O Ś WIĘ CIM ISSN 1899-4407 PEOPLE

CULTURE HISTORY

GGOODOOD SSPIRITSPIRITS IIYMCYMC

SSHOES,HOES, BBREAD,READ, AANDND SSOUPOUP

RREMEMBERINGEMEMBERING TTHEHE RREV.EV. SSTANISTANISŁAAWW MMUSIAUSIAŁ

CCONCERTONCERT OOFF EENSEMBLENSEMBLE VVOIXOIX ÉÉTOUFFÉESTOUFFÉES

no. 4 April 2009 Oś—Oświęcim, People, History, Culture magazine, no. 4, April 2009

EDITORIAL BOARD: Oś—Oświęcim, People, History, Culture magazine EDITORIAL

The articles in our April issue include net that attracts not only personalities, test. We warmly invite you to the exhi- a text by former Auschwitz prisoner but also value-laden events.” The Good bition, which is open for viewing at the Czesław Arkuszyński, titled “Shoes and Spirits—that is, the friends and ben- Youth House of Culture in Tychy. Bread—and Soup.” These three things, efactors of the Center—met once again We also invite you to a concert in the in the author’s view, were the prime within its walls at the end of March. We auditorium of the Oświęcim music factors that determined a prisoner’s publish a full account of the ceremony. school on April 25. The performers will chances for survival or death. We are We also direct your attention to the be the French orchestra Ensemble Voix Editor: publishing the fi rst part of the article reminiscences about the Rev., Stanisław Etouffées, who for years have been Paweł Sawicki in this month’s issue. The conclusion Musiał S.J., on the fi fth anniversary of commemorating the work of compos- Editorial secretary: comes next month. his death, and to the article about the ers persecuted by the German regime. Agnieszka Juskowiak Everyone who has ever been a guest of meeting at the Jewish Center with Clila This is the 12th issue of Oś, which means Editorial board: the International Youth Meeting Center and Hadasa Bau, the daughters of the that we have been with you for a year Bartosz Bartyzel Jarek Mensfelt will surely agree with the view that “the Cracow writer, poet, and graphic artist now. Thank you sincerely for all your Bogdan Owsiany IYMC is a special, energetic place, and Józef Bau. On the fi nal page of Oś, you letters, comments, and opinions. Jadwiga Pinderska-Lech not only thanks to the crystals, but above can fi nd several exceptional works by Paweł Sawicki Leszek Szuster all thanks to the splendid people thanks the young participants in the 11th an- Editor-in-chief Artur Szyndler to whom the Center is a veritable mag- nual People Did This to Other People con- [email protected] Columnist: Mirosław Ganobis Design and layout: Agnieszka Matuła, Grafi kon Translations: William Brand A GALLERY Proofreading: Beata Kłos OF THE 20TH CENTURY Cover: Olga Chrapek The State Synthetic Plant Industrial Ludyga was director of the Schools was carried out, with a separate Night Photographer: Tomasz Mól School opened in Dwory in 1947. It had Complex, with Karol Kałuża as his as- School being set up. mechanical, electrical, and chemical de- sistant in charge of the Chemical Tech- Since 1976, the complex of three partments. It was located in the barracks nical School and Adam Wolański in schools—the Chemical Technical PUBLISHER: on Chemików street. The State Chemi- charge of the General Technical School. School, the General Vocational School, cal Schools Complex in Dwory opened In 1964, the schools were divided up and the Night school—have gone un- Auschwitz-Birkenau in 1950/1951, made up of the following into two units: a three-year General der the name Center for Continuing State Museum schools: the Ministry of Chemical In- Technical School, and the Chemical Education. On September 15, 1976, the dustry Chemical Technical School, the Technical School. Wiesław Bieszczad Oświęcim Chemical Plant Center for www.auschwitz.org.pl Industrial Gymnazjum and Lyceum, the was director of the Chemical Techni- Continuing Education was granted General Vocational School, and the In- cal School. At a later date, a four-year a Charter for the Naming of the Patron dustrial School. The schools and school Vocational Lyceum was opened under of the School—Ignacy Łukasiewicz. The PARTNERS: workshops were located in buildings the aegis of the Vocational Schools Inspector of Schools and Education in outside gate H of the plant. Szczepan Complex, and a further reorganization Bielsko-Biała established the long form Jewish of the name of the school: The Ignacy Center Łukasiewicz Oświęcim Chemical Plant Center for Continuing Education. www.ajcf.pl An Intermediate Vocational School was set up in 1979, and a Post-Secondary Vo- cational School in 1984, which offered Center for Dialogue certifi cation, economic, safety, and for- and Prayer eign-language courses. Since 1976, it has Foundation been possible to study under the night school system at a branch of the Silesian www.centrum-dialogu.oswiecim.pl Polytechnic. A total of 471 students graduated from the Mechanical, Chemical, Electrical, International Youth and Measurement departments. From Meeting Center 1954 to 1984, 609 people studied at the three departments of the branch of www.mdsm.pl the Cracow Polytechnic: Mechanical, Chemical, and Construction. The Center for Continuing Educa- tion was closed in 1992. The school IN COOPERATION was renamed the Ignacy Łukasiewicz WITH: Oświęcim Chemical Plant Vocational School Complex. Four years later, the Kasztelania School Complex ceased its association www.kasztelania.pl with the plant and came under the su- pervision of the inspector of Schools and Education in Bielsko-Biała. The Sports State Higher Championships General Schools Com- Vocational School plex and the Łukasiewicz Vocational in Oświęcim Schools Complex were merged on Sep- www.pwsz-oswiecim.pl tember 1, 1999 into the Powiat No. 2 Gen- eral Sports Championships and Techni- cal Schools Complex in Oświęcim. It is Editorial address: headed by Director Piotr Kućka M.C.E., „Oś – Oświęcim, Ludzie, Historia, Kultura” while Ewa Broniarczyk, M.A., contin- Państwowe Muzeum ues to fi ll the offi ce of deputy director Auschwitz-Birkenau for secondary-school affairs. Since Sep- ul. Więźniów Oświęcimia 20 tember 1, 2001, intermediate-school ath-

32-603 Oświęcim www.kasztelania.pl letes have attended the school. e-mail: [email protected] From the Świderski family collection “A Gallery of the 20th Century” www.pz2.edu.pl

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 Oś—Oświęcim, People, History, Culture magazine, no. 4, April 2009 Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum

