by tskz19 April 2025 was the day when official celebrations of the 82nd Anniversary of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising took place. Below please find our account of the events which were organised by the Board of TSKŻ and TSKŻ Branches.
WARSAW
Like every year, we commenced our celebrations with the ceremony of laying flowers at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at Piłsudski Square in Warsaw. The wreath was laid by TSKŻ President Artur Hofman and Jacek Młynarski, Board Member, together with a group of the youngest TSKŻ members.
The main ceremony, however, took place at the Ghetto Heroes Monument in the Muranów District of Warsaw. At the stroke of noon, city sirens blared to pay tribute to the heroes of the Uprising.
Aleksandra Idkowska was in charge of the musical part of the event, which included singing the anthem of the Jewish partisans entitled Zog nit kejn mol and the song Warszawo ma. Andrzej Ferenc delivered a speech recalling the insurgents and residents of the Ghetto. The ceremony ended with a prayer for those who passed away, “El Male Rachamim,” recited by Meir Hoss, the son of Otwock Holocaust survivors, and a Kaddish prayer recited by Rabbi Stas Wojciechowicz. The main part of the ceremony at the Monument to the Heroes of the Warsaw Ghetto was attended by representatives of the Jewish community, veterans, Righteous Among the Nations, representatives of state and local authorities, diplomats, representatives of Polish cultural institutions and residents of the capital city.
Following the formal commemoration of the 82nd Anniversary of the Ghetto Uprising, the participants joined the March of Remembrance, making stopovers at subsequent memorial sites along the Trail of Remembrance of Martyrdom and Resistance of Jews. Wraths of flowers were laid by representatives of the Social and Cultural Association of Jews in Poland, along with Chairman Artur Hofman, and Ewa Prończuk, Secretary, Advisor to the President of Poland Błażej Poboży, Deputy Mayor of the Capital City of Warsaw, Aldona Machnowska-Góra and representatives of the Warsaw City Council. The events have been co-hosted by our partners i.e. Association of Jewish Veterans and Victims of World War II, Association of Children of the Holocaust in Poland, POLIN Museum.
SZCZECIN
On Saturday, 19 April, TSKŻ Branch in Szczecin, invited all residents of the city to join the celebration of the 82nd Anniversary of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising. The participants gathered in front of the synagogue mural at 8 Dworcowa Street, where they laid flowers and lit candles. A few days later i.e. on Wednesday 23 April, at the domicile of our Szczecin Branch, Wojciech Król gave his lecture on the heroes of the Uprising. The artistic part of the event featured performances by well-known Szczecin actors such as Marta and Wiesław Łągiewka in a poetic and musical performance entitled ‘The image of the ghetto preserved in poetry’, which, among others, included poems by Władysław Szlengel and Zuzanna Ginczanka.
WROCŁAW
On 18 April, the 82nd Anniversary of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising was also solemnly celebrated in Wrocław. The ceremony held at the Monument to the Heroes of the Ghetto was attended by representatives of Jewish organisations such as the TSKŻ, the Association of Jewish Veterans and Victims of World War II, the Association of Children of the Holocaust in Poland, as well as government officials, including Deputy Voivode Dr Piotr Kozdrowicki, local government officials and representatives of the Consulate General of Germany in Wrocław. The guests included Chief Education Officer in Lower Silesia, Ewa Skrzywanek, Lower Silesian Voivode’s Commissioner for National and Ethnic Minorities Mariola Abkowicz, and Director of the Institute of National Remembrance in Wrocław, Dr Kamil Dworaczek.
Meanwhile, on Saturday, 26 April, TSKŻ Wrocław hosted a special meeting i.e. Six Million – A Meeting for Shared Remembrance. It was a musical and literary event aimed at celebrating the memory of the ghetto fighters. The artistic programme was put together by Inge Dinesen (vocals), Leopold Galicki (music) and Tomasz Kwietko-Bębnowski (recitation of poems by Władysław Szlengel and Władysław Broniewski). The Yizkor prayer was said by Yuval Różański, who invited everyone to light candles together.
CRACOW
In order to pay tribute to the Ghetto fighters on the 82nd Anniversary of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising, representatives of TSKŻ Cracow laid flowers at the memorial plaque commemorating the Cracow Ghetto Heroes. A few days later, Dr Paweł Sękowski delivered his lecture entitled “The Origins and Consequences of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising.” Another lecture was given by Michał Zajda, who talked about everyday life in the Jewish ghetto.
KATOWICE
On 27 April, a ceremony commemorating the fighters and residents of the Warsaw Ghetto took place at the domicile of TSKŻ Katowice. Dariusz Waleriański, a historical expert, talked about the origins of the uprising, and the socioeconomic situation of the Ghetto’s residents. The artistic part of the event featured a performance by a Polish-Israeli artist, Danuta Morel, who was accompanied by Romuald Gizdon.
WAŁBRZYCH
On Friday, 25 April, the official celebrations of the 82nd Anniversary of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising were held in Wałbrzych. The guests included Krzysztof Kalinowski, chair of the Wałbrzych City Council, Mariola Abkowicz, representative for National Minorities of the Voivode of Lower Silesia, and Zygmunt Nowaczyk, Vice-Mayor of Wałbrzych. The audience also viewed the performance presented by young students from the Stefan Staszic School Complex in Wałbrzych, who were introduced by Ewa Gratzke, Headmistress.
ŁÓDŹ
On 27 April, Teofila Włodarczyk and Borys Weininger gave a lecture at the headquarters of the TSKŻ Łódź. Their multimedia presentation focused on the history of the Warsaw Ghetto. The event’s participants were also offered some refreshments.
CZĘSTOCHOWA
On Friday, 16 April, the events commemorating the 82nd Anniversary of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising took place at Samuel Willenberg Square in Częstochowa. The anniversary celebrations were attended by, among others, Anna Goldman, representative of the Association of Children of the Holocaust, descendants of the Righteous Among the Nations, Ryszard Stefaniak, Deputy Mayor of Częstochowa, and Marta Salwierak, Deputy Chair of the City Council. The attendees were welcomed by Izabela Sobańska-Klekowska, Vice-Chairwoman of the Main Audit Committee of the Social and Cultural Association of Jews in Poland. Flowers were laid and candles lit at the Monument to the Memory of the Jews of Częstochowa, commemorating the victims of the Częstochowa Ghetto.
DZIERŻONIÓW
On 12 April, a meeting commemorating the Ghetto fighters took place at the TSKŻ Club in Dzierżoniów. One of its highlights was a lecture entitled: The post-war fates of the heroes of the ghetto uprising, which was delivered by Dr Anna Grużlewska. Maurycy Huf was responsible for the musical setting of the event, which included a piano concert. On the 82nd Anniversary of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising, our local delegates laid flowers at two memorial sites, namely at the Monument to the Heroes of the Ghetto in Dzierżoniów, and at the site of the former Gross-Rosen Camp in Pieszyce.
GDAŃSK
On 16 April, representatives of TSKŻ Gdańsk laid flowers at the memorial plaque dedicated to the Jewish community, located at the intersection of Żwirki i Wigury Street and Słowackiego Street in Gdynia. On the 82nd anniversary of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising, a TSKŻ delegation laid wreaths at the Jewish cemetery in Sopot.
All celebrations have been organised thanks to the subsidies from the Minister of Internal Affairs and Administration.
