about righteous in penitentiaries forbidden art august kowalczyk

ABOUT RIGHTEOUS ABOUT RIGHTEOUS IN PENITENTIARIESIN PENITENTIARIES

FORBIDDEN ARTFORBIDDEN ART

AUGUST KOWALCZYK’ AUGUST KOWALCZYK’ JUBILEEJUBILEE

ISSN 1899 -4407ISSN 1899 -4407

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no. 34 October 2011

EDITORIAL BOARD:Oś—Oświęcim, People, History, Culture magazine

Editor:Paweł SawickiEditorial secretary: Agnieszka Juskowiak -SawickaEditorial board:Bartosz BartyzelWiktor BoberekJarek MensfeltOlga OnyszkiewiczJadwiga Pinderska -LechArtur SzyndlerColumnist: Mirosław GanobisDesign and layout:Agnieszka Matuła, Grafi konTranslations: David R. KennedyProofreading:Beata KłosCover:Art work made by a member of the project Auschwitz—History—Civic EducationPhotographer:Paweł Sawicki

PUBLISHER:

Auschwitz -BirkenauState Museum

www.auschwitz.org.pl

PARTNERS:

Jewish Center

www.ajcf.pl

Center for Dialogue and Prayer Foundation

www.centrum -dialogu.oswiecim.pl

International Youth Meeting Center

www.mdsm.pl

IN COOPERATION WITH:

Kasztelania

www.kasztelania.pl

State HigherVocational School in Oświęcim

www.pwsz -oswiecim.pl

Editorial address:„Oś – Oświęcim, Ludzie, Historia, Kultura”Państwowe Muzeum Auschwitz -Birkenauul. Więźniów Oświęcimia 2032 -603 Oświęcime -mail: [email protected]

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The October edition of Oś devotes quite a large amount of space to edu-cational projects offered to unique audience—inmates, who are incarcer-ated in the correctional institutions of Małopolska region. Currently, the third edition of the project Auschwitz—History—Civic Education is underway. The topic being presented is profi les of the Righteous Among the Nations.On the pages of the Museum, we also report about the Polish and Israeli sup-port for the Auschwitz -Birkenau Foun-dation, and about the French edition of the fi ve -volume study about Ausch-

witz as well as this year’s laureate of the Irena Sendler prize For Saving the World, Grażyna Frenc, a guide at the Auschwitz -Birkenau State Museum in Oświęcim as well as a secondary school history teacher in Kęty. We also invite you to the exhibit of Forbidden Art.We also recommend a report about the joyous celebration to mark the nine-tieth birthday of August Kowalczyk, that took place at the International Youth Meeting Center. The pages of the Meeting Center also include an article about the visit by the famous Israeli artist, Yehuda Bacon.

On the Path of Memory and Reconcili-ation: from Wadowice and Münster to Auschwitz—is the title of the work-shops, which took place at the end of August and beginning of September at the Center for Dialogue and Prayer in Oświęcim, about which we write in this edition of the monthly. We also invite you to take a look at the next part of the guide around the Jewish Oświęcim.

Paweł SawickiEditor -in -chief

[email protected]

A GALLERY OF THE 20TH CENTURY

EDITORIAL

The pointillism in the realm of historical memory corre-lates to pointillism in paint-ings, in other words, dots that are created through small dabs and marks in the past within the memory’s recorded history. So, here are some “pointillist” imag-es, memories from the past years.On the site of the contem-porary parking area next to the City Hall, from the side of Jagiełły Street, there grew two quite large chestnut trees. In May, they decorated themselves with candelabras of faded pink fl owers, while in the autumn they dropped hundreds of round, spiky shells on the street and side-walk below; and out of these shells that we peeled away, we gathered the smooth, glossy, and shiny seeds—the tree’s fruit. With the help of small sticks, matches, and wires, it was possible to create an entire army of, so -called, miniature people or a variety of different ani-mals.Jagiełły Street was paved with granite stones, while Zaborska Street was “cob-blestoned.” A low level of traffi c fl ow characterized the two streets, but if there was any—it was more often horse -drawn and not mo-torized. The horse related traffi c often left the streets marked by the horse’s pres-ence, which was regularly removed by cleaners as well as sparrows.On the corner of Jagiełły and Zaborska Streets there was an empty space (a building, destroyed during the War had once stood there, then later it was the site of a kind of fl ower garden, and cur-rently there is a new build-ing there) where somebody once dumped out, for some unknown purpose, a size-

able pile of sand, which for children from nearby homes became an improvised sand-box where they created ever- -changing buildings and tunnels.At the intersection of Zabor-ska and Piastowska Streets, a space currently occupied by a building, there was a small empty yard where horse- -drawn wagons that arrived

in town could stop. At that time it was constantly cov-ered with hay and oats and it was there that the chickens from the small local farms would preside, pecking away at the grains.Returning to the chestnuts: standing next to them was a general food kiosk offering the complete range of prod-ucts that was available at the

time of... shortages. It is there that I bought candy, either in rolls or in paper wrappers, as well as individual ciga-rettes for my father. He was an occasional smoker…Below is a photograph of a section of Jagiełły Street, tak-en from the balcony of build-ing number 23 in 1970.

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Jagiełły Street. Photo from Andrzej Winogrodzki’s collection

Oś—Oświęcim, People, History, Culture magazine, no. 34, October 2011

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Auschwitz -Birkenau State Museum

FORBIDDEN ART— TO CAPTURE UNIMAGINABLE

Forbidden Art is the title of a new exhibition at the Auschwitz Memorial, featuring twenty works of art made illegally and under the threat of death by prisoners in German Nazi concentration camps. Each of the pho-tographs shown in the exhibition is accompanied by a historical commentary and excerpts from archival ac-

counts. The time when the exhibition at the Museum is available for viewing was prolonged until 20 November. Afterwards, it will be shown to audiences in other countries, including the United States.

“How to capture and ex-press the unimaginable? How to represent the en-tire hell of Auschwitz with the help of minimal rep-resentational means in an atmosphere of unending

terror? How to portray fear, helplessness, and de-spair, but also the longing for freedom? How to avoid forfeiting humanity and the remnants of dignity in the inhuman world of

Auschwitz? The works in this exhibition, the artists’ attempt to cope with the camp experience, hint to a degree at answers to these questions,” we read in the folder accompanying the exhibition.“The works that we show at the exhibition in pho-tographic form are quite diverse in terms of subject matter, the material used, and technique. The most important thing, however, is that there is a moving story behind each of these works. This makes our exhibition not only an en-counter with art but also an important lesson in history,” said Agnieszka Sieradzka, an art historian from the Museum Collec-tions Department.

The exhibition is divided in two parts. The fi rst part shows the reality of the camp—various scenes from the functioning of the camp as well as portraits of pris-oners. The second part of-fers a look at various kinds of escape from camp reali-ty: caricatures, albums con-taining greetings, and fairy tales that prisoners wrote for their children.Most of the photographs at the exhibition show works of graphic art, but there are also such items as a bracelet with scenes from the Łódź ghetto found near the gas chamber on the Auschwitz II -Birkenau grounds, or a miniature fi gure of a devil made in Auschwitz from tape and a piece of wire; it was used for smuggling

illegal correspondence by prisoners. The Forbidden Art exhibition can be seen on the grounds of the former Auschwitz I camp in the camp laundry building until the end of November 2011. The pho-tographs were taken by Michał Dziewulski. It will be accompanied by a two- -day scholarly conference in which specialists from museums and memorial sites in Israel, Germany, Poland, and the United States will talk about the subject of art made in the ghettos and concentration camps. The exhibition will soon be available for viewing by audiences in several cities in the United States.

