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Facing History Poland Study Tour Agenda

Warsaw, Oswiecim, and Krakow, Poland

DAY 1

Tour of the Museum of the History of Polish Jews in 4 groups

Museum of the History of the Polish Jews | Anielewicza 6, 00-157, Warsaw

The group will be welcomed by Barbara Kirshenblatt-Gimblett, Program Director, Core Exhibition at the Museum of the

History of Polish Jews. Museum staff will guide participants through the museum.

3:00-4:45 PM Welcome and Panel Conversation

Welcoming Remarks:

• Marian Turski, Chairman of the Council for the Museum of the History of the Polish Jews

• Dariusz Stola, Director of the Museum of the History of the Polish Jews

Panelists for a Conversation with Q&A:

Marian Turski, Dariusz Stola, and Barbara Kirshenblatt-Gimblett

During dinner, the group will be welcomed by Rabbi Michael Schudrich, Chief Rabbi of Poland.

Optional Shabbat Services

DAY 2

Remarks from Antony Polonsky – The Formation of Polish Identity and Ways in Which Poles Have Attempted to

Confront the Holocaust Since 1944

Antony Polonsky, Albert Abramson Professor of Holocaust Studies at Brandeis University and Chief

Historian of the Permanent Exhibit of the Museum of the History of Polish Jews

Seminars

1. The Social and Cultural History of Hasidism

Presenter: Marcin Wodzinski, Professor of History & Literature & Director of the Department of Jewish

Studies at the University of Wrocław

2. Antisemitism in Poland Today

Presenter: Michał Bilewicz, Vice President of Forum for Dialogue and Coordinator for the Center for Research

on Prejudice at Warsaw University

3. Continued Conversation About Polish Identity

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Presenter: Antony Polonsky, Albert Abramson Professor of Holocaust Studies at Brandeis University

4. Jewish Life in Warsaw Before the Holocaust

Presenter: Ewa Malkowska-Bieniek, Curator at the Museum of the History of the Polish Jews

5. The Museum as an Agent for Social Transformation

Presenter: Barbara Kirshenblatt-Gimblett, Program Director, Core Exhibition at the Museum of the History of

the Polish Jews

6. Neo-Fascism and Right-Wing Extremism in Poland and Europe

Presenter: Rafal Pankowski, Polish Magazine Editor, Author, and Lecturer

Deputy Editor of ‘Nigdy Wiecej’ (Never Again) magazine, part of the NEVER AGAIN Association

Introduction to the Taube Center for the Renewal of Jewish Life in Poland Foundation by Helise Lieberman and an

introduction to their walking tours through Muranow, the heart of pre-war Jewish Warsaw and the former ghetto

Walking Tour of the Warsaw Ghetto in 4 Groups led by the Taube Center

Tour Guides: Kornelia Cecerska, Marta Jankowska, Jagna Kofta, and Magdalena Matuszewska

The walking tours, which will begin and end at the Museum of the History of the Polish Jews, will focus on Jewish

Warsaw as a palimpsest, integrating the past and present, highlighting the interplay between the Museum and its

environs, and exploring Jewish absence and presence in Warsaw.

Panel Discussion with Holocaust Survivors and Righteous Gentiles

Panelists:

• Monika Koszyńska (facilitator), Chief Specialist in the Department of Historical Education at The Institute for

National Remembrance, Office of Public Education

• Anna Bando, President of the Association of Polish Righteous Among Nations

• Joanna Sobolewska-Pyz, President of the Association of “Children of the Holocaust” in Poland

Panel on Poland’s Transformation from Communism to Democracy

Panelists:

• Andrzej Folwarczny (facilitator), Founder and President of Forum for Dialogue

• Stephen Mull, U.S. Ambassador to the Republic of Poland

• Henryk Wujec, Advisor to the President of Poland, Legendary Leader of Solidarity Movement

• Michał Boni, Former Minister of Administration and Digitization and Former Minister of Labour and Social Policy

• Aleksander Smolar, Chairman of the Board of the Stefan Batory Foundation and Political Scientist

DAY 3

Tour Option 1: Half-Day Trip to Treblinka

Tour Guides: Jagna Kofta, Museum of the History of the Polish Jews Education Department

Piotr Kowalik, Museum of the History of the Polish Jews Education Department

Treblinka was an “extermination” camp built by Nazi Germany in occupied

Poland during World War II. The camp operated officially between July 23,

1942 and October 19, 1943 as part of Operation Reinhard, the most

deadly phase of the Final Solution. During this time, more than 850,000

people, many of them Jews from Warsaw, as well as unknown numbers of

Romani people, died in its gas chambers. The victims included men,

women, and children.

