Dorota Budzińska
A grant recipient in 2018
A grant recipient in 2018
Scholarship Completion Report
Dorota Budzińska is a high school teacher and educator in Dąbrowa Białostocka. She is actively involved in bringing back the memory of the Jewish community of the town. The history of Dąbrowa Białostocka Jews had been forgotten for decades. Most of the Jews from Dąbrowa Białostocka, who constituted nearly 80% of the town population, perished in the Holocaust during WWII. The only trace of the existence of this once large and thriving community is the Jewish cemetery, which had been neglected for long. A void, oblivion, reluctance remained. This led Dorota to take action to bring back the memory of the former Jewish inhabitants of Dąbrowa.
She decided to use the scholarship for local initiatives to fund implementation of the “Reading the Ashes – Traces of Dąbrowa Białostocka Jews” project, which she established together with Jolanta Kostańczuk. It is a continuation of projects undertaken and implemented in previous years. The project was directly inspired by a visit of Mark Podwal to Dąbrowa Białostocka on May 24, 2016. Mark, a descendant of Dąbrowa Jews, is a world-famous artist and graphic designer. After returning to the USA, he painted a series of 18 works entitled “Kaddish for Dąbrowa Białostocka”. He also published a book about pre-war Jewish Dąbrowa illustrated with his works. The works were presented in the Great Synagogue in New York, in Grodno, as well as in the Ludwik Zamenhof Centre in Białystok.
Based on the assumption that images often speak louder than words, the main goal of the project was to organize an exhibition presenting the works of Mark Podwal “Kaddish for Dąbrowa Białostocka” as a platform to introduce the town’s Jewish past to its inhabitants, and to face the problem of aversion and phobias connected with restoring the memory of the Jewish residents of Dąbrowa.
Dorota invited twenty students from high school in Dąbrowa Białostocka to participate in the project. The group held an organizational meeting and during the brainstorming session they developed ideas for activities preceding the organization of the exhibition – a meeting with witnesses of history, rediscovering the town’s history, preserving the traces of the Jewish community, etc. The project was carried out by a group of high school students from Dąbrowa Białostocka. In cooperation with Romuald Gromacki, town mayor, they prepared and sent invitations to the artist Mark Podwal and to two descendants of Dąbrowa Białostocka Jews: Michael Nevins (author of the Dąbrowa Białostocka Yizkor Book) and Kiki Harara (granddaughter of the Dąbrowa Białostocka rabbi M.G. Mowszowicz).
The project group organized two meetings with witnesses of history: Mr. Zarzecki and Mr. Kułak. The students went on a walking tour around Dąbrowa, during which they discovered sites connected with the Jewish community. The witnesses’ testimonies were recorded, and were later used to draw a plan of the pre-war Dąbrowa.
In April 2018, the Museum of Jewish History in Tykocin hosted a workshop for young people on the history, culture and religion of Polish Jews with reference to the works of Marek Podwal. The project group also prepared a walking tour around Jewish Dąbrowa, to which they invited town inhabitants and special guests. The walk took them to sites significant for the Jewish community, such as the synagogue or cemetery.
The exhibition of 18 paintings by Mark Podwal and launch of Kaddish for Dąbrowa Białostocka book was held on June 7. During the event, the author met with the town residents, representatives of the Marshal Office in Białystok, the Poland-Israel Centre for Citizenship Education Poland-Israel, the Sokółka District, the town and commune, as well as with students from different schools in Dąbrowa Białostocka. The artist, through his presence, his works, conversations, the book launch, autographs, gave the town inhabitants the opportunity to experience high culture, and to trigger their sensitivity, fight reluctance and phobias. He donated the series of 18 works “Kaddish for Dąbrowa Białostocka” to the town and appointed Dorota Budzińska as the depository of paintings and books. The works are displayed in the high school building, but exhibitions outside Dąbrowa are planned.
While the project was still ongoing, two descendants of Dąbrowa Jews from Israel and the USA announced their visit to the town. Their arrival and speeches allowed for integration with the local community and students, and deepened the knowledge about the local Jewish community.
The scholarship funds were allocated for the professional framing of “Kaddish for Dąbrowa Białostocka” works, purchase of easel for the exhibition, printing of the pre-war Dąbrowa plan and the exhibition poster, providing accommodation and meals for the guests, catering during the exhibition, payments for the workshop leaders and the interpreter, as well as for event management.
Dorota plans to continue her actions promoting the “Kaddish for Dąbrowa Białostocka” exhibition and restoring the memory of the Jewish community. One of the most important goals is finding descendants of Dąbrowa Białostocka Jews and organizing meetings with them. She also plans to involve young people from Nowy Dwór, Lipsko, Sidra, Suchowola and Janów in initiatives for the protection of Jewish heritage.
Project co-financed by the Ledor Wador Foundation.