Paweł Sawicki

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Peter EdelMaria Hiszpańska

Franciszek JaźwieckiMieczysław Kościelniak

Halina OłomuckaStanisława Panasowa -Stelmaszewska

Marian RuzamskiJosef Sapcaru

Włodzimierz SiwierskiZofi a StępieńJózef Szajna

Stanisław TrałkaThe anonymous artist with the initials MM

Anonymous artists

ARTISTS WHOSE WORK IS SHOWN IN THE EXHIBITION

Exhibition in the former camp laundry

A bracelet with scenes from the Lizmannstadt Ghetto


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Poland will be supporting the Auschwitz -Birkenau Perpetual Fund with a 10 million Euro injection. The clubs within the Sejm as well as the Senate supported a special law that dealt with this issue. President of the Re-public of Poland, Bronisław Komorowski, signed this document on October 5.

“This place is a universal symbol of evil and is a very important point of reference for many people around the world. Thanks to the com-mitment to fi nancially sup-port it, Poland joins the most signifi cant donor countries of the project and confi rms its current policy of protect-ing memory of the victims of the Second World War,” is written in support of the Act, which also highlights the fact, that the government of the Polish Republic con-tinuously provides fi nancial support for the functioning of the Auschwitz -Birkenau State Museum.“This is a vital decision. Poland could not be absent among those countries that support the work being done to keep the authenticity of the Auschwitz Memorial Site,” stated the President of the Foundation, Dr. Piotr M. A. Cywiński. “Auschwitz is primarily the world’s sym-bol of the Holocaust. It is a site that speaks more about

the nature of humankind, than we would truly like to hear. For us, Poles, it is our largest cemetery. Never have so many Poles died in a single place,” Cywiński emphasized. Poland’s sup-port constitutes about eight percent of the entire Perpet-ual Fund. This share into the fund will be paid in install-ments that will fl ow into it over the next four years.The Israeli government has also joined in the building of the Perpetual Fund. Prime Minister Benjamin Netan-yahu announced that the support provided would be 3.6 million new shekels, i.e. about one million dollars. “The site of Auschwitz- -Birkenau, where during the Shoah over a million Jews were murdered, has become a key symbol of the Holo-caust as well as ultimate evil. That is the reason that preserving the authenticity of this site and its heritage is a moral priority. The fact that Israel also recognizes

the need for this has a great meaning,” said the director of the Yad Vashem in Jeru-salem, Avner Shalev. The Is-raeli Embassy in Poland has stated that the government of Israeli has accepted the creation of the Auschwitz- -Birkenau Foundation with great satisfaction, and that the fi nancial support will be paid into the fund in two equal installments: the fi rst in the 2012 fi scal year, the next in 2013.The goal of the Auschwitz- -Birkenau Foundation is to accumulate 120 million Euros for the Perpetual Fund, from which the 4–5 million Euros of interest earned will allow for planning and systematic implementation of vital con-servation work on the site of Auschwitz -Birkenau. This is the only such a program in the world dedicated solely to a Memorial Site. The fi rst large -scale conservation works paid for by the fund will begin in 2012.

Paweł Sawicki

POLAND AND ISRAEL SUPPORT THE AUSCHWITZ -BIRKENAU FOUNDATION

Former Auschwitz II–Birkenau camp grounds


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AWARD FOR SAVING THE WORLD

The Irena Sendler prize For Saving the World is awarded by the Association for Chil-dren of the Holocaust and the Center for Civic Education. It is given to teachers, who, through the use of unique methods, educate about Jew-ish history and culture, and who take on an active role at their school and local com-munity. This is the fi fth year that the Award has been pre-sented.“Being nominated for the Ire-na Sendler Award is a great honor and privilege for me as well as my community, without which my activities would not have been possi-ble. This confi rms the effec-tiveness and value of my ac-tivities up to now. It is also a challenge and responsibility to do this work in the future,” said Grażyna Ferenc during the ceremonial award pres-entation gala at the Palace of the Ministry of Foreign Af-fairs in Warsaw.“Caring for the preservation of memory and cultivating this history among the young

generations is our common challenge and responsibil-ity,” stated in a letter to the laureate Dr. Piotr M. A. Cywiński, Director of the Museum. “So thank you for your perseverance in raising awareness of this to young people, and I would like to also take this opportunity to express my own words of recognition for the work you do at the Auschwitz Memo-rial Site, which in the context of all that was stated above, cannot be overestimated,” added Cywiński.“My fi rst profound contact with the subject of the Holo-caust occurred several years ago, during the educational seminars that are organized here at the Museum,” the laureate told Oś. “Later, I took part in the post -diploma studies organized by the In-ternational Center for Educa-tion about Auschwitz and the Holocaust. This inspired me to create educational projects for school -aged youth. Today, I also work as a guide. These areas of educational activi-

ties are linked and intersect. The historical lesson fl owing from Auschwitz also allows us to educate and teach about tolerance. Based on examples from the past, we teach les-sons for the future,” Grażyna Ferenc emphasized.

There are great risks that without the persistent and often diffi cult work of educa-tors the notions such as those of “tolerance” and “respect for others” would remain nothing more than meaning-less clichés. The recognition

of the historical and educa-tional projects undertaken by Grażyna Ferenc, allows us to have hope that the values and attitudes that Irena Sen-dler was faithful to will not fade into oblivion.

Bartosz Bartyzel

This year’s laureate of the Irena Sendler Award For Saving the World is Grażyna Frenc, a guide at the Auschwitz- -Birkenau State Museum in Oświęcim and a history teacher at a secondary school in Kęty as well as at the Vocational Institute in Katowice. She has received this prestigious award for working on “educational projects

devoted to the subject of the Holocaust, multiculturalism, and tolerance.”

FIVE -VOLUME STUDY OF AUSCHWITZ IS NOW AVAILABLE IN FRENCH

The fi ve -volume historical study, entitled Auschwitz 1940 -1945. Central Issues in the History of the Camp, has been published in French. The Polish version of the publication fi rst appeared in 1995 (edited by Wacław Długoborski, PhD, and Franciszek Piper, PhD). The French translation is updated with the latest historical fi ndings. The vast,

2,167 page, publication has been the most complete collection of research analysis about the creation and functioning of the Nazi German Concentration and Death Camp of Auschwitz. The publication presents the history of the Concentration and Death Camp against the backdrop of the wide -ranging political landscape of the Third Reich and collaborating countries; the work also pre-sents the course of the depor-tations from various countries (among them France) to the

Auschwitz Concentration and Death Camp; the history of the Holocaust, the shared re-sponsibility of many German institutions of the period, and the ultimate fate of the victims. This study also brings to light the question of identifying the members of the SS working in the Camp. “In the case of this publica-tion, a great challenge was to create a commonly accepted

vocabulary and fi nd appropri-ate French words for German camp terminology as well as the institutions created by the SS. There was also a problem in selecting the proper words to translate the German names of the Camp’s SS administra-tion. In fact, most of these are German neologisms, liter-ally untranslatable into any other language. Therefore, in volume number V of the col-

lection, you can fi nd a very complete glossary of words and phrases, which were used within the Camp,” said Dorota Ryszka of the Museum Publications Department and coordinator for the French edi-tion.More than just bringing his-torical research up to date, the publication also contains a new bibliography, which has been greatly expanded, above all, to include memoires and testimony of eyewitnesses of deportations from France and, additionally, fi ndings of French researchers. The translation into French was made possible thanks to the fi nancial support of the Fondation pour la Mémoire de la Shoah of France; and print-ing was funded by the Fun-dacja Pamięci Ofi ar Obozu Zagłady Auschwitz -Birkenau [Memorial Foundation for

the Victims of Auschwitz- -Birkenau Death Camp]. The publication is available in Polish, English, German, and French at the bookshops of the Museum as well as online.During 2010, about 63 thou-sand people from France vis-ited the Auschwitz Museum and Memorial Site.

