School of Dialogue Achievements 2013-2014

FORUM FOR DIALOGUE
FO RUM FO R D I A LO GU E
Forum for Dialogue is the largest and oldest Polish non-governmental organization
engaging in Polish-Jewish dialogue. Through education, study tours and working with
Polish and Jewish opinion leaders, we create an opportunity for non-Jewish Polish citizens
and Jews to get to know each other and, together, explore both our histories and our futures.
www.dialog.org.pl
School of Dialogue
You can join us in building bridges of understanding and mutual respect by donating to:
Friends of the Forum
501 N. Clinton, Suite 903
Chicago, IL 60654
michael@friendsoftheforum.org
THANK YOU!
and stature as a model for tolerance
connections. Forum for Dialogue established
Achievements 2013–2014
Embracing history, building the future
this innovative outreach in 2008 with a goal
of helping middle school and high school
students all over Poland to appreciate and
embrace the Jewish history of their towns.
School of Dialogue is an adventure that
allows students, led by Forum for Dialogue
educators, to uncover the forgotten history
of their towns. Students share their newly
gained knowledge with other residents of
Forum for Dialogue is grateful for the consistent and generous
support of the following individuals, whose commitment has made
the School of Dialogue both possible and sustainable:
Martin and Mickey Baumrind, Alyse Mason Brill and Nathan Brill, Harvey Krueger,
Irene Pletka, Sigmund Rolat, Jill and Michael Rosenbaum, Edith and Martin Stein.
We wish to thank the following people and companies whose support has been
of special value in the expansion of our School of Dialogue program in 2013:
Amtra Ltd., Robyn Dryen , Sheila and David Fuente, Paulina and Łukasz
Gasińscy, Grant Gochin, Miriam Greenbaum, Shirley and Henry Hackel,
Tomasz Kapliński, Paulina Kieszkowska-Knapik and Maciej Knapik, Piotr
Lewicki, Sławomir Łopalewski, Harvey Krueger, Trisha and Fred Margulies,
Lynne and Allan Reich, Carol Saivetz, Eva and Robert Wisnik.
We are grateful to the institutional donors who supported
School of Dialogue in 2013/2014 school year:
Claims Conference
City of Warsaw
is growing in size
education, bridge-building and intergroup
FRIENDS OF THE FORUM
Friends of the Forum is a U.S.-based 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that
promotes Polish-Jewish dialogue. In concert with the Forum for Dialogue and other
NGOs, it focuses on reconciling 800 years of Jewish history in Poland with presentday Jews and Poles, building bridges of memory over the gulf of prejudice.
www.friendsoftheforum.org
SCHOOL OF DIALOGUE
The Conference on Jewish Material
Claims Against Germany
www.claimscon.org
their towns. So far, the School of Dialogue
program has reached more than 200 middle
schools and high schools in more than 130
different locations throughout Poland. As
a result of Forum for Dialogue’s initiative,
students who participate in School of
Dialogue become more open-minded and
aware citizens of both Poland and the world,
attuned to the complexities of history and
the dangers of anti-Semitic stereotypes.
1200 students a year!
At the conclusion of SCHOOL OF DIALOGUE’S fifth year, 1,200
students gathered for our annual gala in January 2014 at Poland’s
National Opera & Theater in Warsaw, the most splendid hall in
the capital. In recognition of the program and the achievements
of the students, this year’s gala will take place under the honorary
patronage of the President of Poland, Bronisław Komorowski.
If you’re in Warsaw on January 9th 2015, please join us.
”Our group had an idea to clean
up the Jewish cemetery. We did
not do it for compliments, but
to pay respect to the Jews.”
– student in Frysztak
Travel to places connected with our ancestors can stir a whole spectrum
of emotions. The journey is always sentimental, but finding connections
to family in a foreign land is not easy. What did this place mean to them?
