Awardees in the Grant Competition:
Grants and Scholarships Competitions
Supporting grassroots projects
Supporting grassroots projects
Awardees in the Grant Competition:
and the Local Special Action Foundation
Grodzisk Mazowiecki
The “Bejt chajim – Grodzisk Mazowiecki” Project
As part of the project, a website about the Jewish cemetery in Grodzisk Mazowiecki will be created. It will contain information about the history of the cemetery, an index of tombstones, current photos, a map indicating the preserved and recovered matzevot, as well as articles about the history of the local Jewish community. The tombstones, both those preserved and destroyed, will serve as starting points for stories of specific individuals, former Jewish residents of Grodzisk Mazowiecki, including the Survivors. The project also includes a documentation of tombstones and translation of the preserved inscriptions.
and the “Memory and Dialogue. Common History” Association
Brzesko
The “We Remember: An Exhibition Dedicated to Jewish Families of Pre-War Brzesko” Project
The project includes the preparation of an exhibition devoted to Jewish families who lived in Brzesko before the war. The exhibition will present archival documents and photographs that were collected during 8 years of genealogical research, interviews with witnesses, and visits to Brzesko’s Jewish cemetery. Some of the materials were obtained from descendants of local Jewish families. Scheduled for September 14, 2024, the opening of the exhibition will take place as part of the celebration of the 82nd Anniversary of the Liquidation of the Brzesko ghetto. After the ceremony, the exhibition will be on loan to schools and libraries, making it available to young people.
and Nasielsk Public Library
Nasielsk
The “Memory is the Person and the Place” Project
The project involves installing informative plaques in locations related to the Nasielsk’s Jewish community. First one will be located at the site of the former Jewish school (at Starzyńskiego street, formerly Berka Joselewicza street), since 1945 home to the local High School. The second plaque will indetify where the synagogue building stood until the 1950s. Currently, there is a residential block there. The plaques will feature QR codes for a Polish and English-language website with information on the sites commemorated. The unveiling ceremony will be followed with a series of publicly available classes offered by teachers and their students, who will use the plaques as educational materials. Among the invited guests of the official ceremony there will be descendants of Nasielsks’s Jewish families, representatives of local authorities and cultural institutions, as well as students of the Seniors’ College.
and Children of Września Foundation
Września
The “History and Culture of Jewish Września. Young People in Sites of Memory” Project
The project continues three years of educational activities where students from five elementary schools and as well as a special needs school take part in workshops on Jewish culture and tradition. Student representations from each school participate in a scavenger hunt, during which they learn about places related to the history of the Jewish community of Wrzesnia. This year the theme will be symbols of Jewish culture. In addition, students from 4 high schools will have classes on Jewish holiday traditions. The project also includes a visit to memorial sites: Fort VII in Poznań, the Martyrological Museum in Żabików, and the extermination camp in Chelmno nad Nerem for a group of 50 students.
and the “Sokółka Four Cultures” Association
Sokółka
The „They were among us…” Project
A commemorative plaque will be installed in Sokolka to honor the memory of the Stoler family. The guests attending the unvaling ceremony will include, among others the descendants of the family, students of the Elementary School no. 1, as well as local scout troops. The ceremony will include a walk commemorating important places in the Stler family history, and the descendants will be invited to a concert by the students of the Sokolka Music School. Prior to the ceremony, scouts and other members of the public will do necessary cleaning and maintenance works at the site of the local Jewish cemetery. For the seniors of the community there will be workshops dedicated to paper cutouts and Jewish cooking. Dishes prepared will be served during an exhibition of the cutouts prepared.
and the Friends of Mińsk Mazowiecki Association
Mińsk Mazowiecki
The “Shtetl on the Road” Project
The project includes a travelling exhibition in the form of a fabric screen covered in photos of the Jewish shtetl. Visitors will be able to use headphones and a tablet with sources related to the Jewish heritage of Mińsk Mazowiecki.
