The fall semester of the School of Dialogue is behind us. We started with in-person workshops in mid-September, happy that Forum Educators could once again see the students in person. At the same time, we were ready, after the experiences gained in previous years, to change the formula to a remote one. Ultimately, the workshops took on a hybrid formula mixing in-person and online sections. Students from 17 towns and cities across Poland took part in the program.

Below is a list of all the schools participating in the School of Dialogue program in the fall of 2021:

• Piotr Skarga High School in Szamotuły
• Józef Bliziński Elementary School in Bóbrka
• Polish Noble Laureates Elementary School in Otwock
• Janusz Kusociński High School no 7 and Emil Waryński High School no 8 in Bydgoszcz (students from the two schools worked together on one project)
• Jan Walery Jędrzejewicz Elementary School no 2 in Płońsk
• May 3rd Elementary School in Kalisz
• Wacław Nałkowski High School no 1 in Wołomin
• Zygmunt Puławski Vocational Education Center in Świdnik
• 2nd Engineer Brigade Vocational School Complex no 1 and A. Frycz Modrzewski High School no 2 in Włodawa
• Irena Sendlerowa STO Bilingual Charter Elementary School in Ciechanów
• Józef Piłsudski Elementary School in Gidle
• European High School in Zgorzelec
• Correction Facility and Shelter for Minors in Koronowo
• Elementary School in Wińsko
• John Paul II Elementary School no 2 in Czersk
• Jan Kasprowicz High School no 2 in Kutno
• Edward Szylka High School Complex in Ożarów.

Congratulations!

Each of the project groups was to prepare either a walking or an online walking tour of places related to the Jewish community that once lived in their town. In addition to this obligatory point, students often opted for numerous additional activities. They organized urban trail games, film screenings, created exhibitions, posters and educational presentations, engaged in commemorative ceremonies or maintenance works at their local Jewish cemeteries. They talked to local experts and historians. Some noteworthy ideas were culinary in character, such as food festival organized in partnership with a local rural women’s association, or post-tour refreshments inspired by traditional Jewish dishes, such as the hamantaschen and apples dipped in honey. Activities were often documented on social media and reported in local newspapers and online journals.

This semester passed very quickly and, despite the difficult circumstances surrounding the pandemic, it was a very fruitful one. Now we have a tough task of evaluating the student commemorative projects and selecting this year’s nominees and winners. The results of our deliberations will be announced during the official School of Dialogue 2021 overview planned for early spring. We can’t wait!

In 2021, the School of Dialogue was financed from two sources.

Project co-financed by Friends of the Forum, Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany, and individual and institutional donors from Poland and abroad.

Project financed by the Active Citizens Fund – National financed by the Norwegian and EEA funds.

Every year, we encourage the schools we work with to participate in Annual Holocaust Art & Writing Contest organized by the Rodgers Center at Chapman University in Orange County, California. This year, in its 23rd run, the words “Turning Memory to Strength. Living with hope, courage and resilience” are the overarching slogan. To participate, the students need to first watch video testimonies of Holocaust Survivors and analyze and reflect on the motivations and messages of the witnesses to the story. They translate their considerations in creative ways: art projects, poems, stories, or films which they submit as their entries.

The competition combines things that are extremely important to us in the context of education about the Holocaust, and working with testimonies is always a unique experience. This year, teachers and students have the opportunity to use a much wider database of testimonies in Polish.

We encourage them to use recordings related to their area, as we believe that the connection with local history can significantly enrich their work. In the previous edition, one of the finalists was a student from Warsaw’s Romuald Traugutt High School. We are certain that this year will bring another unique submission or submissions from Poland!

In 2022, Forum has offered additional support to teachers in their work with students. We have invited interested educators to participate in workshops on using testimonies of Holocaust Survivors in education. The workshop was led by Monika Koszyńska, the regional representative of the USC Shoah Foundation in Poland., who showed how to use the materials collected in the digital archive. Together, we reflected on and discussed the ways of using this type of sources, often difficult to interpret, in education.

Project co-financed by Friends of the Forum, Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany, and individual and institutional donors from Poland and abroad.

In appreciation to the Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany (Claims Conference) for support. 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.