The 2015 National Conference of Leaders of Dialogue – a meeting of individuals who care about restoring memory of Polish/Jewish past – was held in Warsaw April 17-19. The inauguration ceremony took place in the Senate of the Republic of Poland, the event’s partner institution. In the course of two days of discussions, participants first and foremost had the opportunity to exchange thoughts on their activist experience and participate in lectures and discussions with experts. In the course of the conference they met with, among others, prof. Andrzej Leder, who talked about his most recent book “Sleepwalking Through a Revolution” (“Prześniona rewolucja”). During the conference, participants attended parallel sessions of their choice, thus being able to tailor the conference program to their individual interests and topics that are most related to their activities. Elective sessions included lectures by Dr. Iwona Kurz, who talked about means of representation of the Holocaust in cinema; Agnieszka Nieradko from Rabbinical Commission for Jewish Cemeteries in Poland, who explained how to care for Jewish cemeteries; Mikołaj Grynberg, who talked about his most recent book, “I blame Auschwitz (“Oskarżam Auschwitz”);

and Agnieszka Podpora, who gave a lecture on Hebrew literature. Aside from discussions on Polish/Jewish matters, participants also had the chance to gain practical skills in the sphere of project management and fundraising for their activities. The evening – a sort of tradition already – was spent at JCC Warsaw, where participants met representatives of Warsaw’s Jewish community and then joined the Havdalah celebrations. On the final day of the conference, participants could choose between two optional walking tours: with Jan Jagielski through the Jewish cemetery at ul.Okopowa or with Dr. Jacek Leociak through the area of the former ghetto. Both groups met at noon in front of the Ghetto Heroes Monument to take part in anniversary celebrations of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising. Afterwards, anyone who wished to could visit POLIN Museum of the History of Polish Jews.

Contributors

In appreciation to the Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany (Claims Conference) for supporting this educator training program. Through recovering the assets of the victims of the Holocaust, the Claims Conference enables organizations around the world to provide education about the Shoah and to preserve the memory of those who perished.

Project co-financed from the funds granted by the Dutch Jewish Humanitarian Fund.