International congress "Jewish Cultural Heritage: Practices, Perspectives, Challenges"

• 10.00 AM - 10.20 AM – Official opening of the Jewish Cultural Heritage international congress


• 10.20 AM - 11.00 AM – Opening of the main session: key lecture "Are we responsible for the past? On learning how to draw lessons from history", Prof. Dariusz Stola
  
  The lecture will present moments in Polish history when policies towards the Jews and other minorities shaped the character of the Polish statehood. These policies are proved to be consequential for all the citizens, including future generations. In this context, the connection between our actions and the future, including the shape of institutions that represent the past is essential.

• "Being Jewish in a multicultural society: from a particular to a universal minority consciousness," Cora Alexa-Døving (HL-Senteret)
  
  How is Jewish identity constructed in relation to Muslims, Norway’s largest minority group? The presentation will be based on a selection of public expressions of Jewish identity in which parallels to Muslims are drawn. I argue that the way in which identity is expressed today is linked to changes in the main way in which antisemitism is understood and discussed in the Norwegian public sphere.


• "Narratives about Jews among Muslims in Norway," Vibeke Moe (HL-Senteret)
  
  Based on qualitative interview data, Vibeke Moe’s presentation explores narratives about Jews among Muslims in Norway. Drawing on culturally embedded narratives as well as personal experiences, interviewees have reflected on the relationship between Jews and Muslims. The narratives delineate shifting community boundaries and identifications that transcend dichotomised notions of "Muslims versus Jews."


• "Where are we heading? Where do we come from?: migrants and refugees in Poland," Agnieszka Kosowicz (Polish Migration Forum)
  
  The contribution summarises the practical experience of supporting integration of migrants and refugees in Poland. Hosting others is a skill, that needs to be taught and nurtured. Being a newcomer requires courage and openness to change. The new reality, where migration is a common element of life, calls us to rethink our identities and the concept of what a community is. Learning from the past we should re-examine how we suport each other as humans, what gives us the feeling of security and how to address our fears.

• 12.30 PM - 12.45 PM – Coffee break

• "On history as an anti-discrimination and civic educational tool (for police, border and prison guards)," Julia Chimiak, Mariusz Jastrząb (POLIN Museum)


• "Film trends and how they can be used as educational tools for the youth," Dorota Siarkowska, Hanna Kłoszewska (POLIN Museum)


• "Herstory is history, too," Katarzyna Jakubowicz, Katarzyna Jankowska (POLIN Museum)


• "Digital networking: methods for dissemination, promotion and networking online resources at POLIN," Klara Jackl (POLIN Museum)


• "Remembering by Listening (musical events and commemoration)," Kajetan Prochyra (POLIN Museum)


• "History = yawn? How to get young people interested in history – case study of the ‘Daffodils’ campaign," Zofia Bojańczyk (POLIN Museum)


• "Projects dedicated to people with disabilities," Wioletta Jóźwiak (POLIN Museum)


• "Polish-Ukrainian meetings: Programs for Minorities," Marianna Shpak (POLIN Museum)


• "The Polin Award," Radosław Wójcik (POLIN Museum)

• 2.15 PM - 3.00 PM – Lunch break

• "Contested histories," Bojana Dujkovic-Blagojevic (European Wergeland Center)
  
  The presentation will be focused on commmemoration and remembrance. The opening topic: evolution of narratives regarding Sarajevo assassination with reference to the changing ideological and political agenda will open a discussion about patriotic acts and their justification. The paper will also refer to contemporary topics, identity issues, the importance of historical contextualization and terminology.


• "War experience and its impact on mobilization of the Roma community," Joanna Talewicz ("W Stronę Dialogu" Foundation)
  
  The speech will be related to the initiatives of Roma communities in Europe, which, by creating organizations, coalitions and institutions, oppose the marginalization of Roma history, thus fighting for a dignified place among the victims of wars and crises. The activities of Roma communities also contributes to the creation of new narratives and building an alternative image of Roma in Poland and other European countries.