The exhibition is accompanied by workshops addressed to participants of various ages conducted on the basis of six different scripts. The exhibition will include a rack with interchangeable photos and a suitcase with artifacts, which will be used during the workshops. The project will be inaugurated during the 10th Days of Jewish Culture in Mińsk Mazowiecki.
and the Out of this World Cultural Association
Ostrowiec Świętokrzyski
The “Ostrowce” Project
The project entails the creation of paper and electronic maps showing the Jewish past of Ostrowiec Świętokrzyski, made available in Polish and English. The publication requires the compilation of a list of at least one hundred places and thematic entries related to the history of the Jewish community from the founding of the city to the present day. These will include both places still visible in Ostrowiec, such as the cemetery, and those that have vanished, such as the synagogue building. It will feature well known and obscure places, some associated with specific people who have made an impression on the town. The project includes a public walking tour of the sites combined with a map presentation at the Wielopolski Palace in Częstocice. The Museum in Ostrowiec Świętokrzyski is a partnet in the project.
and the Szydłów Cultural Center
Szydłów
Preservation and Commemoration of the Szydłów Jewish Cemetery
The project involves installation of commemorative plaques listing the names of those buried at the Jewish cemetery in Szydłów. The 556 names were gathered from a list of people buried at the cemetery in 1886-1914, which was translated from Russian, as well as a list of burials from 1918-1939. The unveiling of the plaques will be preceded by a lesson on the history of Szydlów Jews for local students. The guests of the ceremony scheduled for September 15, 2024 will include the descendants of Szydlów Jewish families from several countries. After the ceremony, the visitors will have a chance to meet with local residents in the local synagogue building. The event will also feature a book launch of Żydzi Szydłowa [eng. Jews of Szydłów]and screening of the film Jews of Szydłów in Neighbors’ Memory. The event will conclude a tasting of Jewish dishes.
and the Zofia Urbanowska Public Library in Konin
Konin
The “Echos of a Former World – Our History” Project
The Konin Museum will host workshops for seniors inspired by their Judaica collection, while a visit to the Konin Old Town will be an opportunity for the senior citizens to learn about places connected to Konin’s Jewish history, with special attention paid to the figure of Rabbi Jacob Liebschütz. Additionally, the project includes the creation and performance of a play based on I’m All Made of That Past World by Maria Leszczyńska-Ejzen, Four Days on Atlantis by Józef Lewandowski, and Konin: A Quest by Theo Richmond. The director, a drama educator, will hold a casting call for amateur actors from different age groups. The actors takle part in workshops about the history of the Jewish community. The performance will feature Dorota and Hanna Merlak, who will talk about their ancestors who once lived in Konin, and will be presented at the Center for Culture and Art in Konin. Hanna Merlak will also present her book Jews by Way of the Kitchen, while the Konin Municipal Public Library will hold an accompanying exhibition.
and the Open Education Foundation
Białystok
The “My Star – Our Star” Project
As part of the project, six memorial stones [Stolpersteine] will be installed at 31 Lipowa Street in Bialystok. Dedicated to Felicia Raszkin-Nowak, author of My Star, and her parents, grandparents, and uncle follow the memorial stones installed in memory of the Pisar family in 2023. The ceremony to unveil the memorial stones will be open to the public. It will be accompanied by an educational walk for local residents and tourists entitled “In the Footsteps of Felicia Raszkin-Nowak,” and based on the memories described in her publication. The project will also include on site workshops for teachers interested using the book and Felicia Raszkin-Nowak’s testimony.
and the Pabianice Shtetl Association
Pabianice
The “Virtual Map of Jewish Pabianice” Project
The virtual map created as part of the project will present places related to Pabianice’s Jewish community, including the synagogue, cemetery, religious community headquarters, the rabbi’s house, the Zarskis’ villa, the Baruch factory and tenement houses inhabited the Horovitz, Federman, Szapocznik, Adler and other families. The map will allows its viewers to learn about the history of each place. Texts in Polish and English will be illustrated with contemporary and archival photographs. In addition, two thematic walks will be organized as part of the project: one open to all residents of Pabianice, and the other – for teachers from local schools.
and the ATUT Foundation
Trzemeszno
The “Sarah, a film” Project
Sarah is a film based on Jolanta Sroczynska-Pietz’s novel Shadow of the Sundial that will feature appearances by the young performers of the Seventh Day Theater in Trzemeszno. The filming will be done in Trzemeszno’s historic locations and in a 19th century classroom. The film, with English subtitles, will be posted on YouTube, Facebook, and www.zydzi-trzemeszno.pl, as well as sent directly to descendants of Jewish families from Trzemeszno. The descendants will also be invited to the film’s official premiere, while students of the General and Vocational School Complex will have an opportunity to watch the film as part of educational activities organized during school hours.
