| 2018 |
Łuków
Tadeusz Kościuszko High School No. 1
Tadeusz Kościuszko High School No. 1
| 2018 |
As early as the 14th century, Jews would settle in the picturesque town of Łuków located in Poland’s Podlasie region. Jewish community quickly became a majority in the town and accounted for some two-thirds of its population (ca.8000 residents) at the turn of the 20th century. In World War II, Nazis murdered local Jews that constituted around half of Łuków’s population: around 14000 Jewish residents had been sent to the gas chamber in Treblinka, with another 2000 executed onsite. Among those murdered war rabbi Ber Erlich Sloshny, grandfather of former Mosad Director Meir Dagan.
Tadeusz Kościuszko High School students made sure that the Jewish residents of their town are remembered. During School of Dialogue workshops, they created an Instagram profile “Żydzi w Łukowie” [Jews in Łuków] showcasing prewar and contemporary photographs connected to the Jewish heritage of their town.
Their final project walking tour took the form of an urban game, an idea developed in the second workshop with Forum for Dialogue educators.
A number of tasks and challenges were prepared for game participants. These included assembling a synagogue out of puzzles, conducting roleplay in connection to a particular Jewish holiday and learning the Hebrew alphabet. The game drew youth from all around town, allowing them to acquire a lot of information about Łuków’s Jews in an accessible way. Additionally, the tour took participants to sites that young people did not associate with Jewish history and described their history through live storytelling.
The tour presented sites connected with the history of Jews in Łuków: a monument out of headstones at a Jewish cemetery, the location of the ghetto and that of the second Jewish cemetery, which now serves as a park, as well as the empty site of the recently demolished synagogue building. The tour revolved around Jewish traditions and holidays as well as the history of Łukow’s Jewish-related sites.
School: Tadeusz Kościuszko High School No. 1
Students: 2nd year
Teacher: Michał Mojski
Educators: Paulina Kowalczyk, Olga Szymańska
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.
