A Visit of Study Trip Participants

October 2018

In the fall of 2018, a group of participants of Forum’s Study Trip to Poland met with the students of C.K. Norwid Catholic High School in Garwolin – alumni of the School of Dialogue 2018. Even though access to sources on the Jewish community in Garwolin is difficult, high school students from Garwolin prepared a unique meeting.

After the icebreaker activities conducted by the Forum educator, the participants and students shared conversations and jokes over coffee and snacks before heading on a walking tour. Students prepared posters in English put in the classroom; printed brochures in English for each tour participant with a translation prepared in a professional way. During the walking tour, the students presented the Jewish past of their town centered on individual stories of Garwolin Jews.

When the group reached a forest covering the area of destroyed Jewish cemetery, one of the participants from Israel explained to the students how to read the inscriptions on the remaining matzevot, and the local activist Renata Masna talked about the activities for the commemoration of the cemetery, emphasizing the support of the students in this matter. This joint assistance does not have to end on the day of the meeting – the guests gave their email addresses to the students in case they ever needed help with Hebrew.