Learning from history — experience of totalitarian regimes of the 20th century

Project description

March 1, 2025 marked the start of a two-year project entitled Education Against Anti-Semitism. Learning from the past to understand today’s challenges. A Multimedia Educational Toolkit, within the framework of the European program Citizens, Equality, Rights and Values (CERV).

The Educational Toolkit project was born out of a deep conviction of the need to enrich the Polish education system concerning the history of World War II, the Holocaust and anti-Semitic attitudes. Our overarching goal is to teach from the past in order to understand the contemporary challenges of anti-Semitism and human rights violations, through the creation of a comprehensive multimedia educational kit.

The project will create a variety of educational tools for teachers and educators, i.e. lesson plans, a 10-episode podcast, a multimedia map (covering the territory of the Second Republic) of Holocaust sites with reference to (memoir) sources on the portal naucsiezhistorii.pl.

All this with reference to memoir literature and archives, and above all the experience of all Partners – project implementers.

An important point of reference will also be personal testimonies of traumatic events – two books for young people, specially translated for this project, published by Karta:

Larissa Cain (born 1932), a Polish Jewish survivor of the Warsaw Ghetto, has written an autobiographical story, “J’étais enfant à Varsovie.” Here she reaches back to 1936, when Polish Jews were victims of the first pogroms, and to the time after Poland’s liberation, and recounts the years she spent in the ghetto, the deportation of her family, the various homes and families where she was hidden. Larissa adopts the point of view of the child she was at the time of the events in order to address her memories specifically to younger teenagers; without using highfalutin language or falling into pathos. The book is translated from French (already published: Dziewczynka z zamkniętego miasta. Memories from the Warsaw Ghetto).

Hédi Fried (1924-2022), born in the town of Sighet, Romania, deported to Auschwitz in 1944, spent time in several labor camps, the last being Bergen-Belsen. After liberation, she became a psychologist in Sweden. She spent her life lecturing in schools and answering questions asked by young people, such as: “What was life like in the camps?”, “What did you dream at night?”, “Why did Hitler hate the Jews?” and “Can you forgive?” At the age of 90, she collected the most frequently asked questions and their answers in the book Questions I Was Asked About the Holocaust, so that young people around the world could understand how the Holocaust happened. She drew parallels with contemporary issues such as prejudice against refugees and racism, anti-Semitism, etc. The book will be translated into Polish from Swedish. (Book in preparation, planned publication – June 2025).

The project is implemented by a consortium of partner organizations:

KARTA Center Foundation (Warsaw) – the originator and leader of the project – is a non-governmental organization with its roots in the underground structures of martial law in Poland; for more than 40 years it has been dealing with the history of Poland in its relations with its neighbors, including “internal” ones (national minorities), especially in the 20th century. In the project she acts as a coordinator, she will also provide a wealth of historical source materials from her own archive (the largest social archive in Poland) and those acquired during queries for publication in the quarterly “Karta” and books from the published Holocaust testimony series “Żydzi Polscy”. He will share his experience in extracurricular education, including the use of multimedia techniques in historical education (portals, podcasts, interactive films, oral history techniques, etc.).

Center for Civic Education Foundation (Warsaw) – an organization with 30 years of experience in implementing programs that inspire change in schools. They benefit 40,000 teachers and principals from 10,000 schools across Poland. CEO’s contribution will be to integrate the study of the historical subject of the Holocaust with contemporary civic education. CEO’s resources include programs, lesson plans, workshops and training modules for teachers and students. CEO has a very wide network of contacts among teachers and teaching methodologists, as well as channels of communication with school communities. This will enable wide promotion and implementation of the project in all types of primary and secondary schools, inclusive and other schools; in large cities and small towns, as well as in villages.

The Open Education Foundation (Bialystok) has been implementing projects on the multicultural history of Podlasie for ten years. It effectively engages young people in the search for the region’s identity, using activating methods and following the creativity of students – including in the youngest grades; it works to restore the memory of Podlasie’s Jews. The Foundation will support the project in the development of educational programs and teacher training. Her contribution will be the development of educational pathways, lesson plans and workshops on Jewish culture and Holocaust remembrance. She will ensure that the educational content of the project will have a solid pedagogical basis and will be used in a practical way.

