We are delighted to share the news that several members of the Leaders of Dialogue network have been recognized for their efforts to preserve Jewish memory in their towns.

Katarzyna Łaziuk, active in Mińsk Mazowiecki, won first place in the international competition organized by the Auschwitz-Birkenau Museum-Memorial and the Auschwitz-Birkenau Institute “My Memory, My Responsibility. At my Place.” The jury selected her work from among several dozen submissions sent from 11 countries.

Katarzyna Łaziuk has been preserving the memory of Mińsk Jews for years. She is the initiator of the annual Days of Jewish Culture in her town. In her competition submission she described her journey from the discovery of her town’s Jewish past to taking responsibility for the memory of the Jews of Mińsk. You may read the submission at the museum website.

The Galicia Museum has awarded ten activists at their Preserving Memory 2021 ceremony. These awards were presented to individuals and institutions dedicated to the preservation of Jewish heritage in Poland. Among the awardees were three members of the Leaders of Dialogue network:

• Justyna Biernat and her Spaces of Memory Foundation in Tomaszów Mazowiecki
• Marek Chmielewski working in Orla
• Urszula Antosz-Rekucka working in Mszana Dolna

We encourage you to watch the online ceremony where the honored activists describe the work they do. Marek Chmielewski gives a tour of the Orla synagogue, Urszula Antosz-Rekucka talks about her commemorative activities addressed to young people, and Justyna Biernat sumps up the mission of her Spaces of memory Foundation: “We take care of the memory. We try not commemorate Tomaszów Jews, but to simply remember about them. And we deepen that memory during meetings.” Congratulations to all the awardees!