| 2012 |
Zawiercie
Elementary School No 1
in Zawiercie
Elementary School No 1
in Zawiercie
| 2012 |
Zawiercie is a town located in the Dąbrowa Basin in the Silesian Province. It is known primarily as a centre of heavy industry, glass-making and casting, and until recently also of textile industry, but there is also another interesting history connected with it – the history of Jews from Zawiercie, who also contributed to the economic development of this area. They settled in the town in the 18th century. Initially, they were mainly engaged in small trade and crafts. In later years they also ran a spinning mill, foundry and printing house.
At the end of the 19th century Jews established a religious community and built a synagogue. At the beginning of the 20th century a cemetery, a second synagogue and a house of prayer were set up. However, the community was very diverse. Zawiercie was inhabited by assimilated Jews who considered themselves Poles of Jewish origin, Zionists and Hasidim. Residents gained more education, and worked as doctors, pharmacists, lawyers or teachers. The children attended a cheder, a Hebrew Tarbut school or a Polish primary school, while younger children attended a Jewish kindergarten. There was also a Jewish library and two banks (craftsmen’ bank and people’s bank) in Zawiercie.
The situation of Jews changed already after the Great War. Several pogroms took place in Zawiercie, but extensive persecution of Jews began after the outbreak of World War II. At the beginning, Germans confiscated Jewish and forced them to close shops, factories and plants, and publicly humiliated them. In 1940, they established a ghetto in Zawiercie, where Jews from other towns of Upper Silesia were displaced. In 1942 and 1943 the Nazis carried out two actions of the liquidation. The majority of Jews from Zawiercie died in the Auschwitz-Birkenau extermination camp. Thanks to the German officer Gerbrecht, seven Jewish workers survived the war.
However, Jews began to return to Zawiercie already at the beginning of 1945. In the spring the first Jewish Zionist organizations for women and youth were active, but the majority of the Jewish community did not plan to stay in Zawiercie but wanted to leave to Palestine or after 1948 – to Israel.
“During the first workshop I did not know much about Jewish culture, but today I can say that I’m surprised by my on knowledge of the subject. My family is also stunned” – this is what one of the participants of the “School of Dialogue” workshops admitted. Other students also did not know much about Jews and the history of their town before meeting Forum educators.
The project group consisting of students of Primary School No. 1 in Zawiercie was formed from volunteers from five different classes, but the participants quickly integrated and got down to work. They showed great curiosity and interest in the subject already at the first workshop. Slowly some students took up the role of group leaders. Discussions in the class did not only concern the knowledge of the Jewish community or even the history of Zawiercie, but it also stretched to more universal and important contemporary topics, such as identity or multiculturalism, migration and commemoration. Students very much appreciated the value of these conversations and shared their opinion: “Each workshop showed me some wisdom about life that I hadn’t noticed before,” a workshop participant wrote in her letter.
The students used what they had learned during the workshop to prepare the project. Meetings with Forum educators inspired them to do further research and prepare activities. At one of the workshops, the group went to the Jewish cemetery in order to clean it up together with the scouts. On the other hand, the students invited an older friend, a graduate of their school – Wojtek Klećka for a rehearsal walking tour. Their guest told them the story of a lady, a former inhabitant of Zawiercie, who managed to escape from the ghetto and survive the war. The woman was friends with Wojciech’s great-grandmother. He managed to contact her despite the fact that she currently lives in Israel. It was a very valuable meeting for the students, which confirmed their belief in the value of the work they were doing.
As part of the project, young people prepared a walking tour following the footsteps of Zawiercie Jews. Their guests – students of other schools, participants of the Third Age University and town residents interested in the event, were presented with the most important places connected to the Jewish community. The tour included: a destroyed synagogue, town houses inhabited by Jews, the area of the former ghetto, but also a cemetery, where students and invited guests laid stones, the railway station, where there is a plaque commemorating the Jewish community of Zawiercie. The guides provided not only general information, but also introduced stories of individuals. Each participant was handed a brochure from the organizers, and at the end of the meeting they received refreshments inspired by Jewish tradition – there were matzevot, dates and challah. The students were particularly interested in a permanent commemoration of the Jewish community, so they obtained a permission to hang a banner o in three languages – Polish, English and German on the synagogue building informing about what it was in the past. The local media promoted their event. The students made a film documenting their efforts and project. This is not the end of their initiatives – young people are planning to continue their activities.
School:
Elementary School No 1 in Zawiercie
Students:
Volunteers from elementary school class VII and II and III high school
Local expert:
Wojciech Kleciek
Educators:
Magdalena Ogniewska-Małecka, Barbara Rostek
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.
In appreciation to Friends of the Forum for supporting the School of Dialogue educational program.
