"March of Remembrance and Hope" in Mszana Dolna

On 16.05.2023, we were visited by guests from Canada, participants in the 'March of Remembrance and Hope'. This is an international initiative, a programme for students of different religions and backgrounds, which has been running for many years. It usually takes place in mid-May and includes a two-day trip to Germany, followed by a five-day visit to Poland. Participants visit Holocaust-related sites in Germany and Poland, including Wannsee - the site of the conference at which the 'final solution' to the Jewish question was approved - and the former death camps at Auschwitz, Treblinka and Majdanek. They also visit local memorial sites and meet the people who care for the memory there. Students learn about the tragic history of the genocides of the Second World War, the dangers of intolerance in order to learn respect and better relations between people from different cultures and religions. Each group is accompanied by a Holocaust coordinator/educator and a Holocaust survivor - among our guests was 80-year-old Gershon, rescued as an infant by nuns.

The places of life and death of the Jewish community of our town were shown to the guests by Marek Rekucki, and he also answered numerous questions, most of which related to the reasons for our work on remembrance and dialogue in Mszana Dolna. Our guests were also very interested in the story of the Righteous Among the Nations, Stefania and Józef Wacławik, paying tribute to them at the Oak of Remembrance in the Mszana Market Square.

More about the initiative itself on the March website:
http://www.marchofremembranceandhope.org

The project also has its own page on FB:

https://www.facebook.com/marchofremembranceandhope/

The organisation of the meetings in Poland is supported by Forum for Dialogue, which asked us to host the group, which we gladly did