Bartosz Bartyzel

Volume I: The Establishment and Organization of the Camp (La construction et l’organisation du camp) Volume II: The Prisoners—Their Life and Work (Les détenus—la vie et le travail) Volume III: Mass Murder (L’extermination)Volume IV: The Resistance Movement (La résistance) Volume V: The Epilogue [Evacuation and Liberation of the Camp] (Épilogue)

THE FIVE VOLUMES EACH DEAL WITH A SPECIFIC TOPIC:

In both the occupied part of France as well as in the Vichy part, there lived be-tween 310 to 350 thousand Jews. Around 75 thousand Jews were deported from France to Death Camps, including 69,255 to Ausch-witz. Out of this number of people, 41,805 were im-mediately murdered in the gas chambers after the se-lection, while 27,220 were registered as prisoners in the Concentration Camp.

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Grażyna Ferenc guiding a group of Polish youth at the Auschwitz Memorial Site


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NOT THE USUAL LESSON ABOUT POSITIVE ATTITUDES

The third edition of the educational project Auschwitz—Histo-ry—Civic Education is underway. This project is being carried out by the International Center for Education about Ausch-

witz and the Holocaust at the Auschwitz -Birkenau State Museum, and in cooperation with Correctional Institutions and Criminal In-vestigation Prisons that are under jurisdiction of the Regional In-spectorate of the Prison Service in Cracow. The subject during the current edition of this project are profi les of the Righteous Among the Nations. The Galicia Jewish Museum has joined in the coopera-tive efforts of the project organizers.

The project, Auschwitz—History—Civic Education in-cludes a series of seminars and study tours for prison inmates and staff. The cur-rent edition of this project focuses on presenting pro-fi les of individuals who have been honored as Righteous Among the Nations, and its aim is to encourage positive attitudes. The main goal of the project is to inspire its participants by emphasiz-ing the selfl ess actions peo-ple undertook in the most horrifi c of times. Educators from the Auschwitz Mu-

seum and the Galicia Jewish Museum are using to this end prepared presentations, fi lms, as well as the exhibit, entitled Polish Heroes: Those Who Saved Jews. The lessons will take place in all Cor-rectional Institutions within the jurisdiction of the Cra-cow Prison Inspectorate. “Over the last three years, several thousand prison-ers from our district have taken part in this project,” stated Captain Tomasz Wacławek, spokesman for the Regional Inspectorate of Prison Services in Cracow.

“The general concept is civ-ic education, which is part of the basic goal of serving a criminal sentence, because it awakens within the in-mates the urge to cooper-ate in reshaping themselves and attain socially accept-able attitudes. Including the Galicia Jewish Museum in this cooperative effort, and presenting examples of the Righteous is a new aspect of the project to the Prison Ser-vice. It concurrently shows that this project is able to evolve as well as to provide new methods of education. The exhibition that profi les Poles who saved Jews dur-ing the Second World War and the accompanying lec-tures and fi lms are meant to underline positive atti-tudes. This demonstrates to the participants the notion that normal people, even in those horrifying and most ghastly of times, had the ability to retain their humanity and at the same time gain sympathy as well as become heroes,” added Wacławek.“The exhibition Polish He-roes: Those Who Saved Jews was created in 2006 thanks to the cooperative work between the Galicia Jew-ish Museum in Cracow, the Jewish Center in Oświęcim, and the Polish/American/Jewish Alliance for Youth Action (PAJA),” said Jakub Nowakowski, director of the Galicia Jewish Museum. “This exhibit was created to honor over 20,000 Righteous Among the Nations, includ-ing more than 6,000 Poles, who selfl essly risked their lives to help Jews during the Second World War and the Holocaust. All of these in-dividuals ought to awaken our respect and admiration for them. The exhibit, Polish Heroes, presenting the fate of normal people who in terri-fying times accomplished exceptional things, allows us today to have faith in hu-mankind and a hope for the future,” emphasizes Nowa-kowski.

The meeting summarizing the fi rst year of cooperation between the Silesian Prison Service and the Auschwitz Museum

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The inspiration to create a cooperative project with the Prison Services were letters, actually written by inmates to the Museum, in which they requested litera-ture about the history of the Auschwitz Concentration Camp, as well as the few, unusual at the time, visits of small groups of inmates from local correctional institutions. This is why, keeping in mind the specifi c nature of the au-dience, a complex and com-pletely new project was cre-ated, which includes a series of educational activities.In the beginning, the Muse-um carried out the project in cooperation with the Prison Services Inspectorate in Cra-cow. Later, this expanded to the Silesia area. During the fi rst two years, 529 prison-ers took part in study visits at the Museum, however, as many as 5,790 took part in educational activities at the correctional institutions. For many of the participants, this was their fi rst occasion when they were exposed to and learned about this sub-ject. The inmates’ testimony as well as clearly emotional opinions and refl ections (ex-amples are presented next to the article) are reassuring about the worthy effects and the fact that proper activities had been undertaken.“In order to explain what this project is based on, we must go back to the basics of our daily duties here. The Prison Service, while real-izing its goal of punishment by imprisonment, conducts a number of activities of various characters—protec-tive, corrective, preventive, therapeutic, educational, etc. This is done both on the in-dividual level and through group resocialization pro-grams. These also include cultural, educational, and sports programs, geared to counter aggression and vio-

lence, addictions, and pro- -criminal attitudes. Finally, there are techniques that are used to shape the skills and professional competence, social and cognitive apti-tude, as well as targeted to work on relationships, social roles and the integration of families,” explains Captian Tomasz Wacławek, Spokes-man for the Inspectorate of Prison Services in Cracow. “One of the more uncon-ventional activities we are conducting is the project undertaken in coopera-tion with the Museum in Oświęcim. Throughout the last three years, several thousand inmates under our jurisdiction have taken part. The general concept is civic education, which is part of the basic goal of serving out a criminal sentence, be-cause it awakens within the inmates the urge to cooper-ate in reshaping themselves and attain socially accept-able attitudes. Providing information about what the Auschwitz -Birkenau and other concentration camps as well as what the Gulags were, the way that totalitari-an regimes functioned, what contempt for other people leads to, the lack of tolerance and respect for human life—are the conceptual elements which are meant to protect individuals against such dangers in the future. It is supposed to help repair the individual—provide under-standing and awaken empa-thy,” emphasized Captain Wacławek.Due to the very high inter-est among inmates about the subject of Auschwitz, the Museum has sent materials dealing with this topic to li-braries located in prisons and jails, literature that is partly free of charge. Currently, we have begun the already third edition of the project.

Bartosz Bartyzel

AUSCHWITZ—HISTORY—CIVIC EDUCATION

Seminar at the Auschwitz Memorial

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In its everyday activities, the International Center for Education about Auschwitz and the Holocaust at the Auschwitz -Birkenau State Museum in Oświęcim, focuses main-ly on the needs of teachers and educators. Sharing the history of the largest Nazi Ger-man Concentration and Death Camp is also provided to other social and professional groups.