Participants:

• Kateryna Babkina (writer and poet, Ivano-Frankivsk, Ukraine)
• Patrycja Dołowy (Jewish Community Center in Warsaw, Poland)
• Jagoda Grondecka (journalist, Middle-East topics, Warsaw, Poland)

In light of the most fierce Hamas' attack on Israel in recent years and the suspension of flights it has triggered, Prof. Avishai Margalit will not be able to attend the debate titled "Minorities at the Time of Global Crises" on 19 October, 5 PM.

• 8.00 PM – Open banquet for the participants of the congress (main hall)

• "’Education crossing borders’ – lessons learned from AEJM’s Museum Education Seminars and Training (MEST) development program," Vidar Anne Paulsen (Oslo Jewish Museum), Eva Koppen (AEJM*)
  
  In the years 2021-2023, educators from Jewish Museums met online and off-line in order to learn from one another and from external experts. This session will deal with the lessons learned during last three years, and discuss the implications these newly acquired perspectives have had for the future of MEST development program.
  
  *AEJM – Association of European Jewish Museums

• "Non-obvious (?) identity. Oral history program at POLIN Museum as a participatory project: sources of authenticity, values and relations between individuals and their communities," Józef Markiewicz (POLIN Museum)
  
  POLIN Museum's oral history activities are a form of dialogue and cooperation with the audience, during which the identity of the interlocutors is negotiated and reconstructed. The identity of the Museum itself is constantly being created. This way it becomes a "social entity," enabling discussion around the history and heritage of Polish Jews. The presentation focuses on the role of oral history in creating a social image and role of the Museum, as well as the involvement of witnesses of history in the creation of this collection.

• 11.30 AM - 11.45 AM – Coffee break

• "Presence, non-presence and the burden of memory of the old borderland," Karolina and Piotr Jakoweńko (Brama Cukermana Foundation)
  
  Since 2008, the "Cukerman’s Gate" Foundation has been protecting the historic Jewish prayer house in Będzin. This site has grown to become an inspiration to undertake more extensive activities in the field of popularizing knowledge about the history of Jews from the Zagłębie Dąbrowskie and Upper Silesia regions. On one hand, the memory of the old borderland fascinates with the myth of multiculturalism; on the other, it is tragic, full of animosity and gaps on the map of history.


• "Preserving the memory of Jews—the example of activities pursued by the community of Mińsk Mazowiecki," Katarzyna Łaziuk
  
  Olga Kaczmarek, holds a Ph.D. in cultural studies and is a lecturer at the Institute of Polish Culture at the University of Warsaw. She was a Fulbright fellow at Penn State University in 2012/2013. She previously collaborated with the POLIN Museum of the History of Polish Jews on The Polish Righteous program and worked as a Forum for Dialogue educator.

• 1.15 PM - 2.00 PM – Lunch break

Speakers:

Facilitator: to be announced.

• Dorota Siarkowska (POLIN Museum)
• Małgorzata Waszczuk (POLIN Museum)
• Anna Czerwińska (POLIN Museum)
• Norwegian Partners

• 3.30 PM - 3.45 PM – Coffee break

• "Monuments 2.0 - New forms of commemoration that we all need*(*definitely in Poland)," Zofia Bojańczyk (POLIN Museum)
  
  The time of statues on plinths and commemorative plaques has certainly come to an end. New engaging—albeit shocking at time—ways of pointing to what is important to us and what we should remember are required. How do we talk about local history, including Jewish history, and commemorate it in a way that takes into account a full range of voices, perspectives and experiences? Is there any form of commemoration adequate enough to fill the void in the face of the tragedy of the Holocaust?


• "Sites and Actors: linking the national with the transnational," Anette Storeide (Falstad Center)
  
  By focusing too hard on the local dynamics of a story connected to only one place, one risks dismissing the dynamics of how the Holocaust as a transnationally organized destruction of European Jewry involved many different actors whose functions and affiliations often changed. Salient and valuable perspectives on perpetrators and their roles might get dismissed, or be ignored, due to their actions at a later stage of the war. The figure of the last commander of SS strafgefangenenlager Falstad, Karl Denk will be presented.