Awardees in the Local Activism Scholarship Competition:
Murowana Goślina
The “Educational Power of the Goślina Kehilla History” Project
The project consists of a translation of a 30-page manuscript from 1833, discovered recently in the library of the Jewish Theological Seminary in Manhattan. Among other things, the document contains records of the history of the Jewish community in Murowana Goślina. The translated manuscript will be published online. In addition, Jakub Niewiński will organize an educational conference for the local community of Murowana Goślina, featuring a public reading of the translation. Other source materials will also be presented, including the account of Michael Simon Levy’s story, who is believed to have brought the manuscript to the United States, and his family. The conference will also include a workshop for teachers from local schools aimed at using archival sources in education.
Dębica
The “Life Music 2024” Project
As part of the project, Ireneusz Socha will organize a concert “Life Music 2024” on the stage of the Śnieżka Municipal Cultural Center in Dębica. It will take place during the Dębica Jewish Community Remembrance Day, on the 82nd Anniversary of the first extermination action in the Dębica ghetto. The concert will feature original music inspired by the life of Israel Goldberg, the last Jewish resident of Dębica, whose memoirs were recorded a year before his death. Among those invited to the event will be residents of Dębica, as well as descendants of Dębica Jews from Israel and the United States.
Awardees in the Personal Development Scholarship Competition:
Koźmin Wielkopolski
Pawel Bajerlein will spend the scholarship on an English language course and visits to foreign archives and museums that contain in their collections documents of the Jewish community of Kożmin Wielkopolski. The skills and knowledge he will acquire will help him strengthen ties between the local community of Koźmin and descendants of local Jewish families. They will also be useful in educational activities and in the preparation of a manuscript about the history of Jews in Koźmin.
Krzepice
Jolanta Drab will use the scholarship to cover the cost of an English language course. She aims to use these language skills to further her connection with descendants of Krzepice Jews who know reside in the United States.
Lublin
Teresa Klimowicz will use the scholarship to cover the cost of an online individual Yiddish-language course. The course materials will be suited to the specific language needs of someone working with historical documents, most importantly it will help Teresa decipher handwriting in Yiddish. This, in turn, she will be able to use in her educational activities in Lublin.
Staszów
Dariusz Kubalski will cover an English language course with the scholarship money. He plans to use English to connect with families of Staszów Jews, as well us to research historical and current materials in his research and publications on the Jewish history of Staszów.
Murowana Goślina
Jakub Niewiński will use to scholarship on an English language course, which will help him prepare for a language certificate exam (also covered by the scholarship allocation). The e-learning course will be completed on a tablet also bought with scholarship money. He will use his language skills also in his capacity as a guide.
Przysucha
Radosław Ptaszyński plans to buy lawn mowing equipment used to maintain the greenery in and around the Jewish cemetery in Przysucha. He is part of a group that has been taking care of the local cemetery for the past two years. Their last effort was to place an informative plaque featuring a QR code, fixed and painted the fence, and cut down dead trees.
In 2024, the program for activists in the Forum for Dialogue Network, including grants and scholarships, is financed thanks to the generosity of Friends of the Forum, LEDOR WADOR Foundation, United States Commission for the Preservation of America’s Heritage Abroad, and individual donors and institutions from Poland and abroad supporting Forum for Dialogue. Scholarships for personal development are possible thanks to The David and Anna Dlugie Kliger Scholarship Fund.
Marcin John March 21st, 2024
Posted In: EN News 2024
