rd, 2020

Posted In: EN Meetings

Meeting with George Elbaum

March 2018

The meeting in Legionowo was attended by students of two Schools of Dialogue – the District School Complex participating in the program in 2012, and the Jan II Sobieski High Schools No. 2, School of Dialogue 2017 nominated in the Innovation category at the School of Dialogue Gala 2017.

During the meeting, the students gathered to listen to the personal story of their guest – his birth in pre-war Warsaw, the loss of his father, an officer of the Polish army, search for a hiding place outside the ghetto in villages near Warsaw, post-war life with his mother in devastated Poland, up until their departure to the United States at the age of 11 and the decade of struggle with the memories of the Holocaust. Each student received a copy of the book with George Elbaum’s memoirs, as well as the opportunity to chat with the author and have the book signed.

Contributors

The program is co-financed by Malka and Pinek Krystal Scholarship Fund.

Meeting with George Elbaum

March 2018

During the meeting at the John Paul II Primary School No. 3 in Minsk Mazowiecki – School of Dialogue 2015 (then known as John Paul II Junior High School No. 2), students gathered to listen to the personal story of their guest – his birth in pre-war Warsaw, the loss of his father, an officer of the Polish army, search for a hiding place outside the ghetto in villages near Warsaw, post-war life with his mother in devastated Poland, up until their departure to the United States at the age of 11 and the decade of struggle with the memories of the Holocaust.

The meeting moved the audience and inspired a spontaneous speech by the school principal, Mr. Grzegorz Wyszogrodzki. He asked the gathered students to share the story with their loved ones. He underlined that the students can have impact to change the world as they decide with their hearts and not based on financial or personal benefits – as adults often do. He asked the students to think about whether they would be brave enough to take an innocent child under their roof targeted by the persecutors because of its origin. He also said that had the history of mankind been less tragic, there would be Jerzy, “our Jurek” and not George, standing before them. The words of the principal made a huge impression on the guest, and the students lined up to have their copy of George Elbaum’s book signed.

Contributors

The program is co-financed by Malka and Pinek Krystal Scholarship Fund.