THE WORDS OF ANDRZEJ KACORZYK, THE DIRECTOR OF THE INTERNATIONAL CENTER FOR EDUCATION ABOUT AUSCHWITZ AND THE HOLOCAUST
meaning of the hitherto activities of the witnesses to history, saying: “We have done a lot” but then he added decisively, boldly and absolutely honestly: “But not enough”.
That uttered “not enough”, in the context of education in authentic memorials, means a continuous quest, permanent discovery and prudent anticipation but, above all, it is demonstrated in confident behaviour. We want every person visiting historical memorials to be able to see them from their own, personal viewpoint. An essential element of our plan is an intention that the story of this place is heard by as many people as possible in their mother tongue but it is equally important that this story is conveyed as properly as possible to deaf or blind people and to those intellectually disabled, and people from various social and professional groups.
This publication contains articles which are focused mostly on new projects in memorial places and institutions, dedicated to the special groups of addressees, such as people with disabilities or those from socially excluded environments and groups. We also present a new lesson preparing for the visit in the memorial, enabling good, interdisciplinary confrontation with the subject of Shoah and the German concentration camps.
An equally important value of this publication is an attempt to present the effects of education in the memorials from the sociological and social perspective.
I am convinced that this book will be browsed, read and used eagerly by the teachers and pedagogues of school and non-school education, becoming a valuable aid in their exceptional work.
The presence of the Survivors from Auschwitz and Holocaust, the former prisoners of the German concentration camps, the witnesses to the history of those times becomes rarity. Meeting them, their speeches, comments and gestures motivate us to face new challenges. Their recollections and reflections are an invaluable guide for the common remembrance among so many post-war generations. When on 27 January 2005, Professor Władysław Bartoszewski talked about the necessity of establishing the International Centre of Education about Auschwitz and Holocaust in Auschwitz Museum, he emphasised the meaning of the hitherto activities of the witnesses to history, saying: “We have done a lot” but then he added decisively, boldly and absolutely honestly: “But not enough”.