At the memorial site that stands on the grounds of Treblinka, sculptor

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Franciszek Duszenko and architect Adam Haupt created a memorial that resembles a huge graveyard. They set 1,700

granite shards in concrete and then inscribed several hundred of the stones with the names of Jewish villages destroyed

during the Holocaust. At the center of the shattered landscape is a 40-foot obelisk that is split from top to bottom, a

menorah (a candelabra with seven branches) is carved into the top of the structure. At the base is a stone tablet with

the words “Never Again” in Yiddish, Russian, English, German, French, and Polish.

During this tour museum educators, Jagna and Piotr, will give an historical overview of Treblinka and what role this and

other “death camps” played in the carrying out of the “final solution.” How this history is represented in this memorial

will also be explored as participants interact with this unique and haunting memorial.

Tour Option 2: Okopowa Street Jewish Cemetery & Jewish Historical Institute

Tour Guides: Kornelia Cecerska, Marta Jankowska, and Alicja Mroczkowska

• Taube Center guides will take the group to Warsaw's Jewish Cemetery, where they will experience a condensed

narration of 200 years of Warsaw’s Jewish history through today.

The Okopowa Street Jewish Cemetery is one of the largest Jewish

cemeteries in Europe. It was established in 1806, consists of 82 acres of

land, and contains over 200,000 marked graves, as well as mass graves

of victims of the Warsaw ghetto. As the cemetery was established to

replace many smaller cemeteries closer to the city center, it was

designed to serve all Jewish communities of Warsaw, regardless of their

affiliation.

When the Warsaw ghetto was sealed in November 1940, this cemetery

was enclosed inside the ghetto. At that time, mourners required special

passes to get past the guards posted at the entrance to the cemetery.

Although the cemetery was closed down during WWII, after the war it was reopened and a small portion of it remains

active. Currently, the cemetery has 20 to 30 burials each year.

• Welcome by Pawel Spiewak, Director of the Jewish Historical Institute.

• A special viewing of selected samples from the Ringelblum Archives and a presentation by Agnieszka Reszke,

Head of the Archive Department at the Emanuel Ringelblum Jewish Historical Institute.

The Emanuel Ringelblum Jewish Historical Institute in Warsaw was created in

1947 as a continuation of the Central Jewish Historical Commission, founded

in 1944. Today, the Jewish Historical Institute is a state cultural institution

serving as a research and document repository and a center for academic

research, study, and the dissemination of knowledge about the history and

culture of Polish Jewry, including the Ringelblum Archives.

From 1940 to 1943, the Warsaw ghetto was cut off from the outside world.

During this time, a group of men and women gave themselves the Yiddish

name of Oyneg Shabbes or “Joy of the Sabbath” and joined the historian

Emmanuel Ringelblum in the patient and perilous task of studying and collecting information on the fate of the Jewish

community within the ghetto and more generally in the Nazi-occupied territories. Carefully concealed and later partially

retrieved in the ruins of the ghetto after the war, this unique testimony has been passed down to posterity under the

name of “The Ringelblum Archives" which have been preserved by the Jewish Historical Institute. This archive is

considered one of the most precious collections of Jewish life in Poland.

• Guided visit through the Institute's temporary exhibitions.

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Keynote Speaker, Konstanty Gerbert

Konstanty Gerbert, a Polish Journalist and Jewish Activist, will speak to Jewish Life in Poland today. He will also be

commenting on the current crisis in Ukraine.

Continued Conversations in Breakout Groups with Members of Warsaw’s Diverse Jewish Community

Screening of Aftermath and Panel Discussion

Franek and Jozek Kalina, sons of a poor farmer, are brothers from a small village in central

Poland. Franek immigrated to the United States in the 80’s, and cut all ties with his family.

Only when Jozek’s wife arrives in the US, without explanation, does Franek finally return to his

homeland. Franek discovers that Jozek has been ostracized from the community, and

constantly receives various threats. As Franek and Jozek struggle to rebuild their relationship,

they are drawn into a gothic tale of intrigue. The two brothers eventually uncover a dark

secret that forces them to confront the history of their family and their hometown. Upon its

release in Poland, Aftermath received acclaim and also generated intense controversy. Polish

nationals have accused the film of being anti-Polish propaganda, as well as a distortion of a

sensitive piece of Polish history, leading the film to be banned in some Polish cinemas. While

this is a fictional account, it is based on the horrific events that took place in the small-town

Jedwabne in 1941. Members of the community corralled members of the Jewish community

into a barn which was set ablaze.