• "A Mosaic of Individual Stories: The Post-Holocaust Restitution of Norwegian-Jewish Property," Elise Barring Berggren (Norwegian University of Science and Technology)
  
  During the Holocaust in Norway, the perpetrators confiscated all homes, possessions, and businesses belonging to Norwegian Jews. After the war was over, Holocaust survivors attempting to rebuild their homes were confronted with a complicated bureaucracy of restitution institutions. The large source material left from this process gives a unique glimpse into Norwegian-Jewish life immediately after the genocide and into how the Norwegian state treated Holocaust survivors. In her doctoral project the author is analyzing the sources from the restitution of the property of every single Norwegian–Jewish individual, doing a national-scale analysis using methods that in most other countries would only be possible in local studies.

• 5.15 PM - 5.30 PM – Closing speeches

18 October (Wednesday)

• 6.00 PM – "Illuminating the non-representable," ANG, Prof. Hilde Kramer (University of Bergen)
  
  "Illuminating the Non-Representable" is an artistic research project funded by the Norwegian Artistic (Research Program (NARP). Asking how illustration in an expanded approach may communicate profound human issues typically considered unrepresentable, this project explores representation and the narratives of "us" and "the others" in the contemporary world through illustration as starting-point for cross-disciplinary projects.

19 October (Thursday)

• 11.00 AM – Mikołaj Grynberg in conversation with Joanna Fikus, PL
  
  Mikołaj Grynberg, a Polish artist, photographer, writer and reporter. Author of, among others, "I accuse Auschwitz. Family Stories" (2014), "The Book of Exodus" (2018) or "Confidential" (2020). In an conversation with Joanna Fikus, he will talk about his latest book devoted to the migration crisis on the Polish-Belarusian border.

• 11.00 AM and 2.00 PM – Historical walk: "History of (non)agreement. Stereotypes and Prejudices in Polish-Jewish Relations," ENG


• 11.00 AM and 2.00 PM – Historical walk: "Jewish sites in Warsaw," PL


• 12.45 PM and 3.00 PM – "Gamification in education," ENG, Karolina Jastrzębska-Mitzner (POLIN Museum / Innowatorium Foundation)
  
  During the workshop, we will present our educational game titled "Museum in a box. Malki's Town" and will discuss the possibilities of using this example of "gamification" in the educational process. We will also answer questions about the design, manufacturing and implementing this tool.

• 12.45 PM and 3.00 PM – "Zoom on antisemitism," ENG, Dagmara Mańka Wizor, Małgorzata Zając (POLIN Museum)
  
  How does anti-Semitism manifest itself today? Where does it come from? How to respond to it effectively? During the workshop, we will take a closer look at the conclusions of research on anti-Semitism conducted by POLIN Museum in 2022.

• 12.45 PM (ENG) and 3.00 PM (PL) – "Exhibits, microhistories, testimonies," Franciszek Bojańczyk, Krzysztof Czajka-Kalinowski (Jewish Historical Institute)
  
  In the digital collection of the Emanuel Ringelblum Jewish Historical Institute, over 82,000 objects have already been made available – that's about a million pages! During the workshop, we will present our methods of preparing educational and social programs based on these materials and devoted to the history and culture of Polish Jews.

• 12.45 PM and 3.00 PM – On the intercity digitization of Judaica: "Collection on wheels," ENG, Marcin Lewicki (POLIN Museum)
  
  During the presentation, we will explain what tasks and challenges should be met in order to carry out "intercity" activities aimed at digitization of Judaica collections scattered in museums located in several regions of Poland.

