• Forum for Dialogue

    Inspiring New Connections

In 2006, the Forum of Dialogue, in cooperation with Słowo/obraz/terytoria printing house, published a bilingual, lavishly illustrated book – Warsaw Yiddish Avant-garde: an Anthology of Texts. The publication presents one of the most interesting aspects of Yiddish culture in Poland and was created by a group of young Warsaw Yiddishists – students and alumni of the Warsaw University. The texts were selected by Karolina Szymaniak, who edited them with Monika Polit. All the texts collected in the anthology, with the exception of excerpts from Perec Markisz’s essays from the collection titled Farbajgejendik (Passing By), were published in magazines affiliated with Warsaw Yiddish avant-garde, such as Ringen, Chaliastre, Albatros and Di Wog, including texts by Uri Cwi Grinberg, I.J. Singer, Ojzer Warszawski, Alter Kacyzne and Josef Opatoszu, and graphic art created by interwar artists, such as Henryk Berlewi and Marek Szwarc.

Even though the texts selected for the anthology are not necessary perfect literature-wise, they are representative of the trends and styles of that period. The anthology includes a range genres and art forms, although sometimes they are presented only fragmentarily. The book is constructed in such a way that it may be easily used as teaching material on the phenomenon of Warsaw Yiddish avant-garde. It includes many manifestos and texts mentioned in memoirs or history of literature books.

Warsaw Yiddish Avant-garde: an Anthology of Texts introduces a still unknown aspect of Yiddish literature – the interwar avant-garde. It is a collection of texts created in the early 1920s by members of a Warsaw artistic group called Chaliastre (Hałastra – The Rabble). Even though the group was very short-lived, their activity is now considered one of the most important phenomena of post-classical Yiddish literature, and its name has virtually become a symbol of Yiddish modernism

Karolina Szymaniak, introduction

April 2nd, 2016

Posted In: Warsaw Yiddish Avant Garde

Leave a Comment

Forum for Dialogue is featured at a pioneering exhibition “Can we talk about Poland” which opened in Melbourne at the Jewish Museum of Australia on March 6. It shows photographic works of Arnold Zable and Lindsay Goldberg which capture their individual experience when journeying to Poland. Visitors can also learn about Forum’s programs and consult an impressive map of the Landscape of Polish/Jewish Dialogue marked with more than 160 towns where the School of Dialogue workshops were organized for young students.

March 23rd, 2016

Posted In: EN News 2016

Leave a Comment

A lot is going on in Ulanów, where Forum’s friend Cheryl Fishbein works together with Leader of Dialogue Janusz Dąbek and Jolanta Nicałek in the Dziedzictwo Foundation they have set up together. On March 12,  the local Museum, largely devoted to the Jews of Ulanów and run by Janusz Dąbek received a visit from the Polish Ombudsman Adam Bodnar. And at the same time the authorities of the region have taken decisive action to clean and fence the Jewish cemetery in Ulanów.

March 11th, 2016

Posted In: Without category

Leave a Comment

Forum for Dialogue has started a collaboration with The Rodgers Center for Holocaust Education at Chapman University. This year for the first time a school from Poland – a School of Dialogue from Chojnice – is participating in the Annual Holocaust Art & Writing Contest, Telling It Forward: Making Memory Matter. The contest is organized for the 17th time this year by the Chapman University and The 1939 Society, and Organization of Holocaust Survivors, Descendants and Friends. The winners will be announced at the awards ceremony on March 4 in California.

March 4th, 2016

Posted In: EN News 2016

Leave a Comment

On February 24, Polish Friends of the Forum met with professor Adam Daniel Rotfeld. Prof.Rotfeld, a former Minister of Foreign Affairs, is a diplomat and an expert in the field of international relations. For many years he has been involved in the Polish Institute of International Affairs. He was elected Director of Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) and Co-Chairman of Polish-Russian Group on Difficult Matters – it is hard to list all the professional activities undertaken by Prof. Rotfeld. During the meeting, Prof. Rotfeld shared reflections on today’s international situation, present condition of the European Union and the role of diplomacy in shaping the image of Poland. He underlined the importance of the work of Forum for Dialogue and thanked the members of the Polish Friends of the Forum for our joint efforts. We are grateful for this wonderful meeting!

February 25th, 2016

Posted In: Without category

Leave a Comment

Students of the Heschel High School NY and students of Słowackiego High School in Kielce visited the School of Dialogue students in Suchedniów. This is what the Heschel’s group lead teacher and Forum’s friend Shmuel Afek wrote to us immediately afterwards: “First, I would like to congratulate you on organizing a marvelous and extremely meaningful visit to the gimnazjum im. Stanisława Staszica in Suchedniów. The pupils were extremely well prepared and they presented their work proudly (and – understandably – nervously) giving us a glimpse into Jewish life in their town. This is obviously due to the quality of the students themselves, the support that they received from the school administration, their teacher Pani Berlińska, but first and foremost to Kasia and Karolina, the educators who worked so hard to make our visit successful. As you know we traveled to Suchedniów with students from the big city of Kielce, who were very impressed by what they saw and learned. What can I say? It was everything I could have hoped for, and having worked with you for the last 3 or 4 years it was a most authentic demonstration of the truly amazing (may I say, unique?) work that you are doing throughout Poland.“

February 18th, 2016

Posted In: EN News 2016

Leave a Comment

Zuzanna Radzik, Forum For Dialogue Board Member, and Robert Augustyniak, participant of our Leader of Dialogue program, were present on February 15 at the unveiling of a memorial commemorating Jews of Grodzisk Mazowiecki. It’s located where the synagogue used to be. Local authorities, representatives of the Jewish Community in Warsaw and numerous residents of the town, including School of Dialogue students, gathered to pay their respects.

February 15th, 2016

Posted In: EN News 2016

Leave a Comment

Michał Bilewicz, Vice-President of the Forum for Dialogue, was in Lucerne, Switzerland to present during the IHRA International Research Conference on Education about the Holocaust, organized February 15-17. The effects of the School of Dialogue program will be discussed tomorrow, among other examples, when he gives a paper on Using Moral Exemplars and Local Memory in Holocaust Education.

February 15th, 2016

Posted In: EN News 2016

Leave a Comment

Karolina Jakoweńko, uczestniczka naszego programu Liderzy Dialogu, została właśnie powołana Kierownikiem nowo otwartego Domu Pamięci Żydów Górnośląskich. Dom Pamięci mieści się w odrestaurowanym budynku dawnego domu przedpogrzebowego i jest jednym z oddziałów Muzeum w Gliwicach. Jego misją jest szerzenie wiedzy o dziedzictwie, kulturze i historii Żydów. Serdecznie gratulujemy Karolinie Jakoweńko i zachęcamy wszystkich do zwiedzania.

February 5th, 2016

Posted In: EN News 2016

Leave a Comment

Andrzej Folwarczny, the President of Forum for Dialogue, has began his trip to the US to talk about Forum’s recent activities. He started with a special visit to Milwaukee where on Sunday, January 17, he took part in a community event hosted by Milwaukee Jewish Federation. He met there with 13 Jewish educators who participated in our study trip to Poland in November 2015. Forum’s mission came across poignantly to the audience of more than a 100 community members during a talk which included a moving presentation prepared by all the participants, followed by a few words from Andrzej Folwarczny. This was a unique opportunity to hear their reflections on the trip, exchange views with the audience and further discuss Polish/Jewish relations. We are grateful to the Milwaukee Jewish Federation for their initiative in furthering the goals of the Forum!

January 18th, 2016

Posted In: EN News 2016

Leave a Comment

« Previous PageNext Page »