Grójec
Reconnecting Ties
Reconnecting Ties
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 Primate of the Milenium Public Junior High School in Grójec, where Małgorzata Andrychowicz, a Leader of Dialogue from Grójec, is a teacher.
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.
When reading the book, the students learned that their guest loves sweets – so they baked a homemade cheesecake for the occasion. Later, they invited the guests to a walking tour following the footsteps of Grójec Jews, prepared by the students as part of the School of Dialogue program.
We invite you to watch a film from George Elbaum’s meetings in Grójec, Błonie and Mszczonów, which is available here.
The program is co-financed by Malka and Pinek Krystal Scholarship Fund.
April 2015
On Monday April 13, students from the Primate of the Millennium Public Junior High School in Grójec took part in an extraordinary meeting. The school received a visit from a group of forty-one guests from the United Kingdom. Among the guests were students of London Business School, as well as the descendants of Jewish residents of the prewar Poland. The group came to Poland to participate in the March of the Living that was held on Thursday April 16. The students presented their project implemented within the School of Dialogue program.
At the end of the meeting, one of the guests said: “During such meetings, as the one today, we discover that even if we live in different parts of the world, we are all THE SAME – and this is beautiful. Yet, at the same time, we are DIFFERENT – and that is really fascinating! I am a Jew and I am proud of it – many Jews feel this way. This goes the same for the Poles – they can be proud of who they are. Because everyone of us wants to be SOMEBODY, to have a feeling of belonging.”
