Awardees in the Grant Competition:
Grants and Scholarships for Forum for Dialogue Network Members
We have awarded funding for local activism and personal development
We have awarded funding for local activism and personal development
Awardees in the Grant Competition:
and the Wiktor Ambroziewicz Regional Museum in Chełm
Chełm
“Chełm at Heart. Past, Memory, Future”
The project entails the performance of Zadra, a play inspired by the life of Esther Terner Raab, and performer by the OKO Theatre at the Ruda-Huta Cultural Center. Esther Terner Raab was born and raised in Chełm, and was a prisoner at the Sobibór extermination camp. The project also includes a publication entitled The Jewish Chełm Primer, comprising information about important figures of religious, cultural, and social life in prewar Jewish Chełm, as well as about the architecture and art created within the community. The publication will be available in print and online. Finally, an important element of the project is the visit of descendants of local Jewish families, who will take part in a public panel and educational workshops with current Chełm residents, as well as a shabbat dinner in the town of their ancestors.
and the Municipal Public Library in Gliwice
Gliwice
“Traces of Jews of Gliwice”
The project centers on a series of educational meetings for students of Gliwice’s high schools. These will include a visit to the old Jewish cemetery, where the participants will learn about symbolism of Jewish tombstones and engage in maintenance works, and the new Jewish cemetery, where they will get involved in the organization of the commemoration of Jewish soldiers killed in the WWI, as well as a talk on the religious life of Jewish communities at the Upper Silesian Jews House of Remembrance, followed by a shabbat dinner. All the events will involve the participation of representatives of the current Jewish community, while students will receive educational materials summarizing the knowledge gained during each session to be shared with their peers. The aim if the project is the creation of a group of “leaders of memory” ready to stay involved in the efforts to preserve Jewish memory in Gliwice.
and Association Memory and Dialogue. Common History
Brzesko
“Bringing Back Memory: Prewar Jewish and Catholic students in Brzesko’s Schools. An Exhibition”
The project entails the creation of an exhibition dedicated to the prewar Jewish and Catholic students who attended the same Brzesko schools. The exhibition opening is planned for September 2025, as part of the series of events commemorating the Holocaust of Brzesko’s Jewish community. These events will be attended by descendants of Brzesko’s Jewish families. The aim of the project is inspiring local inhabitants, especially young people, to become emotionally invested in the history and tragic fate of the Jews of Brzesko.
and “AleBabki” Association
Ryczywół
“History Traced Through Buildings: The Ryczowół’s Synagogue Recalled”
The project aims to commemorate the Jewish heritage of Ryczywół by creating a mural depicting the former synagogue, accompanied by a plaque detailing its history. The mural will be placed on the building that once housed the synagogue. The project also includes consultation meetings for the local community, during which a lecture on Jewish literature and poetry will be given. Finally, there will be a ceremony to unveil the mural, featuring a member of the Jewish community, Marek Daniel.
and the “Our Castle” Association
Sochaczew
“We Lived Together: Remembering our Neighbors”
The project aims to create a comprehensive list of the prewar residents of Sochaczew. To this end, research will be conducted in state and church archives, and contact will be made with descendants of local Jewish families. The information thus collected will be published in a brochure available in Sochaczew’s museums and on the Sochachew Regional Museum’s website. The project involves also educational workshops for local youth, and walking tours featuring members of the Jewish community.
and the Saga Grybów Association
Grybów
“To Carry the World in the Memory”
The project includes the making of a film depicting the Polish-Jewish-Lemko history of Grybów, entitled To Carry the World in the Memory. The film is based on Survivors’ and witnesses’ testimonies and memories of life before the Holocaust. It also entails the creation of an interactive map addressing the issue of the Holocaust and the identity of places related to it. The project aims to lay the foundations for the education of local community about the Holocaust, as well as for the rebuilding of ties between the descendants of Grybów’s Jews and current residents.
and the Słupsk Cultural Center
Słupsk
“Can I visit my mom’s grave?: The History of the Słupsk Jewish Cemetery”
The project involves a series of sessions focused on the history of the Słupsk Jewish cemetery for the students of local high schools. The students will take part in meetings with experts, including an online conversation with descendants of Max Joseph, a prewar Rabbi of Słupsk. The participating students will also create an exhibition on the history of the cemetery, preparation of which will entail the documentation of the 120 tombstone fragments stored at the Burial House. The exhibition will be available to the public and its opening is scheduled for the 23rd Days of Jewish Culture in Słupsk.
and the Staszów Cultural Center
Staszów
“Our Jewish Neighbors”
Dariusz Kubalski and his associates will focus on creating part of a new permanent exhibition of the Regional Tradition Room at the Staszów Regional Museum. Its aim is to present the history of the Jewish community of Staszów. The exhibition will include photographs, including large-scale prints, depicting daily life of the community, together with Polish and English-language description, as well as a glass case presenting a historical Torah scroll. The opening of the gallery will also involve the planting of a memorial tree and a lecture featuring descendants of Staszów Jews. A bilingual, Polish-English, publication will accompany the creation of the exhibition.
and the Zofia Urbanowska Municipal Public Library in Konin
Konin
“Echos of a Lost World: Our History”
Descendants of Konin’s Jewish family will run culinary workshops for students and adults. The students will have an opportunity to consider the broader meaning of recipes In order to further reflect on personal memories and memory in the process of cultural identity building. The students will also be invited to join an educational walk marking the history of the Ejzen and Leszyński families. They will be asked to think about the ways in which family, home, and history shape a sense of belonging in one’s “private homeland.”
