Nominated for 2020 POLIN Award: Agnieszka Mysakowska

Agnieszka Mysakowska is a history teacher at the No. 2 Janusz Korczak High School in Wieluń and a Dialogue Leader at the Forum for Dialogue. She is a graduate of the Yad Vashem International School for Holocaust Studies where she trained in history of European Jews, the Holocaust and intercultural education.

Agnieszka teaches children and youth from the Wieluń region about the history and culture of their former Jewish neighbours. Thanks to numerous initiatives, organized trips to Israel as well as the cooperation with The Jewish Organization of Wielun in Israel, young Poles and their Jewish friends learn of the importance of mutual understanding and drawing from past experiences; they learn the mighty power of dialog.

In 2015, Agnieszka Mysakowska and her team won the School of Dialogue competition for a project aimed to commemorate local Jewish communities. Since then, she has been running the Trail of Wieluń Jews project which bridges the past with the presence. It was Agnieszka’s initiative to commemorate the anniversary of the liquidation of the Wieluń ghetto and to create a mural dedicated to the local Jewish community. She designed a plaque and, together with the town’s Mayor, unveiled Irena Sendler’s bench. Agnieszka is also a tour guide to the descendants of Wieluń Jews visiting the town of their ancestors.

Each year, Agnieszka organizes the November Memorial Light at the Jewish cemetery in Wieluń, restoring the memory of the former residents of the town who had once co-written its history. She is also a prime mover behind the three editions of the Wieluń Days of Jewish Culture which, thanks to her efforts, enjoy the support of numerous local institutions. Agnieszka was nominated for the “Tikkun Olam” Irena Sendler Award for her activities aimed at the preservation of the memory of the local Jewish community.