Marek Chmielewski

Marek Chmielewski’s project envisages a three-day event series to be held in early November 2022 in Orla. The ceremonies seek to commemorate the Jewish community of Orla on the 80th anniversary of their extermination. The celebrations will begin with a session of the Orla Municipal Council, during which the attending parties will listen to an educational lecture on the Holocaust of the village’s Jewish population. This will be followed by a March of Remembrance, which will end at the Jewish cemetery, where the names of those murdered will be read out to accompany the unveiling of the memorial. The program of ceremonies also includes a visit to the local synagogue, a concert of classical music and a review of the artistic achievements of the local youth who have been making films on Orla’s Jewish past for years, supported by their teachers.

The direct addressees of the commemoration events will be the councilors of the Orla Municipality, village heads and local government officials from the municipality, teachers from the local school, schoolchildren, students, volunteers, as well as interested residents of Orla and its surroundings. Also expected to participate are descendants of Jews who once lived in the village.

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.