Summary of Sztetl Mszana Dolna activities in 2023

Summary of Sztetl Mszana Dolna activities in 2023.

EDUCATIONAL PROJECTS

In 2023, we prepared more than 20 events for the residents of our town. These included lectures, workshops, vernissages, exhibitions, games, and concerts. We continued educational projects: "The Story of Bicultural, Pre-War Mszana Dolna", "The Story of the Jewish Cemetery in Mszana Dolna", Mszana Righteous, the international project "Crocus" commemorating the child victims of the Shoah by planting crocus bulbs for them.

ANNIVERSARY OF THE SHOAH IN MSZANA DOLNA

On 20-21.08.2023 we organized the celebration of the 81st Anniversary of the Shoah in Mszana Dolna.

We restored the names of a thousand murdered Jews, placing a granite monument with their data at the mass grave on Pańskie – the site of the largest murder in the history of the region, from 19.08.1942.

Most moving was the arrival of the descendants of the families of the Mszana Jews and those murdered here, some of whom came here for the first time, and others decided to visit the town of their ancestors, after many years of reluctance.

CARE OF THE JEWISH CEMETERY

We began the restoration of the Jewish cemetery, leading to the renovation of the first four matzevot and obtaining funding for further work on the cemetery.

We continued to take care of this important historical place with volunteers, carrying out cleaning work in the cemetery, but also educating about the rules of behavior, the basics of knowledge about the symbolism of the matzevot and the burial customs of Judaism

We organized a photography workshop, led by world-renowned artist Agnieszka Traczewska

The culmination of the workshop was an exhibition of selected works in the Municipal Library in Mszana Dolna, along with a meeting to summarize the project

We published the 2nd edition of the monograph "Jewish Cemetery in Mszana Dolna", revised and expanded with additional chapters on the Jewish history of our town and other burial sites in Mszana Dolna

MEMORIAL DAYS AND JUDAISM DAY

We organized the Holocaust Remembrance Day, on 27.01.2023, Yom Ha Shoah, November remembrance days, the 81st anniversary of the execution on Ogrodowa Street, the Yorcajt of the Shoah of Mshana Jews, and workshops for young people on the occasion of Judaism Day. During Hanukkah, we lit the light of remembrance and solidarity every day, also joining the nationwide "Light a Hanukkah" campaign, and every Friday we lit Shabbat remembrance candles for our Jewish neighbors

WE HAVE ESTABLISHED COOPERATION WITH MORE SCHOOLS

Students of the Elementary School No. 2 in Mszana Górna cleaned the Jewish cemetery with us, and we carried out classes about the Jewish cemetery for the students of the Complex of Educational Institutions in Mszana Dolna and visited it together. We continued our educational work with the students of the Complex of Technical and Information Schools in Mszana Dolna, who visit the Jewish cemetery and memorial sites, walk with us on the educational trail of memory of the Jewish community of Mszana Dolna, and learn about the history of the Righteous from our town, Stefania and Józef Wacławik

WE RECEIVED IN MSZANA DOLNA:

Participants of the "March of Remembrance and Hope"

Artists Gabriela Bulisova and Mark Isaac, who commemorate the Victims of the Shoah in an unique way

Descendants of Jewish families living and murdered in Mszana Dolna: Avraham Taylor of the Rebhun family, Josef Hoch of the the Federgrun family, with his wife Yafa and children, Helen Krag and her sons, of the Schwitzer family, Shoshana Rosenberg and her family - descendants of the Borger and Goldberger families, Perla Lovjoy and Dara Hanin, descendants of the Hefter family, Małgosia Gołaszewska, granddaughter of Eng. Emil Rosenstock, Doniphan and Nicholas Blair, descendants of the Rotkopf family.

WE WERE INVITED:

To the co-organization of the Krakow Day of Judaism – Jakub Antosz-Rekucki provided musical accompaniment to the celebration at the Tempel Synagogue, other members participated in the event

To the JCC in Warsaw for a meeting within the framework of the "Jiskry" project, where we spoke about our activities for the preservation of Jewish heritage in Mszana Dolna and received a touching gift from Mr. Marian Turski

To the jubilee Gala of the National Heritage Institute in Warsaw

To the Ecumenical Bible Days in Cracow where we read excerpts of the Holy Scriptures during the Bible Marathon

WE TRAINED:

At the Kolping Academy for Community Leaders

At the 9th National Conference of Dialogue Leaders,

At the international conference "Wasted Lessons of the Holocaust" organized to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the Polish branch of B'na i B'rith.

WE HELPED

Gródek Jagielloński in Ukraine, bringing a full truckload of donations and contributing funds collected by our Sztetl Mszana Dolna Foundation, obtained among other things through charity auctions, an organized crowdfunding and contributions from Donors

WE SYSTEMATICALLY EXPANDED THE DATABASE ON THE HISTORY OF MSZANA JEWS

by posting more entries on the profiles of Sztetl Mszana Dolna on Facebook and Instagram, website and YouTube channel @sztetlmszanadolna and sharing it during educational meetings in our projects

WE HAVE BEEN RECOGNIZED

With the award "Gratitude – Wdzięczność - הכרת הטוב" - honoring Polish citizens involved in the protection of Jewish heritage in Poland and the cultivation of Jewish-Polish relations, awarded for the first time in history, and it went to Mszana Dolna!

The statuette, "Meritorious for Culture" from the Limanowa District authorities

We received an official thank you from the Yad Vashem Institute in Jerusalem for our work on the memory of the Mszana Jewish community

WE HAVE BEEN IN CONTACT WITH THE DESCENDANTS OF MSZANA JEWS

and we have shown them expressions of support and solidarity following the attack by Hamas terrorists on the civilian population of Israel