Q&A Panelists:

• Stanisław Krajewski (facilitator), Professor of Philosophy at the University of Warsaw and Co-Chairman of

The Polish Council of Christians and Jews

• Michał Bilewicz, Vice President of Forum for Dialogue and Coordinator for the Center for Research on Prejudice

at Warsaw University

• Krzysztof Persak, Director of the Office of the President of the Institute of National Remembrance – Commission

for the Prosecution of Crimes against the Polish Nation and Research Fellow at the Institute of Political Studies

of the Polish Academy of Sciences in Warsaw

• Dariusz Jablonski, Producer of Aftermath

DAY 4

Orientation with Forum for Dialogue with a Focus on their “School of Dialogue” Program

Students participating in the “School of Dialogue” project get to know the history of their town, often discovering blank

spots on the map of knowledge of the no longer existing Jewish community. Through individual work supported by

Forum’s educators, they explore the history on their own and link their discoveries with the physical traces of Jewish

past in their surroundings.

School Visits with Forum for Dialogue in Groups

Conversation with Forum for Dialogue Staff

Forum staff will share their personal stories and how and why they became involved in their work.

DAY 5

Tour of the Town and Visit to the Auschwitz Jewish Center

The group’s tours will be led by Tomasz Kuncewicz, Director of the Auschwitz Jewish Center, and

Maciek Zabierowski, Education and New Media Manager of the Auschwitz Jewish Center.

In 1995, the Auschwitz Jewish Center Foundation was established in order to rebuild a Jewish cultural, spiritual, and

educational center in Oswiecim. In September 2000, the Auschwitz Jewish Center opened its doors to visitors from all

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over the world. It is a non-governmental organization which exists to serve as a guardian of Jewish memory, as well as to

educate the public about the Holocaust.

Tour of Birkenau

“Birkenau is where the Nazis erected most of the machinery of mass extermination in which they murdered

approximately one million European Jews. At the same time, Birkenau was the largest concentration camp (with nearly

300 primitive barracks, most of them wooden). Over a hundred thousand prisoners were here in 1944: Jews, Poles,

Roma, and others. The nearly 200 hectares of grounds include the ruins of the gas chambers and crematoria and places

filled with human ashes. There are primitive prisoner barracks and kilometers of fences and roads.” -- Auschwitz-

Birkenau State Museum Website

DAY 6

Tour of Auschwitz I

“Auschwitz I is where the Nazis opened the first Auschwitz camps for men and women, where they carried out the first

experiments at using Zyklon B to put people to death, where they murdered the first mass transports of Jews, where

they conducted the first criminal experiments on prisoners, where they carried out most of the executions by shooting,

where the central jail for prisoners from all over the camp complex was located in Block No. 11, and where the camp

commandments office and most of the SS officers were located. From here, the camp administration directed the

further expansion of the camp complex.” As part of our tour, we will be viewing “national exhibitions” that are housed

in former barracks, which were first established in the 1960s. -- Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum Website

Panel Discussion

Reflecting on the purpose of memorial sites now and into the future

Panelists:

• Piotr Setkiewicz, Head of the Research Department at the Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum

• Robert Kuwalek, Curator and Historian at the State Museum of Majdanek

• Father Manfred Deselaers, Director of the Education Department at the Center for Dialogue and Prayer in

Oswiecim

DAY 7

Walking Tour of Kazimierz, a historical Jewish district of Krakow, in 4 Groups

Tour Guides: Małgorzata (Gosia) Fus, Jakub Janeczko, Bartosz Wencel, and Alicja Zioło

Panel Discussion

Reflecting on the changing nature of Kazimierz through personal narrative

Panelists:

• Jakub Nowakowski, Director of the Galicia Jewish Museum

• Jonathan Webber, Professor of Anthropology at the Institute of European Studies at

Jagiellonian University

Introduction to the JCC

Jonathan Ornstein, Director of the Jewish Community Center (JCC) in Krakow, will give a quick introduction to the JCC to

prepare for a visit to the Center.

2:00-3:00 PM Seminars

1. Touring the Exhibition, “Traces of Memory,” on the Subject of Jewish Heritage in Polish Galicia

Presenter: Jakub Nowakowski, Director of the Galicia Jewish Museum

2. Jewish Poland, Real and Imagined: Memory, Memorialization, and Facing History

Presenter: Jonathan Webber, Professor of Anthropology at the Institute of European Studies at

Jagiellonian University

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3. Jewish Life in Krakow in the Present Day and Into the Future

Presenters: Jonathan Ornstein, Director of the JCC in Krakow and

Anna Gulinska, Director of Programming at the JCC in Krakow

4. Challenges, Obstacles, and New Developments in Coming to Terms with Collective Memory of the Holocaust

in Education and Beyond in Post-1989 Poland

Presenter: Jolanta Ambrosewicz-Jacobs, Director of the Center for Holocaust Studies at the

