On the 79th anniversary of the Jedwabne pogrom, members of two regional Leaders of Dialogue groups from the Lublin area and Podlasie took part in the ceremony at the feet of the monument commemorating Jews killed in Jedwabne. Forum’s regional groups is an initiative inaugurated in February 2020 in for regions of Poland. It is meant to encourage the Leaders to meet regularly, support one another, and exchange ideas and expertise. After meeting online several times, the groups from Podlasie and the Lublin area decided in was time to join together and honor the memory of victims of the 1941 pogrom.
This was also an opportunity for the Podlasie group to invite the Leaders from the Lublin area for a study visit following the traces of Jews in Podlasie. The visitors had an opportunity to hear about the commemorations of Jews In Białowieża organized by Katarzyna Winiarska, a Local Leader, sightsee the synagogue in Milejczycach, and discussed the history of Jews in Orla with local leader Marek Chmielewski and in Narewka with Katarzyna Bileawska.
This meeting was that much more important as this year, due to the covid epidemic, we were forced to cancel the Leaders of Dialogue National Conference, which serves an opportunity for Leaders to meet. Kamil Mrozowicz, who is a Leader in Jedwabne and Białystok, observed that this meeting, like all meetings with other Leaders, is an opportunity to charge his activist battery.” Each one of them carries this great history, difficult journeys, adventures and a sense of humor that helps us survive.”
A Ukrainian channel of the local Bialystok Radio station published a piece on the commemoration.
The projects is co-financed by the Ledor Wador Foundation and the Claims Conference.