What does it mean to me? Visitors ask these questions, but find no easy
answers awaiting them. Through the SCHOOL OF DIALOGUE , however,
Diaspora and Israeli
Jews are finding a way to achieve meaningful
relationships with their hometowns and with the students who show them
the way. It is a powerful experience to visit the town of your ancestors
and be greeted by Polish students who offer to serve as guides. Even those
with no roots in a specific town are moved by the connections provided by
these students. An encounter with School of Dialogue youth is a chance
to engage in spontaneous conversations about the reality of modern Poland.
Truly, School of Dialogue fulfills the mission embodied by its name.
– Patrycja, student in Białystok.
Keep Trying
High school students in Dębica created
a brochure about Jewish history
of their town, and published it with the
support of town authorities. It is now
available in Dębica’s public venues.
Students from Ruda Śląska convinced the
mayor of their town to commemorate the
Wirk synagogue. First, the town added
information to a historical plaque near the
synagogue’s site, but the students have
now been promised a commemorative
marker for the synagogue itself.
“During the four-day program about
Jewish culture, I have learned more than
in all 14 years of my life. I had no idea that the town I live in was
inhabited by so many Jews.” – a student from Błonie summarized
her experience. Throughout the workshops, middle school students
from Błonie retraced the lot of Chaja-Łaja Szpajsendler and her
family, Chaja being a childhood friend of one of the town’s senior
citizens. The result was a narrated tour of Jewish Błonie, based on the
fate, experience and locations connected to the Szpajsendler family.
Commemoration is our Task
“I now understand how important it is to actively commemorate
Jews from Bircza. If our generation is not going to do it, the next one
will know even less” – said Przemysław from Bircza. A few months
later, by their own initiative, students built and unveiled a simple
wooden monument marking the mass execution site in their village.
”The Jews had contributed to
the development of the town we live
in. Most people in Limanowa have
no clue about it. The goal of this
project is to make them aware of it.”
– student in Limanowa
Having an Impact
Discovering a story
of Chaja-Łaja
School Leads to Real Dialogue
”Forum for Dialogue has opened my
eyes, completed my knowledge. I can
clearly say that they changed my attitude
towards Jews.”
Sing to Remember
Students from Milewicz High School in Warsaw,
a vocational school in Włocławek and Wiktor,
a student in Błonie wrote hip hop songs about
their experience in the School of Dialogue. Two
of those songs were the highlights of last year’s
gala, and students from W łocławek will perform
their songs on the stage of National Opera &
Theater at next year’s gala in January 2015.
Becoming Local Guides
Student from Sosnowiec, with the help of their city hall,
published a guidebook of places related to Jews in their town.
An audio-guide prepared by students from Wąchock was posted on
the town’s website, where it can be downloaded. In Frysztak and Jasło,
participants in the School of Dialogue also wrote guides to attract
others to follow their trail of places related to Jewish history.
”I’m surprised by the knowledge
I have acquired here. Until now,
I didn’t know about any of these
places—about the synagogue
that was on the Piłsudski street
or the cemetery near the Śrem’s
exit road. Getting to know their
history is also very interesting. Who
were they? What did they do?” – Ania, student in Śrem
Real Commitment
A group of students from Zbąszyń and their charismatic
teacher are a great example of School of Dialogue being
a kick-start for further initiatives. After completing
the program, not only did they organize a bike trip
around the town, but also convinced the mayor to sponsor
posters placed on the main street, pin-backed buttons
and stickers – all of them promoting dialogue.
Białystok
Bircza
Błonie
Bytom
Chrzanów
Ciechanów
Dąbrowa
Tarnowska
Frysztak
Góra
Grójec
Hrubieszów
Jasło
Konstancin
Jeziorna
Krasnosielc
Krzepice
Limanowa
Lubasz
Łask
Mszczonów
Nasielsk
Nowy Targ
Oborniki
Olkusz
Pruszków
Radzymin
Ruda Śląska
Sosnowiec
Śrem
Warszawa
Wąchock
Wieruszów
Wiskitki
Wiżajny
Włocławek
Zagórów
Zamość
Zbąszyń