| 2015 |
Warsaw
King Jan III Sobieski High School No.75
King Jan III Sobieski High School No.75
| 2015 |
Seniors from Jan III Sobieski High School No.75 in Warsaw were very interested in learning about topics suggested by Forum for Dialogue educators in the course of 2015 School of Dialogue workshops.
What did participants find especially fascinating? During the walking tour around Warsaw’s Próżna street, students were most interested in issues related to kashrut – where can one obtain kosher products? How to buy them? How to spot a kosher restaurant? Further questions were posed in the synagogue, mostly relating to the furnishing and functions of the house of prayer. After obtaining all the answers, students had no problems with completing an activity on Jewish holidays, pointing out similarities to analogous Christian rituals.
In the course of the walking tour through the area that became the Warsaw ghetto, students were most interested in wartime fate of Jewish artists; the story of Emmanuel Ringelblum Archive; ways of collecting information by Oneg Shabbat researchers and how the archive was discovered in the postwar rubble of Warsaw. Students led animated discussions on the issue of assigning residents to the apartments in the ghetto and decided to seek more information about the life of Janusz Korczak and Stefania Wilczyńska after the workshops.
During workshops held in their school, students were interested to learn about various aspects of Jewish culture by identifying various sites in Warsaw connected to this topic, while activities on identity-related issues led them to insightful reflections. A heated discussion was also held on the different ways in which Jewish history is commemorated in Warsaw – among artistic projects mentioned were “Ellipsis”, “Oxygenerator and “Greetings from Jerusalem Avenue”.
The result of the School of Dialogue program in Sobieski High School was not only the student-run Facebook page “Gwieździste niebo” (Starry Night) presenting interesting facts from the history of Warsaw’s Jewish community.
The program led students to more universal conclusions. One female student had this to share about her experience with the program: “We gained very valuable knowledge, because it teaches us about our own history. It teaches us about sites that many people pass completely unaware, maybe even on their way to school. These sites had witnessed great events and great tragedies of ordinary people – no different from you or me. Being aware of what was here before us makes us all better people.”
School:
King Jan III Sobieski High School No.75
Students:
grade III a
Teacher:
Ewa Woźniak
Educators:
Olga Głowacka, Agnieszka Witkowska-Krych
To read more about Warsaw visit Virtual Shtetl:
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.
Program co-financed from the funds granted by Citizens for Democracy program, financed through the EEA grants.
In appreciation to Friends of the Forum for supporting the School of Dialogue educational program.