MUSIC FOR REMEMBRANCE

he Ensemble Voix Etouffées chamber orchestra from France is appearing at the concert hall of the Oświęcim music school Ton April 25. This is part of a European tour by the group, which for years has been commemorating the work of compos- ers persecuted by the Nazi regime. The concert begins at 6:00 p.m. and admission is free. The works of composers point in the history of Ger- who were persecuted by the man anti-Semitic policy. Nazi Germans from 1933 It would have been un- to 1945 is a subject largely thinkable for the orchestra absent from the discourse to bypass the Auschwitz- about the European cultural Birkenau camp, a symbol of heritage. Two French organ- the Holocaust where many izations are attempting to musicians and composers change this: the Académie were imprisoned and mur- Lyrique and the Forum Voix dered. Etouffées (FVE). The honor- ary president of the FVE is The joint project by the FVE, Prof. Alfred Grosser, and its the Auschwitz-Birkenau patron is the renowned pi- State Museum, and the anist Paul Badura-Skoda. Karol Szymanowski First Stage State Music School Together with a team of in Oświęcim is more than international experts, they a concert of works by com- encourage professional mu- posers who either chose sicians and conservatory emigration as a way of es- students to broaden their caping Nazi persecution, or

concert programs to include who were imprisoned and photo: FVE works by people whom the died in the concentration Ensemble Voix Étouffées chamber orchestra Third Reich tried to silence camps. It is also a master forever. The FVE project class for music school stu- in France. Next, they were also includes seminars and dents and an educational held in an internment center. lectures illustrating the his- session at the International Szymon Laks was deported CONCERT PROGRAM: torical context of the per- Center for Education about to Auschwitz in July 1942. secution of artists in Nazi Auschwitz and the Holo- He became the conductor of 1. Performance by students of the Karol Szymanowski Germany. The Ensemble caust, during which the mu- the camp orchestra in Birk- First Stage State Music School in Oświęcim Voix Etouffées chamber or- sicologist Professor Philippe enau. In October 1944, he chestra, directed by the con- Olivier will deliver a lecture was transferred to the camp 2. Hanns Eisler (1898-1962): Septet no. 2, The Circus ductor Amaury du Closel, about music in the concen- in Dachau, where the Ameri- works in cooperation with tration camps. can army liberated him. He 1. Allegretto the Forum. returned to Paris after the 2. Con moto The concert program features war and recorded his expe- 3. Andante A year ago, several organi- compositions by Hanns Ei- riences in books including 4. Allegretto zations in France, Germany, sler and Ernst Toch, who Music from Another World. 5. Allegretto Austria, Poland, Romania, emigrated from Nazi Ger- Alfred Tokayer was held in 6. Finale and the Czech Republic many after Hitler came to the Drancy transit camp and decided to organize a joint power. Works by Szymon sent with his parents to the 3. Szymon Laks (1901-1983): Eight Popular Jewish European concert tour to Laks, who came from Po- Sobibór death camp, where Songs commemorate the events of land, and the German Alfred he was murdered in the gas Kristallnacht in November Tokayer will also be per- chamber. 1. Ich bin a balagole (Chant du cocher) 1938, which was a turning formed. Both were arrested Paweł Sawicki 2. Wigenlid (Berceuse) 3. Die Gilderne pawe (Le paon doré) 4. Unser rebeniu (Notre rabbin) 5. In droïsn is a triber tog (Amour gâché) 6. Gwaldze Brider (Le bain sacré) 7. Di alte Kashe (L’éternel problème) 8. Fraïtik far nacht (Avant le grand sabbat)

4. Alfred Tokayer (1900-1943): A Day from My Child- hood (for chamber ensemble)

1. She plays 2. The game goes wrong for the puppet, but Mummy sorts everything out 3. The Swallow and Irene’s Lullaby

5. Ernst Toch (1884-1964): Dance Suite, op. 30

1. Der rote Wirbeltanz (Le tourbillon rouge) 2. Der Tanz des Grauens (Danse de la terreur) 3. Intermezzo 4. Der Tanz des Schweigens (Danse du silence) 5. Intermezzo

6. Der Tanz des Erwachenn

The Project in Oświęcim is part of the European Union Europe for Citi- photo: FVE zens Project. Ensemble Voix Étouffées chamber orchestra

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum Oś—Oświęcim, People, History, Culture magazine, no. 4, April 2009

SHOES AND BREAD—AND SOUP

uring my visit to Oświęcim, which was connected with the commemoration of the 64th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz Concentrations Camp, I took the December issue of Remember TO THINK from the Dreception desk at the IYMC. Among a great deal of interesting information, there is the news that an exhibi- tion titled Shoes and Bread—Accounts from Auschwitz is being shown in Berlin from January to April 2009. There can be no doubt that only a former prisoner of the Nazi concentration camps could have come up with that title. I also have many private mental associations which became fi xed in my memory in those years. Shoes and bread, among many other factors, had prime importance in the circumstances that determined whether a prisoner survived or died. As a personal aside, I would add that soup was also one of these factors. I therefore intend to present in chronological order my reminiscences from those years, in the context of shoes and bread—and soup.

morning bread ration in my the moment when I lost my pocket, which had to get my shoes! They took them away brother and me through to from me and replaced them the next day, since the prison- with hospital sandals. These ers received nothing to eat or were cut out of boards more drink on Zapiecek street. than 20 mm. thick in the shape In Auschwitz Concentration of feet, held on by a strap 6-7 Camp, we spent our fi rst night cm. wide at the front. These, on the bare ground between too, were shoes! blocks 26 and 27. In the morn- Aside from me, the second ing, they stripped us naked fl oor of that block was occu- and took away our civilian pied by dozens of emaciated clothing—with the exception people suffering from camp of our shoes. Once again, my diarrhea (Durchfall). Many slippers survived. times during the day and They herded us naked into night, they had to go down- the bathhouse between blocks stairs to the toilet wearing 1 and 2. I was still wearing my those same sandals. Those father’s slippers. They did not sandals had straps of worn- distribute our camp clothing out webbing, and they slipped until the afternoon. off the prisoners’ feet on the At around noon, we received stairs, making a terrible clatter soup. This was my fi rst full in the dead of night. Then the liter of camp soup. By com- Blockschreiber would emerge parison with the prison soup from his room near the stairs, made of grain and chaff, this cursing powerfully, and hurl was a delicacy. It was thick, it the sandals at the barefoot, had a base, and its ingredients excrement-stained prisoners included some sort of herbs as they fl ed. If he hit them, it that grew in the meadows, shortened their lifespan. along with a “disk”—a slice of At the end of August, I left fodder rutabaga about 12 mm. the hospital. Or rather, with thick and 12-15 cm. in diam- the help of my countrymen eter. After seeking assurances who had been imprisoned that this was the normal eve- earlier in Auschwitz, I evaded ryday soup ration, I thought an upcoming selection. My to myself: I’m not going to countrymen also arranged for starve to death in this camp! me to be assigned to one of Several prisoners, of respecta- the better labor details—the ble appearance, came into the SS-Küche und Kartoffelschäller- bathhouse after dinner. From ei. In the wooden shoes with the masses—the 700 or so Zu- the webbing straps, I report- gangen, they picked about a ed to the scribe in block 23 dozen of the most badly beaten (Stanisław Kożuch – no. 325). and miserable-looking prison- He took one glance at my skel- ers. I found myself among this etal fi gure and said, “Look at Sawicki ł small group. They took us to you, boy!” The fi rst thing he the hospital in block 19, while did was to replace my heavy the rest of the transport was wooden shoes with a pair of sent to Birkenau. That was worn-out sandals; the impor- photo: Pawe Czesław Arkuszyński

At the moment of my arrest suffi ce for the whole day. We lowing this soup. I prudently by the SD on the night of July received nothing to put on the consumed his portion. During 9, 1943, I put on the pair of bread. At about 1:00 p.m., we the series of interrogation ses- leather slippers that my fa- received soup—half a liter per sions on Zapiecek street, the ther had left at home when person. I always got bad marks Gestapo beat me on the soles he was arrested in May 1940. in botany, and was therefore of my bare feet with a whip; My feet had grown somewhat unable to identify the ears of by the end of the third week, over those three years and the the grain used in preparing I could no longer put on those slippers now fi t perfectly. this soup. It was cooked to- beautiful slippers. However, Sawicki