The Borderland Foundation (Sejny) has been working for 30 years on the revival of culture as organic work and on the positive valuation in a modern context of the ethos of coexistence of people living in a strong cultural, ethnic, generational and ideological diversity. It takes steps to build “connective tissue” in local communities through long-term, intergenerational programs that combine art and education and community memory work with a commitment to the future development of one’s place. It is a partner in historical research and educational content. Its contribution will be to share the experience of working on Jewish local cultural heritage and memory of place, through practicing activities in culture and education.

Lithuanian Jewish Community (Vilnius) an association comprising the Jewish communities of Vilnius, Kaunas, Klaipėda, Panevėžys, Šiauliai, Vilkomėrė, Palanga and Švenčionys. The mission is to gather Lithuanian Jews (Litvaks) in Lithuania and the world, preserve and nurture Jewish identity, pass on traditions, and represent the interests of Lithuanians at the international, institutional and local levels; actively combat stereotyping and anti-Semitism through programs and legal assistance for victims of hate crimes. Its contribution will be to share knowledge and educational experience from projects such as the Interactive Map of Jewish Heritage and the Lithuanian Holocaust Atlas, strengthening the international perspective of the project.

The “Grodzka Gate – NN Theater” Center (Lublin) is a local government cultural institution working for the protection of cultural heritage and education. The Center’s activities refer to the symbolic and historical significance of its headquarters, the Grodzka Gate in Lublin, formerly a passage between the Christian and Jewish cities. It uses digital, innovative tools in its activities. The Center’s working methods combine art, education, exploration and collection. One of the Center’s most important activities is the commemoration of the pre-war community of Lublin’s Jews. In the project, the Center will provide access to cultural and historical materials, experience in performative education, and strategies for engaging the local community.

A number of events are planned as part of the project, including:

– Kick-off meeting and press conference: Prof. Bilewicz’s lecture and table talks – education that engages

You can watch recording of the inaugural meeting of the international educational project on April 28, the centerpiece of which will be Prof. Michal Bilewicz’s lecture: “Teaching the Holocaust in Times of Wars and Crises.” This was a unique opportunity to reflect on the role of historical education in the face of contemporary challenges and to exchange experiences during moderated table discussions with experts from Poland and Lithuania. Our main participants were teachers, educators and methodologists for whom history is not just the past – but a tool for building an informed future.

– Meeting in the formula of an open space for educators and experts – 2nd half of September 2025

– Public presentation of an online multimedia toolkit – January 2026

– Workshop on the use of personal testimonies and interviews with witnesses in education – March 2026

– Training workshop on the creation and use of podcasts – April 2026

– Training for teachers and educators on the use of the entire toolkit – May 2026

– A series of workshops for students focusing on podcasts, personal testimonies and dialogue with witnesses – between May and December 2026

– A public event to summarize and promote the results of the project: “Educational toolkit against anti-Semitism ready for use!” – January 2027

Both the project leader and project partners can be contacted as needed:

KARTA Center Foundation

29 Narbutta St.

02-536 Warsaw

www.karta.org.pl

Coordinator: Agnieszka Kudełka

e-mail: [email protected]

tel. (+48 22) 848 07 12

Center for Citizenship Education Foundation

10 Noakowskiego St.

00-666 Warsaw

www.ceo.org.pl

Coordinators: Jan Bliźniak, Bartosz Marzec

mail: [email protected]

tel. (+48 22) 659 62 03

Open Education Foundation

Al. Tysiąclecia Państwa Polskiego 56/6

15-111 Białystok

www.otwartaedukacja.org.pl

Coordinator: Mariusz Sokolowski

mail: [email protected]

tel. +48 511 922 094

Borderland Foundation

ul. Piłsudskiego 37

16-500 Sejny

www.pogranicze.sejny.pl

Coordinator: Agata Szkopińska

mail: [email protected]

tel. (+48 87) 565 03 690

Lithuanian Jewish Community

Pylimo 4

01-117 Vilnius

Lithuania

www.lzb.lt

Coordinator: Dovilė Rūkaitė

mail: [email protected]

tel: (+370) 2613 003

Grodzka Gate – NN Theater” Center

21 Grodzka St.

20-112 Lublin

https://teatrnn.pl/

Coordinator: Agnieszka Mierzwa

mail: [email protected]

tel. (+48 81) 532 58 67

Financed by the EU. The views and opinions expressed are solely those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Executive Agency for Education and Culture (EACEA). Neither the European Union nor the EACEA is responsible for them.