Bożena Gajewska, an activist in Forum’s Leaders of Dialogue network, in cooperation with the Friends of the Kutno Region Society, runs the “Searching for Traces of Jewish Past in Żychlin” project, co-financed by the Forum for Dialogue.

As part of the initiative, on June 13, she took a group of Żychlin residents to the Museum of the former German Kulmhof Death Camp in Chełmno nad Nerem. It’s a special place for the history of the Żychlin Jewish community, as it is at this camp where several thousand of local Jews were murdered.

The young people attending the visit lit candles under the commemorative plaques, laid flowers at the memorial wall and, with a moment of reflection, commemorated the murdered Jewish community of Żychlin. The participants of the trip saw the permanent exhibition, opened in 2019, learned about the history of the extermination of Żychlin’s Jews, and saw the remains of the palace where they made their last journey. In the granary, they watched the account of Szymon Srebrnik, and later took part in educational workshops conducted by the museum’s custodian, Małgorzata Grzanka.

photos courtesy of B. Gajewska

A few days later, on June 22, the ceremony of unveiling a stone monument dedicated to the memory of Jewish inhabitants of Żychlin – the culmination of the project. The ceremony was attended online by descendants of Żychlin Jews who were consulted on the text of the commemoration. The unvailing was hosted by Bożena Gajewska, member of Friends of the Kutno Region Society, and Anna Wrzesińska, president of the Żychlin History Lovers Society.

The plaque was unveiled by the Mayor of the Żychlin, Grzegorz Ambroziak, who acknowledged the several hundred years of Jewish presence in Żychlin, the shared history, and the tragic fate of the Żychlin Jewish community.

photos courtesy of B. Gajewska

The Leaders of Dialogue program, including grants and scholarships, was 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.