In the prison in Tomaszów gether with chaff that we spat I did not lose them! ł Mazowiecki, we got a big against the wall, leaving it They kept us overnight in slice of bread, cut from half covered after a few days with the cellars on Zapiecek street, a round loaf, each morning. It a particular kind of wainscot- which was an exception to

weighed between 200 and 250 ing. At fi rst, my brother was the usual practice of the local photo: Pawe grams, and was supposed to completely incapable of swal- Gestapo. I still had half of my Clogs

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 Oś—Oświęcim, People, History, Culture magazine, no. 4, April 2009 Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum Sawicki ł photo: Pawe Plate tant thing was that they were soup designated for the SS light and the right size, more into the potato room. I hardly or less. Divine Providence need explain what was in that was watching over me. He soup. Every kind of vegetable, also gave me a bowl of camp meat, barley or noodles, beans, soup. potatoes, spices, and fat. The After outfi tting me with capo—a Pole—watched to a mug, a bowl, and a spoon, make sure that we were not the less amicable block su- being observed by the kitchen pervisor showed me to my boss, SS-Unterscharführer bed. In this room, each bed Paschke, while the foreman was furnished with two of the distributed the soup by the lovely blankets referred to as liter to every corner of the “Canadian.” This was an in- potato room. That was when dex of the camp affl uence of I understood why no one the people living in the room. from the labor detail had been The spoon was made of steel interested in the camp soup. and covered by rust. I spent Even before my arrest, I had over an hour polishing it in never eaten anything like that the sand behind block 23. SS soup, because I came from A barrel of camp soup was set poor family. But what about out at noon. Once again, I got my shoes? a bowlful. Yet the barrel stood There was always water there untouched until evening. fl owing across the fl oor of My labor detail returned from the potato room. Almost all work just before roll call. No the prisoners laboring in the one was interested in the soup, SS kitchen “organized” food which was cold by then, in the and smuggled it out into the They kept us overnight in the cellars on Zapiecek street, which was an exception to the usual practice of the local Gestapo. I still had half of my morning bread ration Jan Baraś Komski A feast in a barack in my pocket, which had to get my brother in room no. 2 until February me! At the end of October, pumps for Junkers bombers. and me through to the next day, since 1944. I was sent in a large transport The great majority of them the prisoners received nothing I completed a training course of prisoners to the Heinkel worked 600 meters below to eat or drink on Zapiecek street. for Pfl egers in January 1944 aircraft factory near Ber- ground, in a former potash and worked in the camp lin. After almost fi ve years, mine (Kaliwerke). barrel in front of the block. camp by various means. I did hospital until October 1944. I found my sick father there. After the improbable good Nevertheless, prisoners from the same. With food smug- Today, we all know that a job Sulfuric acid had ruined the fortune that had never aban- the second fl oor of block 23A, gled out of the SS kitchen, I in the HKB (Häftlingskranken- skin on his face and hands— doned me in Auschwitz, who had only been waiting bought a pair of army sap- bau) meant a great improve- he worked salvaging airplane it was here that I fell prey to for my labor detail to return per’s boots at the fl ea market ment in chances of survival. batteries. He was wearing the horrors of a Nazi concen- from work, instantly formed outside the camp kitchen. I I was a Pfl eger in block 21 (sur- heavy, wooden camp shoes. tration camp. a long line for the soup in the needed good shoes, because gical). The work there kept He was a camp Muselman. In a nutshell: 100 sq. meters barrel. There was also a battle there was always water fl ow- me out of the winter weather. With our combined efforts, served as living space for 500 over who would take the bar- ing across the fl oor. I made contact with the pris- we managed to get him ad- prisoners x 4 tiers = 2,000 rel back to the kitchen, since All good things must come oners working in the kitchen. mitted to the camp hospital prisoners in four-tiered bunk the lucky prisoner entrusted beds. with this task would always He took one glance at my skeletal fi gure and said, “Look at you, - bread – 143 g./day be able to scrape an extra liter boy!” The fi rst thing he did was to replace my heavy wooden shoes - soup – 1/2 liter of warm of soup from inside the barrel. water/day (no vegetables, I had already seen such fi ghts with a pair of worn-out sandals; the important thing was that they potatoes, etc.) over the barrel at the hospital were light and the right size, more or less. Divine Providence was - labor – 12-14 hrs./day, 600 in block 19. watching over me. He also gave me a bowl of camp soup. m. below ground, temp. 35 I peeled vegetables in the - 50 degrees Celsius. kitchen for the SS. Apples, to an end. In mid-October They supplied with me in- there. He did not survive the - on Sundays, pointless car- too. I sneaked bites of car- 1943, I came down with ty- gredients that I used to cook camps. rying around of bricks. rots, kohlrabi, celeriac, leeks, phus and ended up being “special” soup on the hot- Alone—my brother and I, that - the camp existed from April and apples instead of placing treated in room no. 2 of block plate that I used for steriliz- is—we were sent via Sach- 1944 to April 1945, during them in the metal contain- 20. The sapper’s boots were ing syringes and needles— senhausen-Oranienburg Con- which time 450 prison- ers that were the measure of lost. from the things my friends centration Camp as self-pro- ers starved to death. my daily production quota. Dr. Władysław Fejkiel and supplied me with. That soup claimed lathe operators to the It was noontime, however, orderly Janusz Młynarski re- was additional nourishment Wansleben am See concen- Czesław Arkuszyński that turned out to represent fused to let me die. They re- for the patients, and an extra tration camp (a sub-camp of the peak of good fortune. The tained me as a recuperating meal for me. My guardian Buchenwald), where prison- Auschwitz camp number – 131603 cooks brought a barrel of the patient and assistant Pfl eger angel was still watching over ers manufactured hydraulic Buchenwald camp number – 96285

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 International Youth Meeting Center Oś—Oświęcim, People, History, Culture magazine, no. 4, April 2009

HUMAN RIGHTS AS A RESPONSE TO THE HISTORICAL EXPERIENCE OF THE SECOND WORLD WAR. THE MEMORY OF AUSCHWITZ AND THE HOLOCAUST TODAY

e organized this year’s seminar at the International Youth Meeting Center on March 1-8, 2009 with two groups of young people in mind—one group from the Filomata private secondary school in Gliwice, and Wa second group from the Heepen/Bielefeld gymnasium. The Polish-German group numbered 30 people. This was the second joint program involving the two schools. Last year, we dealt with the theme of the compul- sory migration of civilians during the Second World War from the Polish and German perspectives.