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“Even though this is a shock-ing place, because the scale and methods of the mass extermination of people are unthinkable, I am convinced that the further spreading of this painful truth will ensure that such a tragedy will never happen again on earth.”

Marek

“You must prepare yourself to come to this place. Even more: you should mature, know that you are prepared to actually fi nd yourself there, to see the tragedy of those who died in agony with their entire family for practically nothing.”

Anonymous

“I know that I won’t forget what I saw and heard there. I also know one more thing, that when my children grow up, my wife and I will come together to Auschwitz- -Birkenau, one more time, so that our children can learn about the tragedy that took place there and see it with their own eyes.”

Tomasz

“Now with complete certain-ty I can say that if I am only able, or if it depends on me, truly I will do everything to stop any sort of violence or cruelty. We live in a time that is dominated by violence, ha-tred, and what is vanishing are the basic values, like kind-ness, goodness, helpfulness, and sensitivity, so therefore, I believe it is worth changing something—maybe, start-ing with our own backyard, reacting to children’s bad behavior and violence in the family.”

Michał

“Two things remained in my memory the most: the taking away of the newborn from its mother in that barrack, then killing the baby, and the fi lm Ambulans, the murder of children in such a horrify-ing way, in such suffering…

Those were not people… That is the least I can say.”

Ryszard

“When we boarded the bus, there was silence for a long time and when you heard people speaking, they whis-pered. Nobody laughed, no-body joked. … Everyone was still experiencing all that they had heard, what they had seen, and were reliving the images that they had devel-oped in their mind.”

Krzysztof

“…I would not have wanted to live in that time, because today I am a husband and a father. If they had taken my family away from me, I would probably have taken my own life. That is all that I would like to say. I pity them so much.”

Marcin

“Nonetheless, what had the greatest impression on me, were the photographs of the children, especially, those children that were used as guinea pigs in experi-ments.…”

Dariusz

“This time I was visiting the Camp as a convict (in other words, prisoner). However, I think that you cannot equate the situation of convicts like me (or any of today’s prison-ers) with the prisoners of the concentration camps. This you cannot compare.”

Jacek

“When you are free, you don’t pay much attention to history, everyone knows that there was a time that the Auschwitz Camp ex-isted and macabre crimes were committed there, but there never is enough time to more deeply consider this human tragedy. The Camp had a great effect on me and evoked within me sympathy for the victims.”

Tomasz

THE REFLECTIONS OF PRISON INMATES, PARTICIPANTS

IN THE PROJECT AUSCHWITZ—HISTORY—CIVIC EDUCATION

Inmates during their tour of the exhibition Polish Heroes: Those Who Rescued Jews, Galicia Museum in Cracow

Zofi a Łyś, former Auschwitz prisoner, during a meeting with inmates

“Learning the history of the Auschwitz -Birkenau Con-centration Camp, the Holo-caust of the Jewish people, and the actions undertaken by the Righteous may help us comprehend the con-sequences of hatred and contempt for others,” says

Antoni Stańczyk, the coor-dinator of this project at the Auschwitz Museum. “We believe that in educating about these topics we are not only teaching history, but also helping the par-ticipants become sensitive toward others, thus help-

ing in prevention of intoler-ance, contempt, and hatred. This is meant to encourage the shaping of tolerance, empathy, and positive so-cial as well as moral atti-tudes,” Stańczyk added.

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Art work made by a member of the project Art work made by a member of the project Art work made by a member of the project


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Jewish Center

BET YAAKOV SCHOOL AND BET MIDRASH

The school was located on Głęboka Street (today Górnickiego), opposite the Schönker’s shtibl. It ex-isted from at least 1933 as the Jewish Girls Associa-tion Bet Yaakov or Female School Bet Yaakov. Szy-mon Danzig was its long-time president and Sara Wolf was the fi rst teacher.Shortly before WWII on the initiative of the school’s secretary Kalman Born-stein, a regular minyan (Hebrew: prayer group) would gather during the most important Jewish holidays and shabbats. The prayers were attended by

students and graduates of Bet Yaakov, members of Bnot Agudat Israel (young girl organization under the Agudat Israel party) and other Jewish women, who initially outnumbered men as there was not enough space for women in other synagogues.

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BET MIDRASH MIZRAHI

The Bet Midrash Mizrahi was a house of prayer for members and followers of the Mizrahi party. It was located at the inter-section of Zatorska and Głęboka streets shortly

before WWII. The Mizrahi Association of Orthodox Zionists in Oświęcim was established in 1923 and its longtime president was Zalman Fränkel.Another house of prayer known as the Small Syna-gogue was located near the Bet Midrash Mizrahi. It was located at 8 Głęboka Street (today Górnickiego) and belonged to Gemilat Chesed Association—Jew-ish free loan society (est. 1889). The house, com-prising three rooms, was destroyed by the Germans during construction of a road to IG Farben chemical plant.

17JEWISH

CEMETERY

The fi rst Jewish cemetery was founded circa 1588; however, its location is unknown. Today, the only surviving cemetery is situated at the corner of Dąbrowskiego Street and Wysokie Brzegi Street. It was established at the turn of the 19th century. The cemetery was originally square, but the area that remains today is shaped

like a trapezoid. During World War II, the cemetery was completely devas-tated by the Germans and its grounds were included in Dąbrowskiego Street. In 1941, the cemetery was closed just after the Jews were deported from Oświęcim. In the fi rst dec-ade after the war, the Jews who returned to Oświęcim took care of the cemetery and in the following years,

OSHPITZIN. A GUIDE

Below we publish the fi fth part of the fi rst guide to the Jew-ish history of Oświęcim—Oshpitzin. This is the result of ten years of historical research and collecting materials by the

Auschwitz Jewish Center in Oświęcim. The publication is accom-panied by a www.oshpitzin.pl website which presents a virtual map of the Jewish town, accounts of former residents of the town, videos, photos as well as lesson plans for educators. On the next page of the magazine you can fi nd the city map with all the build-ings on it.

One of the main institu-tions and centers of the orthodox community. A place of study of the Jewish religious texts, at-tended by boys and adult men.

BET MIDRASH (Hebrew:

house of study)

Schoolgirls of Bet Yaakov in Oświęcim, 1930s

Seal of Oświęcim Bet Yaakov, 1934

Members of Mizrachi from Oświęcim (in the middle, at the table: Zalman Fränkel)

Traditional Jewish tomb-stone. Usually in the form of an upright stone or wooden headstone crowned with a rectan-gular, triangular or semi-circular ornamentation and placed at the head of the buried. Inscriptions on matzevot can include biographical information and carvings can refl ect religious or social status of the deceased.

MATZEVAH (Hebrew:

tombstone)

Parts of tombstones

Oświęcim Jewish Cemetery, 1950s

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Jewish Centerter

Wooden or brick struc-ture built over a grave of a distinguished rabbi or tsadik and his male descendants. Such mon-uments are visited by Hasids from all over the world. The locations with main ohels include Aleksandrów, Bobowa, Chrzanów, Góra Kalwar-ia, Kock, Lelów, Nowy Sącz.

OHEL (Hebrew: tent)

Regina Grünbaum at her grandfather Moshe Grünbaum’s gravestone, 1936 -1937

Family of Leo Klapholtz during the unveiling of the gravestone of their relative, c. 1930

the wall surrounding the graveyard was repaired. In the 1980s, the cemetery was renovated thanks to the support of Asher Scharf

of New York. Sections of tombstones were ar-ranged in memorials built of broken tombstones. At the same time, the Scharf

family’s ohel was recon-structed. The other ohel in the cemetery covers the grave of Szymon Kluger, the last Jew who lived in Oświęcim. Almost 1,000 tombstones have been pre-served in Oświęcim’s Jew-ish cemetery.

