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.

The program combines high school study visits to the Auschwitz Museum and Memorial with educational workshops on the historical context of the Holocaust and the prewar history of the Jewish community of Oświęcim/Auschwitz. In addition, reflection discussions on contemporary instances of anti-Semitism, xenophobia, and other forms of prejudice today help students to make connections after their visit to Auschwitz.

The program includes:

• What was Oshpitzin? workshop in the town’s only preserved synagogue, the Chevra Lomdei Mishnayot, and a tour of the exhibits in the Jewish Museum at the AJC;
• Educational guided visit to the Auschwitz-Birkenau Museum and Memorial;
• Lunch break;
• Anti-discrimination workshop at the AJC and closing discussion.

Oświęcim: A Different Perspective continues the work of the 2011 Why Do We Need Tolerance? program, the first project in Poland and one of the few initiatives in Europe to link the history of Auschwitz with education about ethical decisions today.

Oświęcim: A Different Perspective is made possible through a generous grant from the Civic Initiatives Fund (FIO).

The In-Service Teacher Training Center in Katowice is a recruiting partner for Oświęcim: A Different Perspective.

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.

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

The Chairman of the Auschwitz Jewish Center (AJC), Simon Bergson, and the President of the AJC and Chairman of the Museum of Jewish Heritage in New York, Dr. David G. Marwell, were both awarded the Knight’s Cross of the Order of Merit of the Republic of Poland by the Polish President Bronisław Komorowski for their contribution to advancing Polish-Jewish dialogue.

This honor by the Polish state is an important recognition and acknowledgment of the AJC as a unique joint American-Polish project designed to keep alive the memory of the prewar Jewish community of Oświęcim/Auschwitz and teach about the need to overcome prejudice and intolerance today.

More on the event in Dr David G. Marwell’s blog: http://mjhblog.blogspot.com/2011/10/polish-medal.html

During special session of the Town Council of Oświęcim the Auschwitz Jewish Center was awarded the Medal of Oświęcim for its educational projects, preserving the memory of the local Jewish community, working towards Polish-Jewish dialog and creating a positive identity for Oświęcim in Poland and abroad.

Tomasz Kuncewicz, AJC Director received the medal on behalf of the Center from Mayor of Oświęcim Janusz Chwierut.

Students stayed in Krakow, Warsaw and Oswiecim where they explored and discussed Polish-Jewish history. This year’s itinerary also included numerous field trips to Lodz, Kielce, Bedzin, Bielsko-Biala, Pszczyna and former Jewish towns of south-eastern Poland such as Bobowa, Checiny, Chmielnik, Dzialoszyce, Pinczow and Szydlow.

In addition participants visited north-eastern Slovakia where they explored the Jewish heritage sites in Bardejov and Presov, and met with a local survivor of the Holocaust, Mr. Tibor Kartin.

Please click below to see pictures from this year’s edition of the program:

• 12 pm to 5 pm  Living Library:  anti-discrimination education project by Meritum Association for Non-formal Education, coorganized by the Auschwitz Jewish Center and Roma Association in Poland.

A rare opportunity to speak with people facing intolerance in their everyday life in Poland.

• 5 pm  Unveiling of the mural by Edward Dwurnik (next door to AJC at 4 Zamkowa Street)

Friday, June 17th

• 4 pm Ask the Rabbi: Meeting with Chief Rabbi of Poland Michael Schudrich, with AJC’s Tomasz Kuncewicz and Maciek Zabierowski

Admission free for all of the above events !

Please check out the website of Life Festival 2011 in Oświęcim for more events and concerts:

www.lifefestival.pl

Below you will find photographs from Life Festival 2011 in Oświęcim:

Photos by Mario Schwaiger, AJC

13 cadets and midshipmen from U.S. military academies took part in 2011 edition of AJC’s U.S. Service Academy Program.

After preparation at  the Museum of Jewish Heritage in New York and US Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington DC the participants traveled to Poland for the on-site study of the Holocaust history. This year’s program included study visits to Krakow, Oswiecim (Auschwitz) and small towns of south-eastern area of Poland, formerly known as Galicia. The program concluded with the hiking trip to the beautiful Tatra Mountains.

Please click below to see pictures from the program: