The Auschwitz Jewish Center has been honored with the Krysztaly Soli Award for the best organization in the Malopolska region in the category of Protection of Cultural Heritage.

The awarding committee based their decision on the AJC’s educational programs that create a bridge between the difficult, painful past and the present; innovative and creative way of presenting Polish history and confronting prejudice; and promotion of sensitivity, respect, and tolerance among young people.

A conference was held on November 28, 2011 to present the results of sociological research initiated by the Auschwitz Jewish Center and conducted by the Center for Research on Prejudice of Warsaw University on the attitudes of Oświęcim residents towards ethnic minorities and visitors to Oświęcim. The conference took place at the Łukasz Górnicki Public Library in Oświęcim and at the Auschwitz Jewish Center.

The initiative had three goals:

• To measure the level of xenophobia among residents of Oświęcim;
• To study the social memory of the residents of Oświęcim ie. find out which historical events are meaningful to their self-identity;
• And to create recommendations for the local administration and educational institutions based on the results of the study.

The project was made possible by the generous support of the Stefan Batory Foundation under the framework of the “Democracy in Action” program.

Oct 2, 2011

Tomasz Kuncewicz, AJC Director attended the meeting with Donald Tusk, Prime Minister of Poland and representatives of regional administration and NGOs in Oświęcim.

Meeting with Donald Tusk, Prime Minister of Poland. Second from right: Tomasz Kuncewicz, AJC Director.

Photo courtesy: Marcin Techmański