Before arriving in Oświęcim, especially children as cheap where no one has ever lived the young people recon- labor force is generally ac- so far, and there are no bor- structed the fates of the Jew- cepted. In China, additional- ders here and no principles. ish communities of Gliwice ly, capital punishment is still You have the intention of and Bielefeld on the basis in force and torture is used settling in this country and of a painstaking investiga- on prisoners—Germans feel you must consider what atti- tion. This was an especially themselves to be co-respon- tude you should adopt.” Ac- important and interesting sible for these problems in cording to the young people, presentation. During a spe- the universal dimension. the following laws could be cialist tour of the grounds The Polish young people, in in force in one of the “imagi- of the Auschwitz-Birkenau turn, focused above all on nary countries”: the right to Museum and during discus- the domain of civil and po- life, freedom of speech, and sions with eyewitnesses to litical rights on the national the rights to effective ad-

photo: IYMC the events there, the former level, describing the proc- ministration and rulings on Work in groups prisoners Józef Paczyński ess of the transformation of cases by one offi cial, to the and Wilhelm Brasse, the Poland after 1989 and the sentencing of criminals on This year, we chose the political, economic, and so- young people acquired his- process of the democratiza- the basis of three basic legal subject of human rights cial background that char- torical knowledge about tion of social and political provisions, to freedom of and freedom and the his- acterized Europe before the Auschwitz. life, while emphasizing such movement within one’s own torical and contemporary outbreak of the war, focus- In our discussions, we con- things as the attainment of country, to education that is violation of these rights and ing our attention on the spe- sidered the ranking of the the freedoms of speech, as- good and free, to the equal freedoms. We drew atten- cifi c phases in the depriva- subject of Auschwitz and the sembly, and free elections. treatment of all citizens, to tion, above all, to two docu- tion of the basic rights and Holocaust for the contem- Workshops and practical the profession of religion ments: the Universal Decla- freedoms on the Jewish peo- porary younger generation exercises accompanied the and freedom from discrimi- ration of Human Rights and ple. The young people from of Poles and Germans, and discussions. In the group nation on religious grounds, the European Convention Heepen/Bielefeld prepared on whether or not young game “imaginary country,” and to property and the sat- on the Protection of Human a presentation highlighting Poles and Germans have an which is intended to demon- isfaction of the basic needs Rights and Fundamental in chronological order the awareness of human rights strate the fact that it is usual of the citizen. Freedoms, which will mark most important processes and freedoms—and, if this is the basic needs of everyday In the exercise „ladder of its 60th anniversary in 2010. and mechanisms that led the case, what kind of aware- life that constitute the initial values,” the young people The history of human rights to the Holocaust: “German ness it is. Germans stress base for the establishment took up the contents of the and freedoms is indissolubly Jews in the times of the Wei- that the category of guilt for of human rights, the semi- European Convention on the linked with the experiences mar Republic—identity and the crimes of national social- nar participants were issued Protection of Human Rights of the Second World War legal, economic, and social ism does not apply directly the instruction: “imagine and Fundamental Freedoms. and the Holocaust. Drawing status; the development of to their generation, yet nev- that you have discovered In this case, the goal was to conclusions from the crimes racist and anti-Semitic poli- ertheless historical experi- a new country. It is a country identify differences in the in- of National Socialism, which cies in the Weimar Repub- ence imposes upon them affl icted the Jewish people in lic, anti-Semitic policies in a responsibility in a univer- a particularly grievous way, the Third Reich 1933-1938; sal dimension, for instance in THE STORY OF people after the war created Polish Jews in the prewar preventing confl icts around a range of normative legal period—identity and legal, the world, aiding less devel- SAFIYA YKUBU HUSSANI acts in an effort to prevent economic, and social sta- oped countries, fi ghting for further acts of barbarism tus in society, the events of and defending human rights Safi ya Ykubu Hussani was sentenced to death in accord- and genocide. Kristallnacht in November and freedom in reference, ance with the rules of Koranic law (Shariah) for giving birth In order to understand the 1938, the reactions of Jews for instance, to China, where to an illegitimate child. Safi ya states that she was raped, but origins of the founding of to national-socialist anti- labor camps are an element a court refused to accept this. The case of Safi a Hussani was these provisions, we began Semitism and the outbreak of the state system and the taken up by Amnesty International, which started a cam- our work by defi ning the of the war in 1939.” exploitation of people, and paign on her behalf. According to Amnesty, the Nigerian woman was deprived of her right to counsel and sentenced without the facts being proven. Those who stood up in de- fense of the Nigerian woman included the Archbishop of Lagos, Anthony Olubunmi Okogie, who declared a willing- ness to undergo the death penalty in the place of the Nigeri- an woman. Also protesting against the sentence were Nige- rian lawyers, parliamentarians from the European Union, and Italian soccer players who ran out at stadiums wearing shirts with the slogan “Whoever is without sin, let him cast the fi rst stone.” The President of the Supreme Court of the Republic of Poland also signed a petition to the President of Nigeria asking for Safi ya, who was sentenced to be stoned to death, to be pardoned. Amnesty International collected signatures on a petition to the President of Nigeria, asking him to make use of his power of pardon should the sen- tence be upheld by an appellate court, and to free Safi ya Ykubu Hussani. Poles sent tens of thousands of letters to

photo: IYMC the Nigerian authorities asking for pardon. The campaign Learning to dance the Polonaise ended in success, and the Nigerian woman was pardoned.

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 Oś—Oświęcim, People, History, Culture magazine, no. 4, April 2009 International Youth Meeting Center

terpretation and evaluation an expert from the Helsinki the right to education) were evening during which the to the observance and viola- of various laws. The fi nal ex- Human Rights Foundation, defi ned, as well as domains Polish group attempted to tion of human rights. In the ercise, “what do you think of Dr. Krzysztof Żarna, who where the state does not in- teach the Germans to dance editing studio in the second- human rights?” was based introduced some order into terfere (such as freedom of the Polonaise—and they ary school in Gliwice, work on a debate for and against. our knowledge of the de- speech). A great deal of in- succeeded! There were also is also underway on a fi lmed We discussed, among other velopment and evaluation terest was stirred on the part visits to the families of the report on the seminar, and things, the following theses: of human rights. We also of the young people by the Polish participants in Gli- a special website is being set “Human rights are only im- analyzed concrete contem- story of Safi ya Ykubu Hus- wice, which was a special up at the school in Bielefeld. ages in the imagination, and porary instances of the vio- sani—this case made visible gesture indicating the trust Both groups intend to com- cannot be applied to reality; lation of human rights and the clear difference in the un- and friendship that arose pete for the Polish-German Human rights are a luxury freedoms and strategies for derstanding of rights based among the seminar partici- prize in the Polish-German that only wealthy states can the defense of these rights on the Judeo-Christian tra- pants. The last task facing the Youth Cooperation contest, afford; Men deserve more and freedoms on the global, dition and Shariah, which is young people from Gliwice which extended fi nancial rights than women; I need European, and national lev- the radical law of Islam. and Bielefeld was conduct- support to the seminar. Let’s not defend human rights, els. Domains of law where Aside from the many hours ing surveys in both schools keep our fi ngers crossed! this is a task for the state.” the state is under an obli- of discussion, there was also on the situation in their class- A guest at the seminar was gation to intervene (such as time for a Polish-German es and their school in regard Ela Pasternak

