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The Challenge of Remembrance after Auschwitz
Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum Director Piotr Cywiński recently paid a call on the State Higher Vocational School in Oświęcim and held talks with the school’s rector, Professor Lucjan Suchanek, and its chancellor, Adam Bilski. They discussed cooperation between the two neighboring institutions, both of which have great educational roles.
“Our students attend classes in a special place, which can in no way be separated from its past,” said Suchanek. “They have work-study experience at the site of the camp and work as volunteers on numerous Museum projects, yet we still regard their knowledge about the history of the place as inadequate. We have therefore decided to initiate a cycle of interactive meetings led by Father Manfred Desealers, under the title The Challenge of Remembrance after Auschwitz. The participants will have a chance for deeper ethical, philosophical, and theological reflection on the Holocaust and the need, so desperately felt in today’s world, for dialogue. It would be desirable, however, for this knowledge to be enhanced in the historical aspect—the history of the camp, eyewitness accounts, and the practical aspects as well—in the form of study visits and direct contact with Museum staff.”
Director Cywiński affirmed that the State Higher Vocational School in Oświęcim is a natural partner for the Museum. “I am convinced that the fact that we are neighbors is an advantage for the two institutions and for the students,” he said. “It makes a broad range of educational cooperation possible. The work of the International Center for Education about Auschwitz and the Holocaust could be a supplement for the study of these subjects at the Higher Vocational School. Such knowledge is needed and valued today. It is used by peace mission observers and participants in discussions and negotiations, as well as in the solution of ethnic and religious conflicts.”
Director Cywiński also noted that the Vocational School students can make use of the Museum library’s impressive holdings of 30 thousand volumes if they are interested in broadening the knowledge conveyed by the Museum staff.
The Museum and School officials reached the conclusion that graduates of the School are expected to know about Auschwitz. For this reason, cooperation between the two institutions should be placed on a formal footing. The three agreed that the range and nature of the arrangement will be defined in the near future.
