| 2018 |
Pacanów
Kornel Makuszyński Primary School
Kornel Makuszyński Primary School
| 2018 |
Although before the war, Jews constituted as many as 60% of Pacanów’s population, currently there are hardly any places connected with them. A group of 7th grade Pacanów students from Kornel Makuszyński Primary School joined the School of Dialogue program in 2018. They organized a walking tour of Jewish sites for the town’s residents.
It took the form of a location-based game and was held on June 11, 2018. Teachers and parents of students, representatives of local authorities, local government officials, principals of schools, and cultural institutions, as well as the media also participated in the event. At eight different stops, the participants learned about the history and culture of Jews in Pacanów, learned the names and stories of individual Jewish residents, listened to Jewish jokes, tasted matzah specially prepared by the local bakery, and solved riddles.
For each correct answer, they received one of the letters forming the password-solution of the entire trip – the word “matzevah.” That word was selected intentionally: at the end of the event, the students read an open letter to the Head of the Pacanów Community and the Pacanów Town Council petitioning whoever has found fragments of the Jewish tombstones stolen from the cemetery to return them. They plan is to collect the pieces and transform them into a monument honoring the Pacanów Jewish community. Prior to that, the students had made sure the cemetery is orderly. They are planning more tours and an illustrated publication titled “The pre-war adventures of Matołek the Billy-Goat,” including themes concerning the Pacanów Jews and Matołek’s visit to Israel.
School: Kornel Makuszyński Primary School
Honorable mention: Honorable mentions at the 2018 School of Dialogue Gala in the “Innovation” and “Impact on local community” categories
Students: 7th year
Teacher: Katarzyna Cudna
Educators: Aneta Ceglarek, Antoni Wołowski
Project cofinanced thanks to the generosity of Friends of the Forum, Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany and individual donors and institutions from Poland and abroad supporting Forum for Dialogue.
In appreciation to the Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany (Claims Conference) for supporting the School of Dialogue 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.
