behaviours during the Holocaust in the region they hail from and which class teacher investigates. The participants of the workshop came to a joint conclusion concerning the proximity and significance of the Holocaust experience for the Polish society as well. It was recognised that the problem of the Righteous, witnesses and outsiders is one of the most important contemporary issues in the humanities. It is up to researchers and teachers to consider, study and popularise it in Polish society.
The last workshop conducted by Monika Koszńska from the POLIN Museum was dedicated to familiarising the participants with materials published on the international educational portal IWitness, created and operated by the USC Shoah Foundation - The Institute for Visual History and Education. The lessons were titled 'Poles who Rescued Jews during World War II - Different Shades of Grey'. The participants of the workshop saw fragments of the testimonies of those honoured with the title and medal of 'Righteous Among the Nations'. It concerned their pre-war life and experiences related to interaction with members of the Jewish community. They then explored the circumstances in which the Righteous took decisions to save their Jewish neighbours, friends or acquaintances from the Holocaust.
Koszńska drew particular attention to the danger of misinterpreting statements of witnesses, and warned the participants against making too hasty, and thus often incorrect, conclusions from the analysed accounts of the survivors or rescuers. As in other cases, the workshop ended with the formulation of a series of recommendations for work using the lessons posted on the IWitness portal.
The conference was summed up by Aleksander Pawlicki, teacher and lecturer at the School of Education of the Polish-American Freedom Foundation and the University of Warsaw, with a lecture entitled 'Can You Learn to be Good?' The lecturer emphasised the importance of educational activities conducted during classes and breaks between them, regardless of the subject being taught. He proved, by referring to the examples of the accounts of rescuers and the rescued presented by previous speakers, that very often it is much more important to pay attention to disturbing behaviour of students towards their colleagues than the currently debated issues of history, physics or a foreign language.
He appealed to teachers to pay close attention to what kind of young people they are bringing up because they interact with them much more often and more intensively than parents and guardians. Aleksander Pawlicki's lecture was very warmly received by all the conference participants, as evidenced by the standing ovation she was given by the participants.
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This international conference was heralded as a huge success by the participants. The contents of the lectures, panel discussions and methodological workshops were inspiring for reflection and academic research.
The conference presentations proved once again that we can discuss complicated issues of the past in peace and dignity, and that presenting the multifaceted problems of the Righteous does not diminish their heroism but, on the contrary, emphasises the importance of their exceptional attitude in times of contempt.
Once again, teachers and educators left the POLIN Museum full of fresh knowledge, reflection, and new ideas for educational activities about the Righteous with their pupils and charges. We wish them success in their lessons.