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On August 26, the IYMC survived a veritable siege. A great many Oświęcim resi-dents, and numerous indi-viduals from virtually all over Poland, not to mention the guests from abroad, fi lled the International Center’s garden to partake in the celebration of the Distinguished Guest. This part of the evening was to have an offi cial air, be-cause it was supposed to be fi lled with mainly celebratory toasts and wishes. The fact that this did not take place in such a way, was not only due to the ever humorous and warm man of the evening as well as the organizers of party, including the Center’s director, Leszek Szuster who was at the helm; but also the speakers, who fully under-stood that when it comes to August Kowalczyk, you can-not use a template to send your best wishes, these must

be straight from the heart. The exceptionally heartfelt messages which were said by the guests, among others the Director of the Auschwitz- -Birkenau State Museum, Dr. Piotr M. A. Cywiński; the Consul General of the Re-public of Germany, Dr. Heinz Peters; Christoph Heubner of the International Ausch-witz Committee; Joachim Russka of the Center for Jew-ish Culture in Cracow; Ines Doberanzke from the Volk-swagen Company; Helena Wisła, with whom August Kowalczyk tirelessly works to support the construction of Oświęcim hospice; the Direc-tor of Youth Cultural Center Number 2 in Tychy, Teresa M. Wodzicki, whose efforts led to the publishing of the honored guest’s poetry; and, fi nally, representatives of the city, county, and other speak-ers, on behalf of the many in-

stitutions that Mr. Kowalczyk works with. To the surprise of August Kowalczyk and those gathered, the Director of the Tychy Cultural Cent-er, Wojciech Wieczorek and Henryk Kasperek, together with their colleagues gave a rhymed tribute in his honor, fi lled with sparkling wit and a truly Silesian temperament. He was also moved to tears by words of the current IYMC staff, who are bound together by special, almost familial, bond with Mr. Kowalczyk. At the end of this part of the evening, there were many good wishes, fl ow-ers, and presents from other Oświęcim residents, for whom each meeting with the honored guest had its own meaning and value. This part of the evening’s birthday cel-ebration also had a special atmosphere due to the won-derfully performed song by Maria Kudełka—who is well known to the Oświęcim au-dience. However, this was only a taste of how the second part of the evening was to proceed. This was completed by a special concert “Augus-tine’s Symphony,” in which a mixed ensemble of virtuo-sos—instrumentalists as well as vocalists—were conducted by August Kowalczyk him-self. A personal musical dia-logue was held between the guitar virtuosos, brothers Pi-otr and Jan Kudełka as well as the magical violinist Adam Musialski, who was accompa-nied by his sister, Beata. They brilliantly performed works of George Perlman, Felix Mendelssohn, and Astor Piaz-zola—in a blistering manner, fuelling an already scorching atmosphere. Moreover, the masterful performances of virtuosos was accompanied by wonderful interpretations of poems, above all by August Kowalczyk, which were pre-sented by the great Cracow actresses—Ewa Kaim, Beata Paluch, and Anna Radwan Gancarczyk—who made a great impression on none other than the author, not to mention the audience that

they enchanted.August Kowalczyk—the poet, we have only recently met. Not even a year has passed since a volume of his poetry entitled, The Most Dif-fi cult Thing Is to Be with Myself was published. The poems, we should add, are extraordi-nary, because in a very evoca-tive and poignant manner express an attitude, of “sa-voring life” in all its aspects, not just, as one may expect, with the author only gazing through the prism of his dra-matic wartime experiences. It is amazing how it’s fi lled with cheer and confi dence to open itself to the world and people!“Who you really are—no one knows…”—sang the incom-parable Maria Kudełka at the end of the evening. These simple words, from one of the most beautiful Polish songs perfectly exemplifi ed

the renaissance personal-ity of August Kowalczyk—a man, who has reached the, so -called, ripe old age, al-ways has so much more to offer people and the world and continues to humble with his graciousness as well as sympathy… A man, who, of course, continues to surprise us with something new.Ad multos annos, Mr. Kowal-czyk!

Janusz Toczek

Organizers of August Kowalczyk’s birthday celebration were:

The Foundation for the International Youth Meeting

Center in Oświęcim/Auschwitz Memorial Hospice Foundation

of the City of OświęcimThe Rotary Club of Oświęcim

Youth Culture Center Number 1 in Tychy

The Auschwitz -Birkenau State Museum

The International Auschwitz Committee

THE 90TH BIRTHDAY OF AUGUST KOWALCZYK AT THE IYMC

August Kowalczyk lives in Warsaw, but—as he has empha-sized—he always feels at home in Oświęcim and simply calls the International Youth Meeting Center, “home.” However,

this is not only because of the fact that the tragic history of this town near the Soła River had once become entangled with his own fate, when in December of 1940 he was deported here, to Auschwitz, as prisoner number 6804; and then after his courageous escape from the Camp in 1942, he was “born again.” August Kowalczyk’s con-nection to Oświęcim undoubtedly has a more complex dimension, so he decided to celebrate his 90th birthday here, within the walls of his family home.

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During the concert dedicated to August KowalczykAugust Kowalczyk and Director

of the Auschwitz -Birkenau State Museum, Piotr M.A. Cywiński

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August Kowalczyk

August Kowalczyk and Róża Sklorz from Bojszowy


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The awarded project was organized in cooperation with the IYMC, the Middle School of Heepen/Bielefeld, and the FILOMATA Private High School in Gliwice. In all, twenty -fi ve students took part in this endeavor. The seminar participants worked together to decipher the historical site of Auschwitz through the use of literary texts written by survivors—the former pris-oners of the Concentration Camp. In August, during the second part of project, which took place in Bielefeld, Ger-many, the students worked on documenting the project in the form of an exhibition, which they later presented to their colleagues at school. The awards ceremony was held in Frankfurt am Main, in the Imperial Hall at the City Hall. This award is presented by the Evangelical initiative:

“Zeichen der Hoffnung/Signs of Hope eV.” Also awarded, was the project of the “Krzyżowa” foundation —We, the Children of Europe! created for children between the ages of 8 and 14, from var-ious social backgrounds.

The Tadeusz Szymański Award is presented to young individuals or initiatives which work to promote rec-onciliation and understand-ing between Germans and Poles.

Joanna Kleczar

Tadeusz Szymański was born May 18, 1917 in Gostia (Bos-nia). His parents were Polish, and returned to Poland with their son in 1929. After the outbreak of War, he volunteered for the army. On May 2, 1941, he was arrested for belong-ing to the Scouts, and on August 12, 1941, he was deported to Auschwitz. In the camp he worked in Gärtnerei Komman-do in Rajsko, then the Aufnahme Kommando. In the autumn of 1944, he was transferred to the Gross -Rosen sub -camp of Breslau -Lisa, later to the Gross -Rosen Concentration Camp, and from there to Buchenwald. After a successful escape during his transport to Czechoslovakia by train, he regained his freedom on May 1, 1945. In July 1945, Tadeusz Szymański returned home. From 1946 to 1977, he worked at the Auschwitz Museum, initially within the Informa-tion Department, then in the Collections Department. He was also involved in searching for parents of the children of Auschwitz. After his retirement he worked with great commitment with Action Reconciliation/Service for Peace and Signs of Hope. He participated in seminars, met with many groups during their visit to Poland, and he was also invited to meetings with German youth in the Federal Re-public of Germany. For these activities, he was awarded the Theodor Heuss Medal and the Grand Cross of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany.From the beginning he accompanied the IYMC: in a great measure he contributed to the founding of the Center, and later supported its educational activities on various levels. Tadeusz Szymański passed away on August 26, 2002. In 2005, the IYMC organized a Memorial Day, to pay tribute to Tadeusz Szymański. One of the seminar rooms at the Center was named in his honor.