and the City of Serock
Serock
“Jewish History of Serock”
The project involves the placement of information plaques about sites related to the Jewish residents of Serock. Mirosław Pakuła plans the publication of a guide and map, which will enable tourists and locals to discover Serock’s rich Jewish heritage, as well as organization of educational workshops, walking tours, and the setting up online presence for his activities. Finally, an online meeting with a descendant of Jewish family from Serock is also planned.
and the Jewish Przysucha Association
Przysucha
“Jewish Przysucha. Meetings 2025”
Radosław Ptaszyński has invited Daniel Strahilevitz, a descendant of Jews from Przysucha, and a world famous pianist living in Vienna, to perform at the Oskar Kolberg Museum in Przysucha. The concert is scheduled for the anniversary of the Przysucha ghetto liquidation, at the Symche Bunem Scholarship gala. The scholarship is meant to recognize a student whose efforts to discover local Jewish history are exceptional. Additionally, the project includes the setting up of a website featuring information about Jews of Przysucha.
and the “Strefa Styku” Association
Radomsko
“My Name is Miriam. An Artistic Commemoration of Miriam Chaszczewacka from Radomsko”
The project entails a series of workshops for Polish and Ukrainian students on the history of their peer, Miriam Chaszczewacka, a Jewish girl from Radomsko and a Victim of the Holocaust, on the basis of her diary written in the ghetto. The students will also meet with Survivors and descendants of Jewish families from Radomsko. The culmination of the project is a series of kamishibai workshops and the independent creation of performances, using this Japanese form of storytelling, to express emotion and creative approach to the past. Finally, the project will contribute to the creation of educational materials available to the public.
and the Open Education Foundation
Białystok
“Commemoration of the Kracowski Family”
The aim of the project is the commemoration of Kracowski family and their important contribution to Białystok’s history. It involves the installation of four Stolpersteine, Memory Stones, at the Lipowa 15 street. The project also includes a walking tour for Białystok’s residents of sites related to the Kracowski family. The official unveiling of the commemoration will be organized in partnership with local authorities as part of the municipal commemoration of the 82nd anniversary of the Białystok ghetto liquidation.
and the Pedagogical Library in Radom
Radom
“Their Past, Our Memory: How to Talk to Children and Youth About War and the Holocaust”
The project will include a conference entitled Their Past, Our Memory: How to Talk to Children and Youth About War and the Holocaust. It will be aimed at teachers, especially those working with younger grades in elementary school, as well as parents, educators, guides, and others engaged in teaching about war and the Holocaust in education. The speakers at the conference will include experts who will share their knowledge and experience and provide practical advice. Among them will be representatives of the Jewish community. The conference will also serve as a commemoration of Batsheva Dagan – a writer, educator, and creator of a psychological and pedagogical method designed to help impart knowledge about the Holocaust. Prior to the event, a review of Batsheva Dagan’s works will be conducted, and materials summarizing the findings will be distributed to conference participants.
and the Municipal Cultural Center – Czarnków Regional Museum
Czarnków
“At the Base of the Jewish Mountain: The History of Czarnków Jews”
The project focuses on the creation of a film depicting the history of Jews in Czarnków and mounting of a plaque featuring a visual representation and description of interior of the Czarnków synagogue, which was dismantled in 1939–1940. The film will feature interviews with descendants of local Jewish families, who will share their stories and archival photographs. It will be made available online, including the website of the Czarnków Regional Museum. The film’s premier and the accompanying panel discussion will take place at the ŚWIATOWID cinema at the Municipal Cultural Center. It will be open to the residents of Czarnków, including local youth. The project aims to contribute to the creation of new connections between the descendants and the local community of the town.
Awardees in the Personal Development Scholarship Competition:
Koźmin Wielkopolski
Presenting at the 45th IAJGS International Conference on Jewish Genealogy
The scholarship will cover the cost of presenting at the 45th IAJGS International Conference on Jewish Genealogy taking place on August 10–14, 2025 in Fort Wayne. Paweł Bajerlein will share his expertise in genealogical research and Jewish heritage in the Greater Poland region. The conference is also an opportunity to connect with the descendants of Survivors and visits to local archives.
Staszów
ESL course
Dariusz Kubalski will join an English course, which will allow him to further his language skills. Fluency in English is crucial in the effort of connecting with the descendants of Staszów Jews and involving them in his work to commemorate the Jewish community of Staszów.
Kcynia
Research trip to London
Justyna Makarewicz will conduct research on Caesar Aronsfeld, a historian and Holocaust researcher born in Kcynia. She will travel to London to interview his family and colleagues, and publish her outcomes online.
Rzeszów
Hebrew language course
Karolina Ożóg will continue her study of Hebrew, which will help her communicate with descendants of Jews from Rzeszów, as well as translate parts of the Rzeszów Book of Memory that are in Hebrew. The translations will be published online, on the Rajsze website and Facebook page.
Działoszyce
ESL course
Jessica Szczepańska will attend an English course to pursue further connections between descendants of Działoszyce Survivors and current town residents. She plans to set up meetings between the descendants and local residents.
In 2025, the grants and scholarships program is financed thanks to the generosity of Friends of the Forum, LEDOR WADOR Foundation, 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 and Friends of the Forum.
