Education

Education is one of the pillars of Forum for Dialogue’s mission. We see it as the basis for sincere and meaningful dialogue. To pursue educational goals during the pandemic, Forum developed online solutions, which allowed us to engage schools across Poland in an exploration of their local Jewish past. Regardless of the obstacles 2020 brought, we have accomplished a successful online transformation of educational programs and ensured virtual outreach and workshops conducted in this new set up.

The redesign of the classic School of Dialogue series of four workshops resulted in a brand-new School of Dialogue Online, envisioned as a flexible Zoom- friendly format adjustable to various settings, including students joining from classrooms or homes, with the two Forum educators leading the meetings remotely.

Launched in October 2020, the pilot edition of the online format, co-financed by the Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany, Friends of the Forum, and private donors in Poland and abroad, was introduced in 14 schools across Poland eager to test the new program formula. Despite unprecedented learning conditions, closed libraries and archives, as well as lack of in-person meetings with their peers and witnesses of history, the students took every effort to bring back the memory of the local Jewish past and share it with others. Not only did they create virtual maps of the Jewish sites of their towns, but also took other commemorative initiatives. In Witkowo, students documented and translated inscriptions on preserved Jewish tombstones, while in Sosnowiec and Chełm they reached out to descendants of the Jews who once lived in their town.

The result: an array of creative online and offline commemoration projects. The impact: a new cohort of students transformed into custodians of the Jewish past of their towns.

The 2020 School of Dialogue Online Locations:

  • Białystok
  • Bielsko-Biała
  • Chełm
  • Dynów
  • Janowiec
  • Kraśnik
  • Oleszyce
  • Płock
  • Radzyń Podlaski
  • Sobków
  • Sosnowiec
  • Wągrowiec
  • Witkowo
  • Załuki

We learn about history in school, but what’s in the textbooks is just theory, we don’t think it all has really happened. Being able to see photos of other buildings that had once existed, seeing people who had once existed, who wore different clothes, but were not that different from us, just lived in a different world, makes history come to life.


Klaudia, student from Legionowo

For many newly-minted custodians, the end of the School of Dialogue program is just the beginning. Aided by inspiring and inspired teachers, the program alumni continue to preserve the heritage and share the knowledge with others. In 2020, 27 such schools undertook various efforts to sustain the memory of their local Jewish communities.

The global pandemic did not prevent Forum for Dialogue from celebrating the School of Dialogue students participating in the program in 2019, as well as the program alumni continuing their involvement. The School of Dialogue Online Gala, held in April 2020, was streamed worldwide and watched by over 3000 people in Poland and abroad. For the first time, the students could share the Gala with their families and friends both virtually and at home. They could show everyone that their efforts are being appreciated by Gala’s special guests, including Leon Weintraub, a Survivor from Łódź, as well as the now-departed Chair of the Forum’s Foundation Council, Henryk Wujec, former Deputy Speaker of the Senate, Bogdan Borusewicz, Israel’s Ambassador to Poland, Alexander Ben Zvi, as well as Forum’s longstanding friend and supporter, Nancy Powell.

With your research you have brought back individuality to the six million victims of the Shoah. These were men and women, elderly and young, merchants, professors, and craftsmen. People like you and me. With your projects, you have given faces to anonymous numbers.


Leon Weintraub, Gala’s Special Guest

The School of Dialogue Online Gala was possible thanks to our partnership with IDFX which created the virtual ceremony. The event was co-financed by Dutch Jewish Humanitarian Fund, Friends of the Forum, as well as private donors in Poland and abroad. We are also grateful to institutions and companies which contributed to the Gala in-kind.

Winners of the School of Dialogue online Gala awarded in four categories:

  • Diversity: Bolesław Prus Elementary School in Kałuszyn
  • Impact on the Local Community: Henryk Sienkiewicz Elementary School N° 2 in Przasnysz
  • Discovering History: Tadeusz Kościuszko Elementary School in Długosiodło
  • Innovation: St. Jadwiga of Poland High School N° 2 with Bilingual Instruction in Siedlce

Forum educators are instrumental in the success of the School of Dialogue on and offline. These young professionals passionate about Polish/Jewish history and culture pave the way for the program’s success. In 2020, we could count on their creativity and experience in reformulating the program for online settings. Forum, in turn, organized a training session for them on digital tools useful when switching from in-class to Zoom workshops. We are proud to watch their professional growth and involvement in helping next generations of young Poles discover local Jewish heritage.

We have also redoubled our efforts to develop an educational offer dedicated to teachers seeking new skills and creative solutions to implement in remote teaching. Our virtual outreach on Jewish history and culture with a focus on Holocaust education and contemporary Jewish life was exactly what the teachers needed, as evidenced by the fact that almost 120 of them used Forum’s online teaching materials and attended virtual meetings.

Forum developed thematic lesson plans for remote use available on our website. Designed in collaboration with experienced School of Dialogue educators, they help teachers address issues of identity in the context of the rich pre-war Jewish life in Poland. We’ve also launched a special newsletter updating teachers about educational opportunities from Forum for Dialogue and other institutions to enhance virtual outreach. We have also offered Zoom seminars addressing the complexities of using graphic primary materials in Holocaust education and on virtual depository literacy and archival research.

We have continued to work with the makers of Who Will Write Our History, the acclaimed documentary by Roberta Grossman depicting the story of the Ringelblum Archive. The two seminars for teachers focused on using the film and the dedicated Forum’s lesson plans to discuss Polish/Jewish history with the students. Moreover, Forum continued distributing an abridged version of the film featuring an educational set on pluralism of historical narratives and the role of artefacts in teaching about the Holocaust.

Educational initiatives related to the Who Will Write Our History have been made possible thanks to the generosity of Al and Gayle Berg Family Foundation.

Forum sees education as a prerequisite for any impactful activity and endeavor. This past year has been an opportunity for us to not only to develop our educational programs addressed to Polish students and teachers, but also to grow and learn as an organization that has made the online transition successful.