TADEUSZ SZYMAŃSKI

MS3 BAROQUE ENSEMBLE AT THE IYMC

The MS3 Baroque Ensemble includes: Simona Pingitzer, a Slovak fl utist; Aleksandra Pykacz, a Polish cellist; Jakub Junek, a Czech violinist; and a Hungarian classical guitarist, Sándor Mester.

In fact, it is the last of the art-ists named above who, in order to create opportunities for young and talented indi-viduals from Central Europe, came up with the idea for an internet contest, entitled “Klassik Star on -line,” which called out to Slovak, Czech and Polish musicians. “I am aware of the fact that you cannot easily break out pro-fessionally in today’s world. And, of course, for classical musicians, it is essential that they become accustomed to playing on stage and to make it possible for a wider range of the audience to learn their names,” declared Sándor Mester.It is worth mentioning that Mester is not only a master guitarist, but he is also active in promoting music. Dur-ing the last six years, he has played concerts in twelve

countries, making an effort to expose school children, small villages and towns, to classical music. This year, in villages in Hungary that have a primarily Roma population, he organized a concert series under the name “Concert for Roma.” In April, his concert tour included the countries of Slovakia, the Ukraine, Ro-mania, and Serbia, under the name Bakfark -Bartók. During the summer, he per-formed over fi fty concerts in small towns and villages in Slovakia. The “Klassik Star on -line” contest as well as the or-ganization of the concert tour, was made possible due to the support of the IVF (International Visegrad Fund), and is a musical ex-periment on the scale of to-day’s e -civilization. And it

resulted in the creation of a virtual—at least for a visit to Oświęcim—quartet. “Personally, I have not met with the musicians yet, I do not know who they are, and we have only been in e -mail contact. I have seen videos of them performing on Youtube. Each is a great musician. I am also very excited that Dariusz Przybylski has written a piece for us. I am very excited about the tour,” Sándor Mester said before he arrived at the IYMC, where—just before the performance—the artists had their fi rst occasion to play to-gether.The virtuoso skills of the rath-er young artists, both dur-ing their solo performances, and—what is particularly worthy of admiration—im-

peccably played songs to-gether, were in full view of the guests who gathered on September 29 at the Interna-tional Youth Meeting Center. The over one -hour long con-cert, which was a presentation of mostly Baroque composi-tions, but also an experimen-tal “Discours 3”—a work that was especially composed for this occasion by the young Polish composer, Dariusz Przybylski—was awarded with a great ovation.The future holds eleven more concerts, where the musi-cians will play together. The guest for the last fi nal con-cert, which will take place in Budapest, will be the Slovak fl utist, Ivica Gabrišova En-cingerova.

Joanna Klęczar

On the second to last evening of September at the International Youth Meeting Center, sounds of baroque musical masterpieces rang out. They were performed by the exceptional Hungarian-

-Polish -Czech -Slovak quartet, MS3 Baroque Ensemble. The concert, or-ganized in cooperation with the Foundation Judaica—Jewish Cultural Centre in Cracow, inaugurated a tour by the four musicians that in-cludes twelve concerts in the countries from which the ensemble mem-bers come from.

THE TADEUSZ SZYMAŃSKI AWARD FOR THE IYMC IN OŚWIĘCIM

On September 1, 2011, Foundation for the International Youth Meeting Center (IYMC) received the Tadeusz Szymański Award of 2011 for the project entitled The fate of Poles and Jews

persecuted during the Second World War and the Holocaust in the light of post -War Polish and German literature—searching for traces.

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MS3 Baroque Ensemble During concert in MDSM

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From the left: Elżbieta Pasternak, MDSM Oświęcim, Lars Meyer, Gymnazium Heepen/Bielefeld, Elke Schulze,

Association of “Signs of Hope”, Frankfurt Men, Magdalena Cholewa, Private High School FILOMATA, Gliwice,

Bartosz Kordala, Private High School FILOMATA, Gliwice

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Sandor Mester


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YEHUDA BACON, GUEST OF THE IYMC

The artist came to Oświęcim straight from Prague, where on September 8 he had had the opening of his exhibition, Yehuda Bacon. Returns Home—retrospective exhibition of an im-portant Israeli painter with roots in Czechoslovakia. For his sons, this was their fi rst visit to the country where their father had been born on July 29, 1929 in Ostrava, to a Hasidic fam-ily. In the spring of 1942, the entire family was deported to the Theresienstadt Ghetto. In December 1943, Yehuda was transported to the Auschwitz Concentration and Death Camp, where, together with other children in the so -called “family camp,” he was sup-posed to “enchant” the rep-resentatives of the Red Cross. In reality, the “boys of Birk-enau,” were used to do trans-port duties around the site of

the entire Auschwitz Camp. In June 1944, Bacon saw his father for the very last time, as he was being led away to the gas chamber. Then also his mother and sister, Hanna, were deported to the Stutthof Concentration Camp, where they perished just a few weeks before the liberation. On January 18, 1945, with the death march, Bacon was evacuated to Mauthausen, and later to Gunskirchen, where on May 5, after spend-ing several months in the in-humanly cruel conditions, he was liberated. After his recov-ery, fi rst at a hospital in Steyr, and then in a convent run by Catholic nuns, he returned to Prague hoping to fi nd his loved ones there. Thanks to Czech educator and humani-tarian Přemyslav Pitterov, who managed an orphanage,

opened in the Štiřin castle near Prague, he found him-self back in reality, but with-out his own family. In 1946, he departed for Palestine. Currently, he lives with his wife and sons in Jerusalem.Yehuda Bacon specifi cally wanted to fi rst stop and spend time in Oświęcim at the International Youth Meeting Center. Both he, and equally, his wife Leah were very posi-tively impressed with the bright and open space within the Center as well as the at-mosphere found there. After an exhausting day spent with the past, at the historic site of the former Terezín Ghetto, which they visited on their way to Oświęcim, the meet-ing they had with the group of young people at the IYMC was a lovely change. The day following their ar-rival in Oświęcim, Leah along with her sons, for the fi rst time confronted the place where her husband and the sons’ father could have lost his life. Yehuda was their guide. Equipped with a Dictaphone and camera, they listened to his stories in suspense. Other Museum visitors could easily tell that they were facing a Witness to this history. Some, such as the son of a Dutch survivor, a photographer working on a project about Auschwitz at the university in Amsterdam, or the group of young people from Norway, walked up to Yehuda and asked questions or just simply stood and lis-

tened to his words. And he spoke, explained, and an-swered questions, including those asked by individuals he did not know and those that came from the mouths of his sons. He spoke continu-ously. At Crematorium IV, he lit a candle and said the Kaddish for those murdered, especially the members of the Sonderkommando whom he had personally known. When his voice broke, his son Benja-min fi nished the prayer. The Meeting Center, so full of life as well as young peo-ple, seemed to be a different world to the Bacon family; the other side of the world, when compared to the time spent on the site of the former Camp, it was a type of oasis before and after the visit to the Memorial Site. For Yehuda Bacon, it was also important

to witness the fact that young people still come to visit this site and are also interested in the fate of those murdered there. He also found the time to meet with the partici-pants of the Polish -German youth exchange of students from Volkswagen Coach-ing GmbH from Brunswig, Salzgitter, and the School District of Bieruń, as well as to have a short talk with Christoph Heubner (Interna-tional Auschwitz Committee) and Olga Onyszkiewicz, the manager of the Educational- -Program Department at the IYMC. Who knows, perhaps in the near future, we will have the opportunity to admire the works of Yehuda Bacon in Oświęcim as well…

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From 11 to 13 of September 2011, the famous Israeli artist, Yehuda Bacon, together with his wife Leah as well as sons Benjamin and Hannan, visited Oświęcim for the second time in their lives. He wanted to show his loved ones the Concentration Camp in which he had been a prisoner, and in which his father had been murdered.