Jagiellonian University

5. Rethinking Poles and Jews

Presenter: Annamaria Orla-Bukowska, Social Anthropologist at the Institute of Sociology of the

Jagiellonian University

Visit to Institute of European Studies of the Jagiellonian University and the Center for Holocaust Research

Castle in Przegorzaly

Despite resembling an ancient royal residence, The Castle in Przegorzaly, a

picturesque estate, actually only dates back to the late-1920s when local architect

and conservator Adolf Szyszko-Bohusz built the building today known as the “Bastion”

as his family residence. Seized by the Nazis at the start of the war, the estate was

soon transformed into a grand residential castle for Otto Wachter, the Nazi Governor

of the Krakow district. Today, the Castle houses Jagiellonian University’s Institute of

European Studies and the Center for Holocaust Studies.

Musical Performance and Presentation

Performers and Presenters:

• Janusz Makuch, Director and Founder of the Krakow Jewish Festival

• Urszula Makosz, Professional Singer and Actress, performs traditional Yiddish music

• Przemyslaw Piekarski, Senior Lecturer in Yiddish at the Jagiellonian University

This concert features traditional Jewish songs in Yiddish, Hebrew, and Spanish. The music is intermixed with

commentary, which explains the origin of the songs, the background of their lyrics, and the circumstances in which the

songs have been created and performed. Topics covered include tradition, religion, and the history of Jews, both in

Europe, Israel, and in areas of the Iberian Peninsula.

DAY 8

Optional Half-Day Morning Tour: City of Krakow Historical Museum – Oscar Schindler’s Enamel Factory

“Krakow Under Nazi Occupation, 1939 to 1945”

This unique exhibition highlights prewar Krakow, the German invasion in 1939, Krakow as the capital of Poland under

the Nazi occupation, the sorrows of everyday living in the occupied city, family life, the devastating wartime history of

Krakow Jews, the resistance movement, the underground Polish state, and lastly the Soviet capture of the city. One

section of the exposition deals with Oskar Schindler himself and the fate of his Jewish workforce.

Optional Half-Day Afternoon Tour: Historic Krakow

During this tour, you will experience the rich history of Krakow which was added to UNESCO’s list of World Heritage in

1978. Formerly the seat of Kings of Poland, the city attached the most powerful families who made their impact on the

city with rich architecture, educational facilities and art collections. During the WWII, Krakow was not destroyed and

thus still represent its glorious days. Begin with a visit to the Wawel Hill which is the embodiment of Poland's former

monarchical glory. This is the place of the Royal castle and the 14th century cathedral which hosted nearly all the Polish

monarchy's coronations and funerals. From the Wawel hill, continue on foot along Kanonicza and Grodzka streets to

reach the Jagiellonian University including the Collegium Maius where the famous astronomer Copernicus was a

student. Later, enter one of Europe’s most beautiful and impressive market squares, where local craftsmen and artists

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still display their works. Complete the tour with a visit to the St. Mary's Church, to admire the biggest wooded Gothic

altar in the world.

Optional Full-Day Tour: Memory and Memorialization – Confronting the Past in Small Villages Outside of Krakow

Participants are given the special opportunity to travel into the countryside with scholar and activist Jonathan Webber

(see bio), to an area of small villages fifty miles south-east of Kraków, which before the Holocaust had a significant

Jewish population. The purpose of the tour is to show how both the Jewish past and the murder of the Jews is being

memorialized locally through cooperative efforts between Jews and Poles. Depending on timing and the weather,

featured sites include a former rural shtetl; an imaginatively restored Jewish village cemetery; a walk-through outdoor

model of a typical local village in a beautiful garden setting; a Holocaust monument at a mass grave in the depths of a

forest; a tombstone deep in another forest marking the place where a Jewish family was shot, together with a Pole who

had tried to save them; and a monument in a Roman Catholic cemetery to a Righteous Gentile who rescued two Jewish

women. The countryside setting of all these places is very powerful. This trip will provide an in-depth, focused image of

both the historical and present-day realities in one particular locality of Poland.

Vist to the Salt Mines

The Salt Mine in Wieliczka is one of the highlights of Poland and Europe. Since 1978 it is on UNESCO's World Heritage

List. Prior to the dinner in the Jan Haluszka Chamber I, you will visit part of the beautiful and oldest working salt mine in

the world, where the stalls have been wonderfully decorated with salt carvings over several centuries. During the

underground tour you will see some of the highlights of the Salt Mine. The center where we will have dinner is

considered the most striking of the event halls.