I CAN SEE THAT THIS PLACE IS ALIVE

y name is Matthias Crepel and I am 25 years old. I have been a photographer for 5 years and I live in Lille in northern France. I came to Oświęcim in September last year and I like it here a lot. The town is pleasant. MMy favorite place is the vicinity of the Oświęcim Culture Center. I can see that this place is alive. think of something that is Second World War in terms Poland to keep working for over and done with. I don’t of collaboration, suffering, the sake of conveying re- think that’s right. The prob- and the resistance move- membrance, to complete my lems connected with fascism ment, and also on relations artistic project, and of course and racism are always with with Poland, Russia, and the to perfect my command of us. In the effort to stave off country’s position in Europe. Polish. the danger, it is necessary However, I want to return to Matthias Crepel to break with the absurd tendency that the nazis and other criminals resorted to before and after the Second World War, saying that peo- ple are not capable of grasp- ing evil in the sunshine and that it has to be shown in black and white colors or in blurry drawings. The work that I do during my workshops is also part of my personal photographic project, where I concentrate among other things on the idea of presenting the con- trast between reality and the tendency to think in terms of separating good from photo: Matthias Crepel evil. These two concepts are Warm purpose against winter - garden of IYMC dangerously independent of each other. I also like the market, because work with Poles, with the At the IYMC, I felt very well I can fi nd things there that exception of Anna Meier, treated—with respect and I have never seen before, and my guardian, the assistant trust, and also with toler- also things you could fi nd at director of the pedagogical ance and understanding for any market in Europe. I also department, who is Ger- my work as a young vol- like the bus stop in the center man. People speak Polish unteer and artist. In France, of town when there are a lot and German at the IYMC. I never had such a chance of people waiting there for I know English, but it’s not of realizing myself through the bus. They are different used as much. In any case, work that I love and through from my countrymen. They I don’t like that language which I can show what I’m don’t look like they are com- and have decided to learn capable of, and my experi- plaining about wasting their Polish. I like it a lot, but I’ve ence and motivation. I am time because the bus is late. only been learning it for very grateful to everyone I have the impression that 4 months. who works here for their there is less complaining At the IYMC, I organize enthusiasm and commit- here. Perhaps they are better photography workshops for ment, which they show eve- at appreciating life. In order groups on study residencies ry day and which has had to get to work at the Interna- at the former Auschwitz- a profound infl uence on my tional Youth Meeting Cent- Birkenau camp. The work- personality and will accom- er, I have to cross the bridge. shops allow groups to take pany me in my life in fi ght- I can’t stand it, but I love the pictures at the former camp ing against intolerance and river that fl ows beneath it. that are more thoughtful and authoritarianism. I don’t know Polish very well very different from the tradi- My time in Poland is prepa- yet, but Oświęcim strikes me tional pictures you can fi nd ration for a 6-month trip to as a typical Polish town. in travel agents’ brochures Ukraine at the beginning of I am a volunteer at the or school history textbooks. April. With a group of young IYMC. Right now, there are I really don’t like black- volunteers, I am going to six of us: four Germans, an and-white photographs of carry out research on the photo: Matthias Crepel Austrian, and me. We all the camp that make people subject of Ukraine during the Anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz... today

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 Oś—Oświęcim, People, History, Culture magazine, no. 4, April 2009

A CRYSTALLINE EVENING AT THE IYMC

rystal contains within itself powers that can bring out the best in each of us, protect us from evil infl uences, and help us to make our dreams come true. A stone endowed with these special powers was given to eve- Cryone who crossed the threshold of the International Youth Meeting Center on March 27 to take part in the annual gathering of Friends and Benefactors—the meeting of the Good Spirits of the IYMC.

The glimmer of crystal fi lled be referred to as a polish- this extraordinary evening at ing chamber for crystal. The the Center—not only because paths of the young people of the crystal talismans, but who come here from every also thanks to the shimmer- corner of the world to meet ing crystal decorations. An with their peers cross in this appearance by the actors extraordinary place, and it is from the Cracow Stary Teatr, precisely here, at the thresh- Ewa Kaim and Beata Paluch, old of the Center, that they added a stylish accent to the face the challenge embodied crystalline evening as they in the concept of “Ausch- sang the loveliest and most witz.” They arrive here like electrifying songs of the Kab- minerals, not always “pure” aret Starszych Panów to the or crystallized, and it is here accompaniment of Janusz that they are given the fi nal Butryma. polishing of sensitivity, em- It might not be out of bounds pathy, and openness to oth- to advance the thesis that ers. The goal of the intensive the crystalline splendor that work undertaken by the em- graced the interior of the ployees of the Center is for Meeting Center on this Fri- the guests, when they leave day evening was no accident. Oświęcim, to shine with the These would be no danger noble glory of the knowledge, of exaggeration in stating experience, and skill they ac- that the IYMC itself could quire here. Often, indeed, there is success: “The confi r- of Social-Political Posters, knowledged standard and mation of this thesis can be the European “Discussions style in the provision of edu- found in the biographies of with Zofi a Posmysz” as part cational-cultural opportuni- the volunteers, the young of the Literature and Memory ties. The IYMC puts on and residents of Oświęcim who gathering, and the appear- lends its seal of approval to have cooperated for years ance by the Synagogue events about which it would with the IYMC and who par- Choir from Leipzig. These be diffi cult, if not downright ticipate in seminars as a re- and other initiatives, as well impermissible, to remain si- sult of which the time spent as the previous work of the lent. It is sui generis a lesson in the Center is a life-chang- Center have been noted and in knowledge and sensitiv- ing experience, important in appreciated through two sig- ity, constituting a stimulus the formation of civic atti- nifi cant awards. The Interna- for a great deal of refl ection. tudes and the crystallization tional Youth Meeting Center It is more than a plethora of of views of the surrounding won First Prize in Pro Publico artistic and educational ex- world,” states the Director of Bono, the most prestigious hibitions; it is also The Meet- the IYMC, Leszek Szuster, in confi rmation of this view. The International Youth Meeting Center is not only everyday and highly important Not only salt, pedagogical work, numerous study but also—crystal! journeys and seminar undertakings The annual meeting with the Good Spirits is an appropri- directed to young people. Special events ate time to cast a backward frequently accompany these occurrences. glance and sum up the pre- ceding year’s activity of the award in Poland for non- ings with Philosophy and the IYMC and, as Director Leszek governmental organizations. Cracow Poetry Salon. It is also Szuster opines, to thank all It was also distinguished by highly important activity in of those who, through their the Marshal of the Wojewódz- the fi eld of the Center’s sti- presence in the Center and two of Małopolska with the pends, which consist in the their moral support for its “Salt Crystal” award and, by support of talented youth everyday activity, render tes- the same token, found itself from the Land of Oświęcim timony that the civic initia- in the company of the best through the Stipendiary tive of the IYMC is important non-governmental organiza- Fund in Commemoration of for this town. He stresses that tions in Małopolska. Maria and Stanisław Neu- “this is support which we Every Denizen of the Center mann. need and for which we are knows that the IYMC is a very grateful to you.” special, energetic place, and The International Youth not only thanks to the crys- Crystalline Spirits Meeting Center is not only tals, but above all thanks to “This Center would not ex- everyday and highly impor- the splendid people thanks ist, nor would we, nor would tant pedagogical work, nu- to whom the Center is a many valuable initiatives, merous study journeys and veritable magnet that attracts were it not for you who fi ll seminar undertakings di- not only personalities, but the Center with your pres- rected to young people. Spe- also value-laden events. The ence. We are grateful to you, cial events frequently accom- IYMC has made a name for too, our dear Friends and pany these occurrences. Such itself in the consciousness of Benefactors, for this suc- exceptions in the foregoing the residents of Oświęcim, cess,” the deputy chairper- year included the Second An- and has established a certain son of the Board of Trustees nual International Biennale prestige. It designates an ac- of the IYMC Foundation,

