"School of Dialogue" Program School Visit- Radzymin

Submitted by Fran Colletti
 

Our visit to Radzymin School began with an orientation by Jakub.
He shared his story of how he came to work for the Forum for Dialogue.
His journey from being a troubled teenager getting in trouble with the law, researching the hidden story of the Jews in his own town as a way to be spared from going to jail, to becoming an academic teacher of history and for being instrumental in founding  the School for Dialogue program. Jakub used the powerful phrase of being "a custodian of memory." This is how he sees his work and the work the students are doing as part of the School for Dialogue project.

Finally arriving at the school felt like a breath of fresh air. Students were everywhere welcoming us and one could feel their expectation for our arrival.

After the introductions by the educators from the Forum for Dialogue , we were welcomed by the head of school and many of the teachers could not be there since students were just starting their oral exams.

We quickly were led through a series of fun getting acquainted warm up activities.
One of the more interesting  that our small group participated in was creating a map of symbols for Poland and the students creating one of the US. The students map of the US included big letters spelling the word TOLERANCE. Of course this led us in a discussion of the issues  of intolerance in our country and their own perceptions. 

What a wonderful introduction these activities provided for our walk through their town and learning what they had uncovered about he Jews of  Radzymin.
After a beautiful and delicious lunch, we headed for our walk. I do have to say how heart-warming it was to hear  students' attempts at speaking with us in our own language. How good is our Polish? These are smart and brave young high school students.
Adam, one of the students in one of my exercises said  Radzymin is known for the best ice cream but I am sad to report we were never able to stop on our walk for that experience. I loved his sharing this  and it felt like he wanted to add a little sweetness to the difficult stories and history and  he wanted us to know about the present Radyzmin too.

We began our walk and students each took part in telling what they had learned in their research about the Jewish Community.
For the rest of our time together we walked to several sites that gave evidence to the vibrant Jewish Community that that been in Radzymin since the 17th century. Of the 5000 residents , 3000 had been Jewish. On our walk we came to a spot that had been a cheder- a school for young boys who wanted to be rabbis. Then we came to an open meadow that had been a Jewish cemetery. There was a marking of a place where a famous beloved rabbi had been buried.
We then walked to Kilinskengo Street the main Jewish Street. We passed the house that Isac Bashieves Singer had lived in for two years.We saw the last house inhabited but someone who had been Jewish and then we walked to an area that was the Ghetto where the Jews of Radzymin were rounded up. Most of the Jewish residents perished at Treblinka or were killed right at the train station as they were gathered there. Then the Nazis burned most of the town.

 The students described how they discovered these things by researching  the town's archives, interviewing a historian  that had lived in the town.  Grandparents did not offer much information when they tried to interview them. These students research gave us a picture of a vibrant Jewish Community that vanished during the Holocaust.

In the end, I was left  with the question - how will these students be changed by this experience?
How are they "custodians of memory"?

A Radzymin student sharing history about a local Jewish cemetery, whose headstones are gone. There is, however, a plaque written in Hebrew commemorating the life of a local Jew.

A Radzymin student shares a story about how a local Polish family, who lived in the yellow house in the background, helped hide a Jewish family.

The Radzymin students and their School for Dialogue educators, after sharing their stories about local Jewish history.

Students from Radzymin leading us to another site of local Jewish history.