Dorota Berlińska

The project we created for School of Dialogue met with great interest of the local population and positive reaction of the local authorities. Hence the idea to organize a Jewish Culture Week; with the support of the Cultural Centre we came up with a very interesting program including workshop for school children, film screenings, a taste of kosher cuisine and a concert of Jewish music. The official inauguration of the event was attended by guests from an American organization of history educators and Forum for Dialogue representatives. A very moving moment was when a lady called Róża – my apologies, her last name escapes me now – a Holocaust survivor from Będzin, took to the floor.

She recounted her dramatic story and then addressed our students, saying she would not come to Poland for many years and when she comes over now, she is always happy to see so many young people interested in Jewish culture. And that young people are her hope for a better future of the world. In the course of the Jewish Culture Week I prepared a small exhibition about Błonie’s Jews. And during the official closing ceremony we presented our project to Błonie’s schoolchildren and residents. It was a great pleasure for us to sit in the dark screening rooms and watch the films we had prepared.