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 Oś—Oświęcim, People, History, Culture magazine, no. 4, April 2009

Alicja Bartuś, told the invited Donor category. It was to the beauty of poetry and The female artists from Cra- that played in my soul was guests. On that evening, the awarded to her for her pro- her enthusiasm for the edu- cow managed “in some mi- the non-viburnum, but rath- Board of Trustees, the Direc- found understanding of the cational and artistic under- raculous way” to track down er IYMC song, “Crystalline torate, and the Employees of ideals of the Center and her takings of the Center. all the award winners and nights and crystalline days.” the IYMC decided once again many years of supporting In the Spirit category, Bar- lead them out of the crowd. Further splendor was lent to honor their Friends. The its educational and cultural tek Szafrański received the They were led to them by to this “crystalline evening” Statuette in the Artist Cate- at the IYMC by the presence gory was presented to Paweł Every Denizen of the Center knows that the IYMC of former Auschwitz Con- Warchoł, who was given the is a special, energetic place, and not only thanks to the crystals, centration Camp prisoners, award in recognition of his members of the Board of many years of collaboration but above all thanks to the splendid people thanks to whom Trustees and Board of Direc- with the Center in the fi eld of the Center is a veritable magnet that attracts not only personalities, tors of the IYMC Founda- the mounting of exhibitions but also value-laden events tion, German Consul Tho- and other artistic undertak- mas Glaeser, Parliamentary ings, for his unshakeable initiatives, as well as for her prize, which was awarded the always reliable crystals, Delegate Janusz Chwierut, faith in the power of artistic extraordinary skill in com- for many years of coopera- which gave off intensive Member of the Executive expression to infl uence real bining a managerial attitude tion with the Center (extend- vibrations that infallibly Board of the Województwo of life—the fruit of this faith is with civic sensitivity. Also ing, indeed, almost through- picked out the Good Spirits Małopolska Marek Sowa, and the International Biennale of singled out for distinction out his life), and for the that are imbued with posi- all of those whose presence Social-Political Posters—and in this same category was breath of fresh air represent- tive energy. As they did so, offered confi rmation of the for his contribution for shap- Helena Wisła, who received ed by more youthful young they intoned “Viburnum fact that they are to be count- ing the visual identifi cation thanks for her unique re- people among the younger nights, Viburnum days,” ed among the Friends of the of the Center (Paweł Warchoł alization of the civic sense Denizens of the Center, for from the song sung in such IYMC. Nor can there be any is the creator of the IYMC of co-responsibility, as ex- his creative overturning of a lovely way in days of yore doubt that among them are logo). pressed in her many years stereotypes about “today’s by Kalina Jędrusik. For me the undersigned, Anna Śpiewak of the AUS- of individual support for the young people,” and for his on that evening (and per- TROTHERM company re- Center’s initiatives and in open-mindedness, commit- haps for other Denizens of Monika i Albert Bartoszowie ceived the statuette in the her extraordinary sensitivity ment, and solid work. the Center as well) the song photo: Tomasz Mól

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 Jewish Center Oś—Oświęcim, People, History, Culture magazine, no. 4, April 2009

THE SECOND FESTIVAL

he Jewish Motifs Retrospective 2008 festival, held March 2-31, 2009, at the Jewish Center in cooperation with the Jewish Motifs association, met with great interest among audiences from Oświęcim and the vicinity. This was Tthe second time that the fi lm review was held in Oświęcim. fi lms depicting the confl ict in the Middle East, and there are also animated fi lms.” The fi lms with which inter- ested people could acquaint themselves included the winner of the main Golden Warsaw Phoenix prize, Hilla Medalia’s To Die in Jerusalem, which is an enthralling story about the Israel-Palestine confl ict from the perspec- tive of two families, and also with the fi lm that won the Silver Warsaw Phoenix, Bo- rys Lankosz’s Alien VI. The fi lm tells the story of a certain man who travels to a small town. He would look thor-

oughly unremarkable were photo: JC it not for the pair of side curls Nidda that emerge from beneath his black hat. The newcomer unintentionally reminds the locals of a world that has not existed for such a long time that some of them feel that photo: JC Paper dolls they have the right to believe that the world of his stories never existed at all. The Jewish Motifs Interna- took place from April 22-27, tional Film Festival has been 2008. At that time, more than Some of the fi lms shown organized since 2004 by the 200 fi lms from 18 countries during the festival: Jewish Motifs association. were entered in the contest, Paper Dolls, directed Each year, the association from among which 48 fi lms, by Tomer Heymann lends from ten to twenty including some from Israel, (Israel 2007, 80’) fi lms free of charge for the Poland, the USA, Belgium, Paper Dolls is a touching story retrospective. These shows and the UK, were selected for about Philippine transsexu- take place in many places in the contest. als who emigrated to Israel to Poland: in houses of culture “The thematic threads in become care givers for elderly and cinemas, and at festivals these fi lms are varied. There Orthodox Jews. This fi lm, by of Jewish culture. are several of them that re- a young Israeli director who The fi lms on loan usually fer to themes connected with made friends with the group, include the most interesting the Holocaust and the Sec- highlights the contradictions fi lms from the previous edi- ond World War,” said Ar- and overturns age-old preju- tion of the festival, and all the tur Szyndler of the Jewish dices. In documenting the life fi lms that received awards. Center. “In the previous year of the Filipinos, the young This year, the association there were also several fi lms man begins to understand

loaned the Jewish Center 24 on Holocaust themes. How- himself better. photo: JC fi lms that were a part of the ever, they do not constitute The fi lm won the Silver War- To Die in Jerusalem review of fi lms at the 5th in- the dominant element. There saw Phoenix for documentary ternational festival, which are numerous contemporary fi lms. Aside from Love, ry of prewar Cracow seen directed by Daniel Espinoza through the eyes of Jews. (Denmark, 2007, 90’) Two realities come into col- Shmuli, a charming dreamer, lision: a secure childhood is left alone with his 5-year- during the interwar period old son. He lives with his is interrupted suddenly and parents but dreams about transformed into the hell of moving to America, and the Holocaust. The heroes of saves up the money he earns the fi lm went through hell; as a security guard in a Jew- after the war, some left Po- ish school. One day, he meets land while others returned to the charming young Amina, Cracow. All of them, howev- who runs the sweet shop er, are bound by their hearts around the corner. She is Pa- to the city of their childhood, kistani and he is a Jew—their and they remember that blossoming love is put to the now forgotten world. The test. The fi lm won the Bronze fi lm presents unique, un- Warsaw Phoenix for best fea- published archival material ture fi lm. from the interwar period. The fi lm won the Antoni Little Town of Kroke, Marianowicz Special Prize. directed by Natalia Schmidt and Kuba Karyś Agnieszka Juskowiak photo: JC (Poland 2007, 45’) (on the basis of material from Roads Little Town of Kroke is a sto- the organizers)

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 Oś—Oświęcim, People, History, Culture magazine, no. 4, April 2009 Jewish Centerter

THERE’S A SCENE IN SCHINDLER’S LIST...

