Workshops on the Righteous

KJ, 16 November 2016
The Jewish Theatre in Warsaw was the venue, on 21st May, for educational youth workshops organised as part of the celebrations marking 100 years since the birth of Swedish diplomat Raoul Wallenberg who, in 1944-1945, saved thousands of Jews in Budapest.

The topic of the workshops was the stories of help extended to Jews, during World War II, by the Righteous Among the Nations. Sessions were organised within the “Polish Righteous – Recalling Forgotten History” project, and were conducted by staff members, Marta Pietrzykowską and Jagna Kofta. Around fifty students from several junior high schools took part.

Students learned of the situation for both Jews and Poles during World War II and about the attitudes of Poles towards Jews. They were also told about the various forms of help that Poles extended to Jews.

The young people were then divided into six groups. Each group heard the story of a specific Righteous, one among them being Raoul Wallenberg. The students were then given the task of creating a poster depicting the story which they had been told, and then presenting it to the rest of the workshop participants. Leaders coordinated the independent work of the students.

Following this task, the students then had the chance to listen to a witness of history, Batszewa Dagan, an Israeli writer, who, as a young girl, ended up in Auschwitz. Batszewa spoke of her youth during the War and about the fate of her family.

Translation: Andrew Rajcher