Sędziszów Małopolski
Piotr Skarga High School
in Sędziszów Małopolski
Piotr Skarga High School
in Sędziszów Małopolski
“This is an interesting event because it showed me my town’s past. I developed interest in it. I think that such projects are a good idea because they remind us of the past, and it shouldn’t be forgotten. Everyone should know how our ancestors lived and how they were treated”. Young people from the a high school in Sędziszów Małopolski explored their town’s history as part of the “School of Dialogue” project, also in connection with the Jewish community, about which they did not know very well.
Sędziszów Małopolski is a town situated in the Podkarpacie Province. The history of Jews begins there in the 17th century. The Potocki family invited them to settle in the town in order to support its growth. In the next century, the Jewish community consisted one third of all inhabitants, and later these numbers alternately decreased and grew any by the end of the 19th century Jews constituted half of the population. There were two synagogues, a mikvah, a cemetery and a Jewish school in the town. Jews from Sędziszów were usually engaged in crafts, trade and services, they were also involved in political life. From the end of the 19th century the position of deputy mayor was usually held by a Jew. In the interwar period, the Funeral Brotherhood (Chevra Kadisha), the Merchants’ Association, the Zionist organization “Ha-Szachar”, a theatre group and a library were active in the town.
The persecution of Jews began as early as 1939, although the ghetto itself was not set up until 1941, and it was liquidated in 1942. The Jews from Sędziszów Małopolski were initially transported to the ghetto in Dębica, from where some of them were sent to the forced labor camp in Pustków, however most of them died in the death camp in Bełżec. 30 Jews survived the war thanks to the help of showed a lot of interest in the history of their town. As soon as the workshops started, the students demonstrated a strong will and commitment to work together. The high school is famous in the area for its school theatre. Many students are involved in it, so during the workshops the educators also engaged students through drama. It helped the participants to integrate more, and be more open – both in regard to the workshops and to discussion. The participants were very pleased with the active form of classes, they also wrote about it in letters: “The form of the workshops and all the details was something that I will remember very well and I will certainly not forget. These workshops showed me so many interesting facts about history and so much knowledge that no other history or civil society class had”.
The participants very much appreciated being able to work in a team. They worked also outside the workshops. In order to prepare their won project, the students distributed different task among each other, so that everyone was involved and responsible for something. “This project is a good imitative as it allows us to work together. This was an opportunity for us to learn how to work in a team, and that working in a team allows us to achieve more than on our own,” a workshop participant wrote. The result of their work was a walking tour with elements of a location-based game, called “Discovering our town’s history”. The tour was targeted at junior high school students. The rules of the game state: “The purpose of the game is to familiarize the participants with the town’s history, with a focus on the Jewish population, who were a large group of residents of Sędziszów Małopolski in the past”. However, the task was not so easy because there was not too much information available about the town’s past and its Jewish community. However, the participants decided to collect testimonies from the town residents. They also tried to obtain various artifacts, which helped them to discover the culture and history of the Jews from their town.
The walking tour participants were able to learn a lot about Jewish culture, customs and traditions. They went to the spot where the synagogue, prayer house or Jewish school once stood.
The organizers also showed the building where the Jewish Joint Credit Society was located, the ghetto area, as well as the cemetery destroyed by the Germans, where there is only one matzevot left and a memorial commemorating the Jewish community of Sędziszów. However, the junior high school students were not only passive listeners, but involved in the game. At each stop they had to solve a task related to kosher and Jewish cuisine, holidays, symbols of Judaism, as well as the Hebrew alphabet. They also were given texts of literature and prayers, and had to prove their knowledge of the town’s topography. It was probably the first time that they heard about Hagibor, a Jewish football team, which played in their town.
The guests present during the walking tour were able to confront their notion of the prewar town by watching a short film from 1935 about Sędziszów Małopolski. At the end of the meeting, the organizers and participants danced together a traditional Jewish dance. The Schol of Dilaoue project was very well received – it met with a positive feedback from the junior high school students invited to the walking tour, but also residents who was passing by. The summary of their work, and the opinions of the tour participants, were put in a film available on the internet.
Thanks to the workshops I learned a lot and got to know the views of different people. It opened my eyes to many new issues. These workshops allowed me to get to know my classmates better, and to know myself better, which is extremely important. The workshops taught me respect for other people, no matter if they are different from us or not.
Workshops participant
School:
Piotr Skarga High School in Sędziszów Małopolski
Students:
class II
Educators:
Magdalena Ogniewska-Małecka, Adam Gąsecki
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.