SCHOLARSHIPS AWARDED

On September 29, at the International Youth Meeting Center, the offi cial presentation of scholarships from the Fund Named in Honor of Stanisław and Maria Neumann, which has been

operating within the Foundation for the IYMC for eleven years.

This year’s winners of the scholarship are Rafał Ko-piasz and Marta Kozłowska, graduates of the Stanisław Konarski High School. From October, Rafał will be study-ing biotechnology at the Department of Chemistry at the Warsaw University of Technology, while Marta will study at the University of Mining and Metallurgy in Cracow.

The goal of the Fund is to support education of the talented youth of the city and county of Oświęcim. This fi nancing is meant for high school students, who are about to graduate and want to continue their education at institution of higher education. The panel composed of: Alicja Bartuś, Leszek Szuster, and Janusz Toczek, as according to the

will of Maria and Stanisław Neuman, decided on the se-lection of grant recipients, taking into account their extraordinary talents that have been confi rmed by their grades, fi nancial situ-ation, as well as other ac-tivities undertaken by the young people.

Agata Dworzak

This year’s scholarship: Rafał Kopiasz i Marta Kozłowska with representatives of the Fund: Janusz Toczek i Leszek Szuster

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Meeting with Yehuda Bacon

Meeting with Yehuda Bacon

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Twenty-two students par-ticipated in this joint Polish- -German project, which was developed thanks to the cooperation between Irena Jagiełek, Agnieszka Jakubowska as well as Magdalena Juszkiewicz from School No. 1 of the Wadowice District, together with Ernst Dertmann and Michael Finkemeier of Pax Christi in Münster.August 29 saw the fi rst meet-ing of the groups. It was an integration workshop, in which the young people through interviews as well as making sketches of each other tried to get as much in-formation about themselves as possible; this helped to allay fears of mutual accept-ance and linguistic misun-derstandings. The very same day, the participants learned about the history of the city, visited the Jewish Center, and the Saint Maximilian Kolbe Church. During the next two days the group visited the former Auschwitz -Birkenau Con-centration and Death Camp, where they recited Psalms and prayed for the victims of the Holocaust. At the Death Wall, the Crematorium, and the Monument to the Victims of Auschwitz, the partici-pants laid fl owers, a symbol of remembrance as well as reconciliation. Each evening there was time set aside for refl ection.Visiting the Memorial Site had a profound impact on

the young people and awoke various emotions in them. One of the seminar par-ticipants, Natalia Książek, recounted later: “Visiting Auschwitz. Each reacted differently to this phrasing. The Poles were sometimes reluctant, because they had previously visited this site, others could feel the negative emotions emanating from that spot a kilometer away. The Germans were more in-terested in how it truly looks. However, we all fell into a state of melancholy, we em-pathized with the happen-ings of that time period while reading the Psalms and po-

ems. Divided into a few two -, three -person Polish -German groups, we visited the na-tional exhibits at the former Main Camp. This event was something groundbreaking, at least from the perspec-tive of my little group. In the company of two Germans we were visiting the exhibi-tion in the block dedicated to Holland. While in their presence, I did not feel any differences between us, noth-ing that would differentiate us. I did not look upon them as those who were guilty for this. Together we were experiencing something dif-fi cult and exceptional which

is hard to put into words. We looked at the photographs and were moved by the sight of the persecuted Jews. This place is so overwhelming, that makes you plunge into refl ection about the mean-ing of life. Looking at the last element of the exhibition, a large wall fi lled with the full names of the murdered Jews, we felt completely over-whelmed and terrifi ed. Such a thorough and complete sight brought home to us how many innocent people were killed during the war in the concentration camps. But it is precisely through this deep, common experience that we became closer with one another.”The last days in Oświęcim were devoted to a joint

workshop. The pantomime on “Palace on Albatross Island” done by the mod-erators Adrian Fijołek and Aleksandra Jaworski was a prelude to a workshop on cultures. Why is it important to learn about the history and customs of other nations? How do you defend yourself against prejudice? How can you learn to be open towards cultures of other nations? These were the questions that emerged during the workshop.The workshop on destroying stereotypes encouraged the young Poles and Germans to create a portrait of a typi-cal German and typical Pole, and then to confront that im-age with reality. As it turns out, the stereotypes that are

present in society are not true. Our common visit to Oświęcim strengthened ties between the two groups and helped build greater trust and openness in relation to each other. The next day the young people from Wado-wice, enthusiastically guided our German friends around their school. Together they viewed a presentation that consisted of photographs previously taken during our visit, commemorating these few days spent together. Later, they visited the city and savored the taste of the famous cream cakes from Wadowice.During the fi nal week, the group spent time visiting Cracow, touring Kazimierz, Wawel and the Old Town. One of the participants re-calls the week spent together: “It went by as if it was a sin-gle day; with regret and long-ing, we had to part ways. The young people from Germany taught us a different, better approach to life and very useful discussion skills. And so, with full sincerity, I can say that this was an extraor-dinary meeting.”

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On the path of memory and reconciliation: from Wadowice and Mün-ster to Auschwitz—is the title of the workshops that took place from August 29 until September 2, 2011 at the Center for Dia-

logue and Prayer in Oświęcim.

ON THE PATH OF MEMORY AND RECONCILIATION

An international Catho-lic organization, which works for peace, justice, and reconciliation, that was founded in France in 1945. Currently, it is active in 60 countries, on fi ve continents around the world.

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Integration workshop

Participants during their visit at the Auschwitz Memorial

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Integration workshop

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Oś—Oświęcim, People, History, Culture magazine, no. 34, October 2011 Center for Dialogue and Prayer Foundation

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History

Former Auschwitz prisoner, Artur Krzetuski recounts the history of their creation: “Ar-tistic blacksmithing was treas-ured by Müller [the Comman-dant’s Subordinate]—he saw himself as an artist—and due to this … he believed that ar-tistic metalwork was a proto- -German art. Kurt was able to gain, thanks to support of the Bauleiter all the literature he could on the subject: works, very thoroughly written, that presented examples of opu-lent works of art, and he used

to draw inspiration from this. On one of the illustrations, he noticed the fence of a palace, which had a stylized sign of the Zodiac on each of its pan-els. And because of this, he had an idea: each person was born under one of the twelve signs of the Zodiac, and it was proper that this symbol would hang above their bed. … And thus, a kind of mass produc-tion industry was created, be-cause soon any self -respecting SS man considered it to be symbol of dignity to have his own zodiac sign. This produc-tion seemed to have continued until the very end of the iron-works.”Years later, Jan Liwacz re-called: “The signs of the Zo-diac were crafted using three millimeter thick sheet metal. It was at Industriehof Schlosserei that I completed thirty sets of these signs. Each set consisted of twelve pieces. The forging

of the ornamental pieces was my task, but my colleagues also assisted me. The thirty sets were packed and then shipped away. Who the recipients were and where they were sent—that I do not know. The work order was from the Bauleitung, and as far as I recall, none other than the Commandant of the camp signed this order. The Zodiac signs that I made had a 30 -centimeter diameter. Each had a square metal -wire frame, which I screwed togeth-er while it was till hot, then stamped fl at. My guess is that these signs of the Zodiac were shipped to and made avail-able for some purpose to the SS, and perhaps they were the personal presents from Com-mandant Höss to his superiors as well as friends.”Jan Liwacz created copies of the twelve Zodiac Signs in 1969. Agnieszka Sieradzka

