REGARDING THE RIGHTEOUS
IN A DIFFERENT WAY
Robert Szuchta, POLIN Museum of History of Polish Jews
International Conference 'How to Talk about the Righteous -
Representations in Culture, Meaning in Education',
Warsaw, 25-27 October 2018
From 25 - 27 October 2018 at the POLIN Museum of the History of Polish Jews in Warsaw, an international conference was held for teachers, educators and persons working with young people entitled 'How to Talk about the Righteous - Representations in Culture, Meaning in Education'. It followed last year’s conference dedicated to education at memorial sites that brought together more than 250 registered participants. The conference was dedicated to the problem of teaching about the different attitudes of Poles towards the extermination of the Jewish population, as well as assistance and the rescue of Jews. The organisers provided participants with high-quality lectures, discussion panels, workshops and acquaintance with the latest technologies used when teaching the issues mentioned above. The substantive partners of the programme were the USC Shoah Foundation - The Institute for Visual History and Education from Los Angeles and the Jewish Foundation for the Righteous. The conference was supported by the US Embassy in Warsaw, the Centre for Citizenship Education and the Warsaw Centre for Socio-Educational Innovation and Training.
During the three-day conference, participants listened to a number of lectures and discussion panels, and also participated in workshops. Individual sessions were conducted by outstanding Holocaust researchers, teachers and educators that deal with this subject. The conference participants also took part in an award ceremony in memory of Irena Sendler, 'For Making the World Better'. The winner was selected subject to a contest conducted by the Centre for Citizenship Education and the Association of Children of the Holocaust in Poland. For the first time, the prize was awarded to a Polish and American teacher by Irena Sendler herself in 2006. The winner of this year’s edition was a Polish language teacher from the complex of schools in Szczekociny, Mr Mirosław Skrzypczak. prowadzonego przez Centrum Edukacji Obywatelskiej oraz Stowarzyszenie Dzieci Holokaustu w Polsce. Po raz pierwszy nagrodę przyznała polskiemu i amerykańskiemu nauczycielowi osobiście Irena Sendlerowa w 2006 r. Tegorocznym laureatem został nauczyciel języka polskiego z zespołu szkół w Szczekocinach p. Mirosław Skrzypczak.