Summer and early fall is a time when many of the Leaders of Dialogue activists organize ceremonies commemorating the deportations and annihilation of the Jews from their towns. This year the form of these events had to conform to the Covid-19 safety restrictions, oftentimes including activities that were planned for the previous year but were canceled due to the epidemic.

Many of the ceremonies included the unveiling of permanent commemorations of the local Jewish community. In Rabka-Zdrój, a plaque with all the names of the Jews killed during the war was unveiled thanks to the efforts of Michał Rapta and Narcyz Listkowski, members of the Leaders of Dialogue network and pillars of the Historia Rabki association. For press coverage in Polish, you may click here. Another plaque, this time marking the deportation site, was unveiled in Biecz thanks to the efforts of Krzysztof Przybylowicz, co-organizer of a ceremony commemorating local Jews. The Jews of Mińsk Mazowiecki were also commemorated with a plaque. Katarzyna Łaziuk has been working to preserve the memory of the Shoah for years. First as a teacher of English and a local activists, and now as a representative of local authorities. On August 22, she co-organized a commemoration ceremony at the local Jewish cemetery, as well as the unveiling of a plaque marking the tragic events at the Kopernik labor camp, a presentation of five bus stops featuring an overview of the Jewish history of Minsk, and an opening of an exhibition. The day-long commemoration ended with a performance by Lena Piekniewska singing “A Lullaby for an Eternal Dream.”

Members of the Leaders of Dialogue network, Katarzyna Suszkiewicz and Tomasz Kocur, who run the AntySchematy 2 Foundation dedicated to the preservation of places of memory, invite the local community and young people in their activities. For the past months, they have been organizing commemorative events in Sędziszów Małopolski, Jasło, and Radomyśl Wielki. During their Days of Memory event they read out the names of the members of the local Jewish community, lit candles in their honor, and left flowers in a gesture of respect. The activists working together as the Shetl of Tsanz organized an Assembly of Remembrance in several towns nearby: Stary Sącz, Limanowa, Gródek upon Dunajec and Nowy Sącz.

There were also the annual Marches of Memory in Otwock and Rymanów, and in the fall there will be one in Brzesko (October 2 and 3) and Pułtusk. In Otwock, the March was a part of the events commemorating the 79th anniversary of the ghetto liquidations in Otwock, Falenica and Rembertów. These events included meetings with descendants of local Jews, panel discussions, walking tours and concerts.

In Szczekociny, the commemoration of the local Jewih community was part of the Szczekociny Dialogue of Cultures Festival, initiated by Mirosław Skrzypczyk, a local Leader of Dialogue. The event aims to create a space of intersection of cultures which have contributed and continue to contribute to Szczekociny history and identity. The key term of the festival is its titular “dialogue.” The organizers believe that different perspectives can be in dialogue and complement one another.

The commemorative ceremony in Jedwabne was organized by the Warsaw Jewish Community. We encourage you to read a very moving account of Kamil Mrozowicz, a member of the Leaders of Dialogue network active in Jedwabne, about the memory and its lack in the town. The text is available in Polish here.

Other commemorative events were organized thanks to the tireless efforts of activists of the Leaders of Dialogue network from Mszana Dolna (Urszula Antosz-Rekucka), Dukla (Jacek Koszczan), Jędrzejów (Klaudia Kwiecińska), Wieluń (Agnieszka Mysakowska), Wola Michowa (Joanna Potaczek), Dębica (Ireneusz Socha), Białowieża (Katarzyna Winiarska), Zduńska Wola (Kamila Klauzińska), Czarny Dunajec and Krościenko upon Dunajec (People, not Numbers).