Collections Depatment, A -BSM

Born on May 16, 1930 in Oświęcim, the daughter of Władysław and Zofi a, née Kała. Her father was head of the local butchers’ guild and owned a butcher shop in Oświęcim. Her siblings were Karolina (born 1924), Stanisława (1925), Andrzej (1927), Henryk (1928), Tade-usz (1931), and Jerzy (1938). She attended public school in her hometown, and also joined the scouts. In 1938, the Smrek family moved to Bohu-mi in Zaolzie. They returned to Oświęcim after the outbreak of the war, and narrowly avoid-ed expulsion to the General Government.In 1942, teenage Władysława Smrek, known as “Sabcia,” joined the effort to aid Ausch-

witz prisoners. Together with her elder sisters Karolina and Stanisława, she joined forces with other local girls who all knew each other from scout-ing. Early in the morning, she sneaked into the exclu-sion zone around the camp and left food and medicine in hiding places in the ruins of demolished houses. She col-lected correspondence that the prisoners left there. During the day, when she saw labor gangs working outside the camp, she cautiously approached the SS guards, attempting to bribe them into permitting her to give food to the prison-ers. She began her campaign in the town and commune of Oświęcim, and later expanded it to other places, including Budy, Łęki, and Zasole. She was employed as a domes-tic helper in the home of one of the SS men from the camp garrison, and this gave her the freedom to move around the exclusion zone directly adja-cent to the Auschwitz I -Main Camp. She could therefore meet the prisoners face to face.

She maintained close contact with the prisoner Maria Ślisz, one of the women involved in the resistance movement inside the camp, to whom she gave food. Ślisz, in turn, hand-ed her secret messages and private letters from prisoners. Władysława gave this corre-spondence to her uncle, Józef Piotrowski, an engineer on the railroad who belonged to the Home Army. Władysława’s parents were able to keep the butcher shop open until 1941, and they supplied foodstuffs to various people involved in the relief effort, including the Seraphic Sisters in Oświęcim, who cooked high -calorie soup for the prisoners laboring near-by. Her parents also acquired medicine and bandages for the prisoners. They bribed an SS man to allow them to sup-ply food for two of the priests imprisoned there, Rajmund Kolbe and Karol Golda. In the fall of 1943, they sheltered an escapee from the camp, a young prisoner named Jerzy Bielczyk; after the war, he married Władysława’s sister,

Stanisława. In January 1945, they sheltered fi ve prisoners—Mieczysław Zawadzki, Wo-jciech Kozłowski, Stanisław Załęski, Tadeusz Baut, and Al-fred Barabasz—who escaped during the evacuation march. Immediately after liberation, they took in two more former prisoners.After the war, Władysława went back to public school and then graduated from the Pri-vate Commercial Gimnazjum in Oświęcim and the Eco-nomics Vocational School in Cieszyn. She worked in vari-ous jobs, including managerial positions, in the Communal Peasant Self -Help Cooperative and the Universal Food Coop-erative in Oświęcim. She mar-ried Adam Jastrzębski in 1950,

and they have two children. From 1974 to 1984, she was a town councilwoman on the Municipal People’s Council in Oświęcim. For her services, she has been awarded the Gold Cross of Service.She resides in Oświęcim. She is in possession of various mem-orabilia given to her family by the prisoners as tokens of gratitude for their help. These include wooden chests (one of them carved by Bronisław Czech, a skier who competed in the Olympics), metal rings, miniature portraits, letters, and hand -decorated cards. She has donated some of these items to the collections of the Auschwitz -Birkenau State Museum in Oświęcim.

Mirosław Obstarczyk

WŁADYSŁAWA SMREK (born 1930; married name: Jastrzębska)

PEOPLE OF GOOD WILL

VESTIGES OF HISTORY FROM THE COLLECTIONS OF THE AUSCHWITZ MUSEUM

Within the metal workshop of the camp, some of the items created were works of artistic blacksmithing. Ornamental chandeliers, wall lamps, candleholders, inkwells, ashtrays,

as well as small decorative boxes were made there. The many deco-rative objects were meant for, among others, the offi ces of the SS, the “Haus der Waffen SS” hotel, for private homes of SS men, and for the private garden of Commandant Rudolf Höss. Working at the camp’s metal workshop, was Jan Liwacz— an artist and blacksmith , the creator of a series of Zodiac Symbols.

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Though the townspeople do not pay much attention to the evidence that remains of those times, they do pay attention to the current names of certain locations. For the residents of Oświęcim, this is a city with 800 years worth of history, but to the visiting tourists, it is Auschwitz—the largest cem-etery on Earth. It is essential to remember that the tragic fi ve -year period experienced by our town cannot conceal the positive history created by the multiple generations that had built this city. We should be grateful to them for the fact that, before the outbreak of the Second World War, Oświęcim was one of the fastest develop-ing cities in Poland. While, I don’t want my hometown to be exclusively associated with Auschwitz, I believe that it is essential to save and preserve all that remains, the good as well as the tragic, of this city’s history.

Not long ago, a friend of mine informed me that in the attic of a building, which was con-structed by the Germans, and where she currently lives, she found something interesting. Scratched onto the wall of the chimney there is a swastika, a date, and most probably someone’s name. Without hesitation, I went into the attic to take a look at this curiosity. Of course, the years as well as renovations have taken their toll and made this diffi cult to decipher in the photograph, but please believe me—it is clearly visible to the naked eye. From what I can tell, it seems that the date is “1943” and the rest of what is writ-ten was scratched into freshly laid plaster, while the build-ing was under construction. I hope that I will be able to learn more on the subject of the name that appears on that chimney.

Mirosław Ganobis

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Though many years have passed since the end of the Second World War, many citizens of our town do not realize what

has survived of this period to this day. Look-ing around, only some of these objects can be seen. Most often associated with what hap-pened here over sixty years ago are the for-mer Auschwitz -Birkenau Concentration and Death Camp as well as the buildings within the city’s center.

One of the Zodiac Signs made by Jan Liwacz

Inscriptions engraved in one of the buildings of Oświęcim


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PHOTO JOURNAL

On 18 September this year Jewish Center organized project “Rabbi

comes to the Father.”

Concerto Curve Alternatives and Enej“Christian Jewish Relations in prewar Oświęcim”

—presentation by Dr. Artur Szyndler

Oszpicin City Game

Painting a mural commemorating the pre war friendship of Rabbi Bombach and a Father SkarbekEnej team in the synagogue Chevra Lomdei Mishnayot

Mural commemorating the pre war friendship between the priest and the rabbi by Sławek Czajkowski

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Photographer

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about righteous in penitentiaries forbidden art august kowalczyk

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