by tskzApart from the major event aimed at honouring the memory of victims of the Holocaust i.e. the 14th editions of the DAYS OF REMEMBRANCE in Łódź, various types of celebrations marking this extremely important day for the Jewish community were also organised at individuals branches of our Association.
CZĘSTOCHOWA
On 22 January, TSKŻ Częstochowa hosted a local celebration to honour the International Holocaust Remembrance Day. The flower-laying ceremony at the Monument to the Victims of the Częstochowa Ghetto commenced at 4.40 p.m. The ceremony was attended, among others, by Juliusz Sętowski PhD, who represented the Częstochowa History Research Centre, Katarzyna Ozimek, Director of the Częstochowa Museum and Jolanta Urbańska, Deputy Chairwoman of the Częstochowa Municipal Council. After the flower-laying ceremony, all attending guests received leaflets with a printed slogan: #WeRemember, shared a group photo, and joined in an international campaign to remind people that such a terrible atrocity as the Holocaust should never happen again. Soon afterwards, at the domicile of TSKŻ Częstochowa, Wiesław Paszkowski, a historian, delivered his lecture titled: The Czestochowa Dimension of the Holocaust, in which a number of aspects of the daily drudgery of life in the Częstochowa Ghetto have been described.
WARSAW
On 28 January, members of TSKŻ Warsaw gathered together at Babel Club, paid tribute to paid tribute to the victims of the Holocaust. The first part of this meeting featured a lecture by Wieslawa Młynarczyk PhD, who represented the Education Department of the Warsaw Ghetto Museum. Her lecture was devoted to various aspects of cultural life in the Warsaw Ghetto. The second part of the event included a stage performance by Olga Avigail Mieleszczuk, a singer from Israel, who was accompanied by Gang Tango. During the concert titled “Yiddish Tango in the Time of the Holocaust”, the artists presented such songs as “Lullaby Tango from the Łódź Ghetto”, “Frilling”, or “Talking to the Child”, to name just a few.
The celebrations have been co-hosted by TSKŻ and the Warsaw Ghetto Museum.
SZCZECIN
On 27 January, representatives of TSKŻ Szczecin laid wreaths at two memorial sites, namely, under a Synagogue mural artwork located in Dworcowa Street and in Męcin, within the premises of Stutthof, a former forced labour camp. On the same day, at 3:00 p.m., at TSKŻ’s domicile in Niemcewicza Street, Agata Jankowska delivered her presentation titled: Polish Humanities in the face of the Holocaust. Contemporary Tendencies and Research Directions.
DZIERŻONIÓW
On the International Holocaust Remembrance Day at 11:00 a.m., representatives of TSKŻ Dzierżoniów laid wreaths at memorial sites commemorating the victims of the Holocausts located within the premises of Sporetschule in Pieszyce (the former Gross-Rosen sub-camp).
WAŁBRZYCH
On 27 January, a meeting attended by TSKŻ Branch in Wałbrzych took place within the premises of the Museum of the Former Gross-Rosen German Concentration Camp. All the assembled guests laid flowers and lit candles at the Mausoleum Memorial. On the occasion of the International Holocaust Remembrance Day he opening of the exhibition My Jewish Parents, My Polish Parents, which explored the history of the members of the Second Generation Association, was organised at the facility. The head of our local branch, Sabina Chrapek, talked about the story of her dad, who was a prisoner in one of the Gross-Rosen concentration camp units.. Participants at the meeting included Artur Michałek, Mayor of Brzeg Dolny, Piotr Gajewski, Head of the Scouting Education and Patriotic Organisation and Centre Daniel Sienkowiec, Head of the Youth Education, together with his students.
KATOWICE
On 25 January, members of TSKŻ Branch in Katowice laid flowers and lit candles at the Memorial to the Victims of the Holocaust in the Jewish Cemetery in Bytom. The International Holocaust Remembrance Day became the reason for convening a meeting at our headquarters in Katowice. Paweł Grabiec, Head of the Branch, shared his knowledge about the history of the Remembrance Day, which was instituted in 2005 by the United Nations Assembly. Meanwhile, on 26 January, celebrations in honour of the victims of the Shoah were held at the Jewish cemetery in Katowice involving representatives of local authorities and other entities.
GDAŃSK
On 23 January, an open meeting devoted to the memory of the Victims of the Holocaust was held at the initiative of TSKŻ Gdańsk. The event took place within the premises of the Second World War Museum in Gdansk. The meeting was opened by Jakub Szadaj, Head of our Branch in Gdańsk. After welcoming the guests and delivering a short introductory speech, reminding them of the idea of the International Holocaust Remembrance Day, Jakub Szadaj gave the floor to Professor Grzegorz Berendt, who dedicated his concise, and yet very focused lecture, to the thousand-year long coexistence of the Polish and Jewish nations. Then Jakub Szadaj, both on his own behalf and on behalf of the Director of the Second World War Museum, invited the audience to watch a documentary film made in 2022, entitled Bez prawa do życia [No Right to Life]. The documentary focuses on the pre-war cohabitation of Polish and Jewish residents of the town (currently the village) of Tarłów, and, at the same time, revives the memory of ca. 1500 inhabitants of the town, who were deported to Treblinka on 19 October 1942, and eventually lost their lives in that death camp.
All events have been co-financed by the grant provided by the Minister for Interior and Administration.
