Łukasz Parus

On October 13, 2016, the municipal community center in Zagórów hosted a meeting with author Paula Sawicka entitled “What Can We Learn From Marek Edelman?” The event co-organized by the community center, the local middle school and the municipal library was attended by teacher Jakub Niewiński and students from Hipolit Cegielski Middle School in Murowana Goślina, who were in Zagórów on a school exchange program. The event was held under the auspices of “Miasteczko Poznań” socio-cultural journal.

Paula Sawicka is a psychologist, English language translator, social activist, chairperson of the program board at Otwarta Rzeczpospolita (Open Republic) Association, friend of Marek Edelman and an author or co-author of two books about him:I była miłość w getcie (And There Was Love in the Ghetto)and Prosto się mówi, jak się wie(It’s Easy to Say if You Know). Marek Edelman was one of the leaders of the Warsaw ghetto uprising, social and political activist, a talented doctor and cardiologist. In 1976, Hanna Krall published her bookTo Outwit God(“Zdążyć przed Panem Bogiem”), which bases on Krall’s interview with dr Edelman and is included in curriculum for secondary schools.

The meeting took the form of a conversation led by community center director Łukasz Parus. Questions for Paula Sawicka pertained to the life and moral attitude of dr Marek Edelman, authorities, question of evil, tolerance, patriotism, nationalism, anti-Semitism, intercultural dialogue and attitudes towards refugees. Here are fragments of Paula Sawicka’s answers:

Marek Edelman was a very demanding person, sometimes harsh, and yet very sensitive to and responsible for others. (…)

When I hear the slogan ‘Poland for the Poles’, I think that I would have liked a different kind of Poland, a ‘Poland for the people’. (…)

Anti-Semites do not need Jews, they will find other enemies. Anti-Semitism and other extreme view are of course bad, but they gain power when they hurt and scapegoat another human being.

These words were met with applause from the audience. Paula Sawicka also recounted the story behind the famous yellow  daffodils:

For many years, on the anniversary of the outbreak of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising, Marek Edelman would receive yellow flowers from an anonymous donor; initially, these were not daffodils, as some would have it, but some other yellow flowers. Later came daffodils and yellow tulips. One year, the doctor did not receive any flowers, which led us to believe that the donor might have died. The daffodils are now seen as tokens of memory about the Warsaw ghetto uprising. For the past few years, POLIN museum has been organizing an action of handing out small paper daffodils that can be attached to clothing.

In the final part of the meeting, members of the audience had time to ask our guest questions; most came from middle school students from Zagórów and Murowana Goślina. Audience members were invited to see an exhibition dedicated to the life and thought of Marek Edelman prepared in by local librarians and consisting of a selection of books, photographs, and quotes. Each visitor received a handmade bookmark with a quote from Marek Edelman. After the meeting, the next event for middle school exchange participants began: students were treated to snacks and participated in ice-breaking sessions prepared by Jakub Niewiński.

Paula Sawicka was a special guest of the exchange program. The following morning, students toured the post-Cistercian church in Ląd, Adam Mickiewicz Museum in  Śmiełów and King Jadwiga Middle School Building. They also attended a screening of the School of Dialogue final project, prepared in 2014 by students of Kostanecki Brothers Secondary School Complex in Zagórów as a multimedia presentation. In the spring, Zagórów middle school students will visit their counterparts in Murowana Goślina.