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Polish Educators at Yad Vashem
Twenty-five teachers, members of museum staff, and educators from institutions that work with the subject of the Holocaust as well as the history of the Second World War, participated in the seminar “Judaism — the History and Culture of Polish Jews — The Holocaust”, which took place from November 12th to the 26th at the Yad Vashem Institute in Jerusalem.
The program of the seminar included, above all, lectures on history as well as workshops that dealt with the methodology of Holocaust education. Their subject matter was exceptionally wide and included, among others, subjects dealing with Judaism, the history and traditions of Polish Jews, anti-Semitism and negativism; as well as the diverse aspects in the history of the Holocaust, modern Polish-Jewish relations, the current political situation in Israel, and the topic of Israeli youth’s visits to Poland and their meetings with young Polish individuals. The participants also had the opportunity to meet witnesses of history: Genja and Nachomen Manor, who were both saved by Oscar Schindler, as well as the author and illustrator Alona Frankel.
Much attention was devoted to the matter of Holocaust commemoration in Israel. The participants visited the historical museum and the museum of art of Yad Vashem, as well as the Institute's campus, where there are many monuments, including among others, the Valley of Communities, the Garden of the Righteous Among the Nations, and the monument dedicated to the memory of children who were murdered during the Holocaust.
The program also included study trips, including exploring the historical monuments of Jerusalem, a study tour of Masada, as well as a visit to Nazareth, the area around the Sea of Galilee, and also including Capernaum. An important element of the program was to visit a synagogue during the celebration of the Sabbath, and also included a meeting with the students and teachers of a school, which takes part in programs that include organized meetings with young students from Poland.
Since 1993, The Yad Vashem Memorial Institute and the Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum in Oświęcim have cooperated in organizing the seminar “Judaism — the History and Culture of Polish Jews — The Holocaust”. The project is an important part of the ongoing cooperation between the institutions, which cooperate particularly closely in education. There have been over 500 participants who have taken part in the seminar to date, including individuals who are: teachers, educators, and tour guides.
Our visit to Israel was full of vivid discussions and emotional momements, but also included deep reflection. Each of us views history from a different angle, however, it is important that we all aim in the same direction. As educators, we wanted to look upon Jewish history as seen trough the eyes of Israelis. We will not destroy the stereotypes that are held by the youngest generation, if we first do not try to get rid of them within ourselves. Thanks to the combination of two, such different methodologies of education, we can, however, create a universal program that upholds memory as well as destroys barriers, which will be accepted in each Polish and Israeli school.
(Magdalena Wółkowska).
The seminar at the Yad Vashem Institute that I had participated in was a great challenge as well as a great opportunity for me; it was there that I had the possibility get acquainted with the many and various methods of teaching about a subject as important as the Holocaust and, including, anti-Semitism. Through direct contact with the history of the Holocaust, thanks to the meetings with survivors of the Shoah, Mrs. Genja and Mr. Nachumem Manor as well as Alona Frankel, I was able to more fully be able to understand what they had felt during such difficult moments. No book, story, film, or theatrical drama can provide that, which contact with someone who can bear witness is able to afford.
(Marcin Choiński)
Can you teach about the Holocaust without leading people into trauma? Taking part in the seminar, not only allows you to find an answer to this question, but also provides you the tools and directs you to use take the correct course of action. I must admit that the lecturers and organizers of the course achieved their goals and were very successful. The extremely interesting lectures by Dr. Epstein of the Hebrew University helped us to systematize our historical knowledge, while Rabbi Yishaya Balog gave us the opportunity to understand what is Judaism. The workshops that followed, showed us how to utilize art, photographs, individualize history, in such a way that the historical facts can be superimposed on the life of individuals.
(Wirginia Węglińska)
The organizers made every effort to show us as much as possible, the lessons were various and of the highest quality, and the seminar group turned out to be extremely creative. I am very glad that I was able to meet, to learn, discuss with them as well get to know their ways of doing work. This, to me, was immensely important. To me this journey was especially important, not only due to the subject matter presented, but it became a starting point, I opened myself to completely new experiences.
(Joanna Cebulska)