lila and Hadasa Bau, the daughters of the Cracow writer, poet, and graphic artist Józef Bau, had a meeting at the Jew- JÓZEF BAU ish Center with students from the Stanisław Konarski Lyceum C Józef Bau was born in 1920. He spent his childhood and in Oświęcim. Here are some excerpts from the event. youthful years in Cracow. He was imprisoned in the ghet- Clila and Hadasa Bau: have met my wife.” Our par- spoons to a jeweler, who to and in concentration camps from 1940-1943. From the ents always said that good made two rings from them. camp in Płaszów, he was transferred to Gross-Rosen, and We have been going around can come of even very evil A wedding in Płaszów is then to Oskar Schindler’s camp, where he remained until to schools and talking about things. shown in Schindler’s List. the end of the war. In one of the camps, he fell in love and our father for many years. In many families, there was Have you seen that fi lm? married a fellow prisoner, Rebekah. That extraordinary However, being here today never any talk of the Holo- Those were our parents. Fa- wedding was depicted in Steen Spielberg’s fi lm Schindler’s is something special. Our caust. It was hard for people. ther dressed as a woman and List. Art saved his life. He used it to draw and to paint mother was in Auschwitz. They didn’t want to. With us, went to the women’s camp. signs in Gothic letters. Since he hd access to ink and pens, Our father studied for one it was different. Father talked He married mother in secret Bau forged documents and identity cards for people who year before the war started. about wartime incidents eve- there. Women and men were managed to escape from the camp. In this way, he saved At the end of the school year, ry day. not allowed to meet. Our the lives of hundreds of people. After th war, he graduat- he had lessons in Gothic let- They sent our parents from parents communicated with ed from the Fine Arts Academy in Cracow. In 1950, he and tering. Some of the students Cracow to the Płaszów each other and summoned his 3-year-old daughter emigrated to Israel. He worked cut the class, but he stayed camp. They hadn’t met yet. each other by whistling. They as a graphic artist at the Brandwein Institute in Haifa and there. He said that he had Father drew maps. Amon had their own melodies. for the Israel government, before opening his own studio some kind of inkling that Goeth, the camp comman- In his pocket, father had in Tel Aviv. He decorated its walls with numerous works he should attend that class. dant, wanted a copy of a map a scarf that he put over his of his own. He designed the titles for almost all the fi lms Vacation began a month that father drew. In those head. He fell in between his made in Israel in the 1960s and 1970s. He was a member of later. The war broke out in days, you needed photosen- mother and his fi ancée. They the Association of Israeli Painters and Sculptors, the Asso- September, and they set up sitive paper to make a copy. sneaked him into the wom- ciation of Film and Television Directors, and the Associa- the ghetto. Our father made It was a cloudy day. Father en’s camp. There, in secret, tion of Israeli Writers. He died in 2002. a sign reading “Józef Bau- said that he couldn’t make a they got married. (source: www.josephbau.org) Graphics” and put it in the copy that day because there Everybody looked alike. window. The Germans were was no light. Goeth said, “Ei- They had hair and striped looking for someone to do ther a copy or a bullet in your uniforms. When they burned artistic lettering. They took head.” Father took the paper them, their souls went to him to the Bauleitung, where and the holder, but the sun heaven like Hebrew letters he made signs. You could didn’t come out. Suddenly, a of the alphabet. In his bag, fa- say that art was our father’s beautiful young woman came ther carried all his treasures: salvation. along and asked, “What are photos of his parents and We were convinced that we you doing?” He said, “I’m a tiny notebook. That’s where knew everything about our waiting for the sun.” Then the 11 drawings come from. parents. For a while. It turned he said, “Maybe you’ll be my Father said that life during out that, during the war, our sunshine.” Mama smiled and the time of the Holocaust mother and father rescued walked away. Later, father was like playing chess. Being many Jews, but we had nev- went to the offi ce, took the afraid of every step, being er talked about it with them paper out of the holder, put afraid of your own shadow. before. it in the developer—and the The world knew, and did In the Płaszów camp, father copy of the map was there! nothing. had all the drawing instru- Not long afterwards, they Our father was an artist, the ments, brushes, and paints. met in secret near the camp fi rst one in Israel who made He also made false docu- latrine. Father proposed. animated fi lms. He was ments, which enabled many They had nothing to lose. a writer and a poet. Above people to survive the war. They decided to hold the all, he was a very humble Several years after the war, wedding. For several days, man. Our parents said that someone asked him, “Why father didn’t eat any bread. every moment you’re alive didn’t you make such papers He was saving up to be able is a miracle. That you have for yourself?” He replied: “Be- to buy two silver teaspoons. to be thankful for every mo- photo: www.holocaustresearchproject.org cause then I wouldn’t have Then he went without bread ment. For your whole life. Map of the Plaszow camp saved others, and I wouldn’t some more. He gave the Agnieszka Juskowiak photo: JC photo: JC Hadasa and Clila Bau with participants of the meeting Hadasa and Clila Bau

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 Center for Dialogue and Prayer Foundation Oś—Oświęcim, People, History, Culture magazine, no. 4, April 2009

REMEMBERING THE REV. STANISŁAW MUSIAŁ, S.J.

Bern who spent Yom Kip- pur in the synagogue, fast- ing without water or food THE REV. STANISŁAW MUSIAŁ SJ for 25 hours. “I attempted (1938-2004) to do the same thing sev- eral times on Good Friday He joined the Jesuits by accident. Desirous of ensuring and Holy Wednesday, but further education for a gifted and pious boy, one of his I failed. I always broke down teachers wrote letters to several religious orders. Only before midnight, simply be- the Jesuits responded positively. After completing his cause of the lack of water. novitiate, Musiał studied philosophy in Cracow and I am inspired by the religious theology in Warsaw. In 1965, he traveled to Rome and attitude of Jews, and the Munich for further studies. He became interested in beauty of their family lives this time in Renaissance thought, and this led to schol- and life of prayer. We have arly research on French humanism. After several years something to learn,” said of scholarship, he lived for a short time in England, and Musiał in the interview. later in Italy and Germany. While staying in the west, he Dramatic wartime events was very active in pastoral and social affairs, and tried infl uenced the course of the to help the Polish church through publishing, soliciting Rev. Musiał’s life. When the for scholarships, and raising funds. He returned to Po- Germans discovered during land in 1978 and was assigned to Tygodnik Powszechny, a search that his mother was where he published pro-Solidarity articles. He spent the sheltering Jews, they want- years 1982-1985 in Austria. After returning to Poland, he ed to shoot the entire family. again worked with Tygodnik Powszechny, serving as one Little Stanisław, only a few of editor-in-chief Jerzy Turowicz’s assistants from 1989 years old at the time, threw to 1991. himself in tears at the feet of He published numerous articles in the Polish and foreign the SS men and begged for press. His article Black Is Black, analyzing the attitudes their lives. Later, the future of the Rev. Henryk Jankowski and the essence of anti- Jesuit purged those events Semitism, he won the Grand Press 1998 journalism prize, from his consciousness for which is referred to as the Polish Pulitzer Prize. He was many years. a member of the board of trustees of the Jewish Culture As he later recalled, it was Center in Kazimierz in Cracow. Selections of his articles only in 1985 that he took were published as Twelve Baskets of Crumbs (2002) and a deeper interest in Jew- Black Is Black (2003). In 2006, Wirold Bereś and Krzysztof ish matters, when Bernard Burnetko published a book-length interview with Musiał Suchecky, a journalist and under the title An Unbowed Clergyman. historian from Brussels, ap- The Rev. Stanisław Musiał died in Cracow on March peared in the editorial of- 5, 2004. Franciszek Cardinal Macharski said his funeral fi ces of Tygodnik Powszechny: mass and Rabbi Aron Halberstein of Jerusalem recited the “Jerzy Turowicz asked me Kaddish at the cemetery.

