Opole Lubelskie

There was also He-Halutz movement. At the end of the 1920s an independent cultural organization Kultur-Liga, which organized lectures and had its own library, was also active in Opole for a short period of time.

At the beginning of World War II, the German invaders used Opole Lubelskie as the main gathering point for Jews from the western Lublin region, as well as from abroad, e.g. from Vienna, and in later years also from Slovakia and France. In March 1941, Germans set up a ghetto in the western part of the town, between Nowa, Ogrodowa and Nowy Rynek. The area was fenced first with barbed wire and then with a high fence made of poles and planks. Judenrat was responsible for administration of the ghetto. The building of the synagogue and the adjoining religious school were used as housing during the existence of the ghetto. It housed Jews from Puławy, Vienna, France and Slovakia. At its peak, there were from 11,000 to 14,000 people in the ghetto. Thanks to the funds granted by the Main Committee of Jewish Social Self-help in Cracow, a soup kitchen for the poorest was organized in Opole Lubelskie for a short period of time. Doctors from Vienna, who were in the ghetto, established a small hospital (in the Tuszyński building). Jews from the Opole ghetto were forced to work in a sugar factory, they also had to perform cleaning tasks, as well as road and agricultural works in the nearby manors, e.g. in Niezdów, Janiszkowice, Górna Owczarnia, Łaziska. Leaving the ghetto gave an opportunity to get food and make contact with Poles. Successive liquidation of the ghetto began on March 31, 1942. Most of the Jews were sent to the death camps in Sobibór and Bełżec. Others were taken on foot to the labor camp in Poniatowa, where most of them were shot on November 4, 1943. According to some sources, about 500 people managed to escape and hide in the homes of Polish families and in the surrounding forests, where many young men joined the partisan units.

Today, there are no buildings or objects referring to the history of the local Jewish community preserved in Opole. There are fragments of matzevot still standing at the Jewish cemetery on Jozefowska Street. Some sources state that there was an ohel and a second building, probably serving as a pre-burial house. The cemetery was established probably around 1650, and destroyed during World War II by the Nazis, who used matzevot to pave the roads. Stone matzevot were also used by the local population. The cemetery area was fenced with netting in the sixties.

Students from second and third grade of junior high school had many ideas for implementation of their project and decided to reach a few groups of audience: their fellow students, town authorities, residents of Opole, seniors. During preparation stage, they used various sources and took part in a guided tour following traces of the Jewish community in Opole, carried out by a local guide, Sławomir Szczęsny. They carefully thought through different forms of the project having in mind different target groups of the project they had selected. 

photo: E.Bartosik, S.Niemojewski

This allowed them to prepare a walking tour which included elements of a location-based game, and offered a quiz performed at the end, in order to verify the knowledge of the participants acquired during the tour. The materials prepared for the walking tour were adapted to the needs of older students of primary school (grades six and seven) and junior high school. The location-based game, addressed to junior high school students, was very well prepared, and at each stop the guides would show old photographs. For example, a visit to the Jewish cemetery allowed for a conversation with the town mayor about the possibility of better securing the cemetery (new fence and clean-up of the area) and rethink the form of commemoration (perhaps a lapidarium made of matzevot that had survived). The participants of the trip were divided into five teams. Each team was had its own guide – students-organizers of the project. Their task was to introduce the teams to the theme of the game and help in the implementation of particular tasks. The participants received additional questions, and each answer was rewarded with a fragment of the phrase “Who saves one man saves the whole world”. The walking tour started in front of the school building, where the participants met their guides and learned about the goal of the “School of Dialogue” project. Then the participants were divided into groups. The next stop was the former town hall at Nowy Rynek Street, where the participants were briefly introduced to the history of Opole Lubelskie and the history of the Jewish community present in Opole from the 17th century. Then, they walked to the plaque at Syndykacka Street commemorating the Jewish population who were murdered during World War II in Opole. After, the guides took the groups to Ogrodowa Street where the northern border of the ghetto was located. The students talked about the Jewish population in Opole, where they lived, what professions they occupied. When walking along Cicha Street, the guided showed where the synagogue, mikvah, rabbi’s house and a rabbinical school once stood.

When the walking tour reached the area of the former ghetto, the former Jewish district at Męczenników Getta Street, as well as the square at Stary Rynek Street, the participants were presented with Jewish culture and religion, and the situation of ghettos in Poland. The living conditions in the ghetto were described, the number of ghetto inhabitants, its borders, transport of Jews to the Opole ghetto from other places as well as from Slovakia, France and Vienna and the fate of the ghetto area after the war. The Jewish burial customs were presented by the  Jewish cemetery on Józefowska Street. The guides also talked about the establishment of the Jewish cemetery in Opole, its area and purpose; Jewish burial customs. They mentioned  the destruction of the cemetery and the fate of matzevot during the occupation and those that were recovered. The last stop of the walking tour was the so-called “Słoty Zakątek” – the seat of the University of the Third Age, and before the war – the place of Jewish shops and the area of the ghetto. Here, the students talked about Polish-Jewish relations before the war, help provided to the Jews during the Holocaust, and the Righteous Among the Nations from Opole. The participants were at this point invited to the official summary of the project.

The event was organized on December 4, 2017 in the auditorium of the Opole Cultural Center. Many important guests came to the event, such as the Mayor of Opole Lubelskie, Dariusz Wróbel and several other representatives of the town hall, the management of the local cultural center, Mariusz Ausz, lecturer at Maria Skłodowska-Curie University, specializing in the history of the commune, the head of the UTW, school principals, representatives of local media: Also, the parents of the students, the elderly inhabitants of the town, people who helped students gather the information for the project, student representatives from all local schools. Town residents interested in the subject were also present during the event. The program of the summary included: a multimedia presentation on the history and culture of Jews both in Opole and around the world, a lecture by professor Mariusz Ausz from Maria Curie-Skłodowska University on the history of the town in the context of the Jewish population, a klezmer music performance by Berberys, as well as an exhibition of photographs “Opole in the past and today”. Moreover, refreshments, Jewish delicacies, were also served. Each guest received a leaflet about the Jewish community in Opole, and books and brochures about the history of the Jewish population in Opole were presented. The gala for town officials and residents was a great event. The students created many materials which can be accessed and used both by the school and the town to promote Opole. In addition, the students managed to involve a large number of institutions and private individuals in their project. It is also worth noting that this was the first student project in Opole Lubelskie concerning the history of the Jewish community.

To conclude, the students used various sources in order to prepare their project. They also gathered information through oral history told by the residents of Opole. One of the examples is a testimony given by Mrs. Stefania Starek, who remembered the times of World War II very well. In the interview, which the students managed to conduct with Mrs. Stefania, she talked about the ghetto, the common school life of Jewish and Catholic children, clothes and customs of the inhabitants, described Polish-Jewish relations, as well as specific names of pre-war inhabitants of Opole Lubelskie. The participants of the walking tour gave a very positive feedback. The project required a lot of work. The students managed to get very effective help from different partners. What is more, the students encouraged the mayor to continue the protection of the cemetery and plan to take joint actions. It should be emphasized that the project undoubtedly made an impression on both students and adults who took part in it. Everyone appreciated all the effort these young people put in the project. And this is how one project participant described her experience: “I received a lot for taking part in this project . I broaden my knowledge and together with others from the project group we recreated the history of our town. I must admit that I did not know so much about the history of the area where I live (…) I can compare the project to the work of historians. Together we find materials and information. I am happy to have had the opportunity to be in this project. – Amelia.

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.