News

Auschwitz in the Collective Consciousness in Poland and around the World

In July, the International Center for Education on Auschwitz and the Holocaust is organizing the now traditional two-week seminar titled Auschwitz in the Collective Consciousness in Poland and around the World. Israeli teachers, staff from the Yad Vashem Memorial Institute in Jerusalem, and leaders of Israeli groups that visit Poland will attend.

Lectures

During the seminar, historians from the Auschwitz Museum and invited speakers will deliver more than 20 lectures on a range of topics including The Conflict between Polish and Jewish Memory, The Occupation of Poland—German and Soviet, Jews in Contemporary Poland, The Resistance Movement in and around the Camp, Poles in Auschwitz, and The Polish March 1968 Events—Political Background.

Workshops

Aside from visits to the city of Oświęcim and the site of the Auschwitz camp, the lectures will also be accompanied by workshops on topics including preservation work at the Museum, the analysis of attendance and visitor statistics, the history and significance of Block no. 11, and Auschwitz art.

Participants will also be introduced to Polish history and culture. The guests from Israel will travel to the Pieniny mountains and visit Wawel Castle, the Wieliczka salt mine, and the ducal palace of Pszczyna (Pless).

Course for Polish Educators in Israel

For several years, Yad Vashem has been inviting Polish educators, clergy and memorial site staff to a similar program in Israel, where they learn about Jewish history with a special emphasis on the Holocaust. Lecturers include scholars from the Yad Vashem Institute and the Hebrew University in Jerusalem.

Like their Israeli counterparts in Poland, the Polish visitors in Israel will take part in a series of educational workshops and visit such interesting places as Jerusalem, the Diaspora Museum in Tel Aviv, and landmarks connected with the history of Christianity.