| 2019 |
Częstochowa
Juliusz Słowacki High School No. 1
Juliusz Słowacki High School No. 1
| 2019 |
Częstochowa boasts a relatively long history of Jewish settlement, dating back all the way to the 18th century. Like in many other Polish cities, this community disappeared after March 1968, leaving few artifacts and traces testifying to its existence.
Participants of the School of Dialogue program in Częstochowa, freshmen from a local high school, undertook the difficult task of bringing back and commemorating the memory of their Jewish neighbors. Their project, which they addressed to fellow highschoolers, included a walking tour of Jewish sites remaining in the town. Stops included the former mikveh building, the philharmonic, which stands on the site of the former synagogue, the Jewish Museum of Częstochowa, the monument commemorating Jewish deportations at ul. Strażacka, the Jewish School of Fine Arts and the cellar of house no.24 in the Old Market Square.
Furthermore, project participants embarked on an ambitious theater project, writing, directing and performing their own play entitled “A Whisper of Hope”. The play was based on the story of Krystyna Geisler, a Holocaust survivor rescued from the ghetto in Częstochowa by Bogdan Jastrzębski, whose testimony served as inspiration for the student-written play. Its recording ensures the project’s lasting impact and the play itself is slotted to be performed in English during the next annual Israeli youth visit to Częstochowa.
School: Juliusz Słowacki High School No. 1
Honorable mention: Honorable mention at 2018 School of Dialogue Gala in the “Discovering history” category
Students: 1st year
Teacher: Agnieszka Mrowiec-Smaga
Educators: Marcin Krotla, Agnieszka Zawiślak
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.
