Mariusz Sokołowski

Leaders

For many years – like the vast majority of the Polish society – I was a victim of “collective amnesia”, which eradicated the memory of our Jewish neighbors from Polish historic consciousness. My knowledge of this topic was limited barely to a few ominous names of sites where Jews had been murdered and the specifics of how the killing process was implemented. I did not use my first opportunity to get to know local Polish-Jewish history better. I completely ignored the many attempts that my neighbor made trying to tell me about what happened in Grajewo, Radziwiłów or Jedwabne. I treated his inner need to give testimony with the ignorance typical of a young man who was completely focused on mundane problems connected with growing pains. The issue came up again when I was in my last year of history studies at the university. I took part in a project entitled: “Jewish Heritage Trail in Białystok”, the aim of which was to incorporate the rich legacy of the Jews of Białystok into the city’s historical narrative. This was a breakthrough moment, as only then I felt Jewish absence for the first time. This was also when a protest was born inside me against the phenomenon of displacing Jews from Polish history and from our collective memory. When I started working as a history teacher in a high-school in Wasilków, I found allies among my students, who supported me in my mission of reclaiming the memory of the Jews. Almost ten years have passed since we started to take care for the remainders of Jewish material legacy, at the same time constantly trying to learn about the diversity and richness of Jewish culture.

I am a sociologist, history teacher, but I also teach social studies at the Rev. W. Rabczyński High School in Wasilków. Additionally, I am the president of the Open Education Foundation, I am a licensed tour guide of the Podlasie province; I participate and coordinate projects dedicated to providing education about multiculturalism and local history (“Jewish Heritage Trail”, “Multi-Coalition of Podlasie”, “Immortalizing Atlantis”, etc.); I supervise projects addressed to Chechen students (“Towards Enriching Diversity”, “Our World in 36 Film Frames”, “Through Hardships to the Stars”);

I completed post-graduate studies on “Nazism-Holocaust-Totalitarianism” and I participated in international courses on teaching about the Holocaust (at Yad Vashem, House of the Wannsee Conference, Memorial de la Shoah in Paris, etc); I initiated and coordinated international student exchange programs, such as the “Polish-Ukrainian Academy of Dialogue” or “Polish-Georgian Academy of Social Leaders”. Among others, I received an honorable mention in the Irena Sendler “Repairing the World” competition and won the 2015 title of “Teacher of the Year”.

Ever since I started my activities in Wasilków, I have been trying to ensure that the town’s Jewish past is given adequate attention. Of course, we began with clean-up works at the Jewish cemetery, which is now maintained by our school. Our next steps were aimed at increasing awareness of Wasilków’s Jewish history. As part of our activities, we organize photo exhibitions, lead tours presenting the Jewish heritage of Podlasie, screen films, hold location-based games, etc. At the same time, I try to share my knowledge and experience with other teachers through participating in professional development trainings, also through mediation of organizations and the Open Education Foundation which I established two years ago. In my free time, I work as a guide presenting Podlasie’s Jewish heritage.

I see my activism for reclaiming memory of Poland’s Jewish past as my obligation. This is also my passion, and with each initiative I implement, my belief in the importance of this topic, both for the descendants of the Polish Jews, and for our nation, keeps growing. Learning to understand the intricacies of Polish-Jewish relations, as well as extending my knowledge of the wealth of the Jewish culture and religion has also its sentimental side: I long for the irretrievable diversity of Poland before the World War II. I also believe that getting to know this forgotten legacy not only opens my students to local history, but also shapes the awareness that ours should be a society that is open to the Other people.

Activism

Wasilków

contact information:
mariusz.sokolowski@liderzydialogu.pl