• 12.45 PM and 3.00 PM – "Memory dialogues on antisemitism and racism - summary of international and interdisciplinary seminars for students and experts from Germany, Norway and Poland," Irmgard Zündorf (Leibniz Centre for Contemporary History Potsdam), Kathrin Lemme (Hamburg Media School), Thomasa Lewe, Jon Harman (Volda University)
  
  Recognizing, counteracting and preventing antisemitism and racism are increasingly important issues for contemporary societies and communities. As brutalization in our societies seems to be on the rise in both the physical and digital worlds, the number of discriminatory incidents related to racism and antisemitism seems to be increasing accordingly. During the seminars, participants developed anti-discrimination activities and media projects.

20 October (Friday)

• 10.00 AM and 2.00 PM – Historical walk: "History of (non)agreement. Stereotypes and Prejudices in Polish-Jewish Relations," ENG


• 10.00 AM and 2.00 PM – Historical walk: "Jewish sites in Warsaw," PL


• 2.00 PM and 3.45 PM – "Is this a human being?," a workshop for educators of secondary and high schools, ENG, Sebastian Klein (Falstad Centre)
  
  The workshop is aimed at exploring possible strategies of spectator/participants involvement by communicating Holocaust-related topics through aesthetic means and the use of tactility, drawing and digital instruments. We are trying to see how this method can affect learning in the form of increased interest and activity among students and pupils.

• 2.00 PM and 3.45 PM – "How to handle controversial issues in the classroom: a first aid kit," ENG, Khrystyna Chushak (Euroean Wergeland Center)
  
  Divisive issues often crop up in school settings and can disrupt a lesson flow. In the workshop we will explore effective techniques for facilitating respectful and constructive discussions around sensitive topics, focusing on activities requiring a little time. This workshop is designed to equip educators with a ‘first aid kit’ of activities that that can be implemented right away in the classroom.

• 2.00 PM and 3.45 PM – Personal stories in the dissemination of the Holocaust, ENG, Maria Eberson Degnaes, Kristin Borgenheim Nyhagen (HL-Senteret)
  
  In this workshop we would like to invite participants to test some of the educational materials used in HL-Senteret educational programs and engage in a discussion about educational concepts: how can life stories and family stories become milestones in reaching wider historical topics? How can personal stories give insight into the complex aspects of Holocaust history in ways that other forms of dissemination cannot?

• 2.00 PM and 3.45 PM – Cooking workshop and presentation: "Shabbat rugelachs," ENG, Agnieszka Kuś (POLIN Museum)
  
  Shabbat dinner is held every Friday evening. It is an opportunity to prepare traditional dishes. On the table there will be, among others, challahs, czulent or gefilte fisz. We invite you to a culinary workshop in our educational space "U Fani," during which we will learn about the culinary customs associated with the Shabbat and we will prepare one of the tastiest Shabbat desserts – rugelachy, or Jewish croissants.

Organizational information

Participation in the congress is free, registration is required.

The second stage of registration is planned for September 2023.

• Registered participants will receive certificates of participation in the congress.
• The congress will be interpreted simultaneously into Polish and English.
• We provide access to an induction loop during the whole event.
• Please report your need for sign language translation and other possible accessibility needs at [email protected]

Early registration is closed and allows you to, among others:

• submit an application for travel subsidy in the amount of 500PLN gross to cover the cost of travel and accommodation in Warsaw (the interactive application form will be sent in a message automatically generated by the registration system), check travel subsidy instructions;
• priority registration for workshop sessions, online meetings, and additional events (approx. 20 accompanying events in total);
• participate in a banquet on October 19;
• free catering as part of the congress program on October 19-20;
• priority to use the offer for families at the King Matt’s Family Education Area.

"Jewish Cultural Heritage" was a project implemented by POLIN Museum of the History of Polish Jews from March 2020 to April 2024, in partnership with Norwegian institutions: the Norwegian Center for Holocaust and Minority Studies, the European Wergeland Center, the Falstad Center and the Jewish museums in Oslo and Trondheim, as well as with the Emanuel Ringelblum Jewish Historical Institute in Warsaw.

The aim of the project was to protect and popularize the heritage of Polish Jews through educational and cultural programs. It was made possible thanks to €10 million grant EEA Grants by Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway, and from the Polish state budget.

Learn more about the project >>