On October 2-4, we held the Local Conference of Leaders of Dialogue. Apart from the annual Leaders of Dialogue conferences, which we organize in Warsaw, we want to meet our leaders in the places where they actually do their work. This time we visited them in Będzin, Gliwice, Zabrze, Wielowieś and Toszek. The Local Conference gathered thirty Leaders of Dialogue and their collaborators from across Poland. Thanks to Karolina and Piotr Jakoweńko (Brama Cukermana), Dariusz Walerjański and Grzegorz Kamiński we spent a very intensive weekend, getting to know the history of Jewish culture in Zagłębie and Upper Silesia. On Saturday morning the participant visited Będzin along the trail established by Brama Cukermana active there. Later on in Gliwice, we were able to try out the audioguides around towns of Silesia, which were also prepared by the same foundation. We watched a presentation about Upper Silesia Jews House of Remembrance that would be soon open in the premises of the pre-burial house located by the Jewish cemetery in Gliwice, and we visited sites connected to the Jewish history. On Sunday we visited the cemetery in Zabrze where we were guided by Dariusz Walerjański who takes care of the site. He also took the group to the place where the synagogue of Zabrze once stood. Then, we went to Wielowieś where we were awaited by Grzegorz Kamiński, the caretaker of the Jewish cemetery there. Together, we visited the cemetery, and then we went to see the building of the synagogue that is preserved today in a different form and use than before. The day ended in Toszek where we visited a plaque funded by Grzegorz Kamiński located in a place of a former synagogue burnt during the Kristallnacht.

fot. M. John

The goal of the meeting was to present the work of the local Leaders there: their everyday work for the Polish/Jewish dialogue and commemoration of Jewish history. The meeting created a space in which we could share and exchange experiences and inspiration. As a group, supportive of each other, we are much stronger.

Contributors

In appreciation to the Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany (Claims Conference)  for supporting this educational 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 was co-financed from the funds granted by the Dutch Jewish Humanitarian Fund.

Project was co-financed from the funds granted by The Pratt Foundation.