MIDDLE SCHOOL STUDENTS FROM MURANÓW TOOK PART IN WORKSHOPS ABOUT THE RIGHTEOUS

KJ, 16 November 2016
This year marks the 70th anniversary of the creation of the “Żygota” Council to Aid Jews, a state organisation that provided aid to Jews during the occupation. In order to commemorate the anniversary, the “Polish Righteous – Recalling Forgotten History” project organised a series of educational workshops dedicated to the subject of rescuing Jews from the Holocaust.

Pupils from the complex of schools (Społeczne Gimnazjum no. 55 and Społeczne Gimnazjum no. 7) located on Karmelicka Street in Warsaw were invited to take part in the workshops, which took place on 15 and 22 October in the school building. They were conducted by Jagna Kofta, an educator and a partner of the Museum of the History of Polish Jews.

Workshops for middle school students were based on creative presentation of chosen stories of rescuing Jews. Students were divided into groups, which were then responsible for learning more about one of the people who rescued Jewish people during the occupation, either individually or through the “Żegota” Council. Next, the students were asked to create posters presenting the story and to give a presentation on the person they learned about to the rest of the participants.

High school students took part in workshop organised around the educational scenario called “Hostility, indifference, help”, drawn up by the team of the “Polish Righteous – Recalling Forgotten History” project. The participants were asked to read provided materials and use them to analyse different attitudes of Poles towards Jews in the times of occupation. Having been divided into groups, they learned more about different stories of Poles rescuing Jews and about the problems faced by those people. They also discussed the relations between the rescued and the rescuers after the war.

Jagna Kofta coordinated the work done independently by the students and continuously provided the participants of the workshop with relevant historical data.

The workshops will be concluded on 4 December, when the students will gather at the monument to “Żegota,” located on Zamenhofa Street in Warsaw, next to the entrance of the Museum of the History of Polish Jews. The meeting can be also attended by other schools located in Muranów.