photo: CDPF to look after the guest. And Jacek Maj Father Stanisław Musiał during that conversation, I learned what a problem set by this. As a Christian, erate the writing of them. the Carmelite Convent in I began asking how this was . . . You commit the sin of Jacek Mak presented ma- Polish Section of Vatican Oświęcim was for Jews. . possible. How could my anti-Semitism if, instead of terial for his forthcoming Radio. In the recording from . . Suchecky visited Cardi- Church remain silent?” the proper terms ‘Jew’ and biography of the Cracow 2000, Musiał talks about the nal Macharski, traveled to Musiał was a member and ‘Jews,’ [Żyd, Żydzi] you use Jesuit. At the beginning of traditions of the Jewish holi- Oświęcim, and described the secretary of the Episcopate the diminutive forms ‘little the meeting, he played an day of Rosh Hashanah and entire affair. That was when Commission for Dialogue Jew,’ “little Jews’ [Żydek, unknown interview discov- his friendships with Jews Jewish circles erupted in with Judaism (1986-1995). Żydki]. You commit the ered in the archives of the including the Rabbi from protests against the presence He and Jerzy Turowicz ad- sin of anti-Semitism if you of Catholic nuns at the site of vised Franciszek Cardinal deny the dimensions of the the Holocaust. The Cardinal Macharski during the Ge- Holocaust of the Jews.” He I met the Rev. Stanisław Musiał in the 1980s, when he asked Jerzy Turowicz and neva meetings on the Car- was under no illusion that was in Germany defending the Polish perspective in var- me for help in this matter. melite Sisters’ Convent in such a pastoral letter would ious discussions about the Carmelite Convent in Ausch- . . . That was when I began Oświęcim. He became one of bring immediate change. witz. That was when I asked him about the chances of studying the problem of the the signatories of the agree- He knew, however, that it spending a longer period in Poland, in Oświęcim. Those Holocaust of the Jews. The ment signed in 1987, on the was diffi cult to talk to the were still “communist” times. When I asked him, “How thing that made the greatest basis of which the sisters left faithful about the sin of should I prepare?” he replied: “First, learn Polish. Sec- impression on me was the the Old Theater building anti-Semitism without being ond, gather together books, since you won’t be able to fate of Jewish children dur- and moved to a newly con- specifi c. “Theorizing leads buy them in Poland. Third, pray a lot.” Later, when I was ing the war. Such as the rec- structed convent. Another nowhere,” he said, “because in Poland, he helped me a great deal in understanding ollections from the Ukraine effect of the agreement was even the defi nitions of anti- a world that was still foreign to me. by two German army chap- the founding in Oświęcim of Semitism are endless.” Father Stanisław touched the wound of Auschwitz, es- lains, who described how the Center for Dialogue and Musiał’s friends also recall pecially the Jewish wound. I had the impression that he the Germans collected over Prayer. his exceptional sensitiv- took it inside himself, that the pain became a duty for a hundred Jewish children One of Musiał’s unfulfi lled ity to human misery—he him and, in a certain sense, his identity. He decided to in one house. They were dreams was a letter on anti- visited the lonely, the sick, become the voice of Jewish sensibility in the Catholic supposed to be liquidated, Semitism from the Polish and those infected with de- Church in Poland. but the required unit was bishops, containing defi nite spair. He heard the confes- Auschwitz is a wound, and it is hard to be “objective” unavailable. The oldest child instructions: “You commit sions of the homeless. This here while at the same time remaining faithful to the was about 10. They were left the sin of anti-Semitism if is why the forthcoming magnitude of the suffering of the victims. This is the without food, without warm you are directed in your book about Musiał will be place and these are the conditions of the dialogue after clothing, without anything. life or political decisions by accompanied by the inau- Auschwitz. I did not always agree with the conclusions And they took care of each whether or not someone is guration of a stipendiary he reached, but I am very grateful to Father Musiał for other—6- or 4-year-olds of Jewish origin. You com- fund in his name for chil- the fact that he fought with all his heart for a place for looked after little children of mit the sin of anti-Semitism dren and young people from that sensibility in the heart of the Church. 2. Finally, a kommando was if you write anti-Jewish the powiat of Limanowa. The Rev. Manfred Deselaers found…. I was terribly up- slogans on the walls or tol- edited by Beata Pajest-Lewandowska

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 Oś—Oświęcim, People, History, Culture magazine, no. 4, April 2009 Center for Dialogue and Prayer Foundation

HOW TO TEACH AUSCHWITZ AND THE HOLOCAUST?

n March 13, 2009, in cooperation with the Edith Stein Research Center at the Adam Mickiewicz University of Poznań and the Center for Dialogue and Prayer in Oświęcim, a group of third-year students from the Ger- Oman department at the Foreign Language Teachers’ College in Września embarked on a fi eld seminar titled How to Teach Auschwitz and the Holocaust?

The schedule called for visits barracks, we reached the wall most 200 hectares of land St. Teresa Benedicta of the in those days. Many hours to the Auschwitz I and Ausch- where death sentences were covered with chimneys, bar- Cross, known under her of discussions and seminars witz II-Birkenau camps. The carried out on prisoners. The racks, guard towers, and the secular name as Edith Stein. reinforced our conviction fi rst thing to appear before guide left us alone for a mo- ruins of gas chambers. This She is numbered among the that the Holocaust is a tragic our eyes was the gate with ment. No one said a word. horrifying sight will long most eminent thinkers and and incomprehensible stage the famous inscription Arbeit We could only feel that brief remain in memory. Walk- philosophers of our time, in the history of Europe. One macht frei. This ironic slogan, words of prayer were beat- ing through the main gate, and also among the most res- should not attempt to under- which accompanied the pris- ing in our hearts. From the we were aware that this was olute female fi ghters for the stand it, since there is no way oners through the days and “Death Wall,” we made our a death camp. The destiny of rights of women in the world of grasping the criminal ide- months of their hard slave way to the gas chamber and the people imprisoned here of learning and culture in ology of National Socialism. labor, made us aware of the crematorium where our eyes was death, and death it was those days. Having earlier Above all, one should re- seriousness of the place in beheld the instruments with that most frequently freed familiarized ourselves with member it and make young which we found ourselves. the help of which the Ger- them from the hands of the her extraordinary biography, people sensitive to the prob- For us, the gate of Auschwitz man Nazis, in the grip of the kapo. we were greatly impressed lem of racial hatred while was the gate of the largest Hitlerite ideology, savagely Listening to the words of by her scholarly attainments propagating tolerance, since cemetery in Europe. Those murdered hundreds of thou- the guide, we endeavored and by the life that ended in we are all citizens of one of us who had been there sands of innocent people. to imagine the diffi culty of a place where people forgot world. before experienced again the As we visited all these hor- camp life. In vain, for what about God and their own hu- We will surely remember our thoughts and feelings that rifying places, we asked each can young people living in manity. visit to Oświęcim for many accompanied our previous other, “How could it have a free and democratic coun- In the Center for Dialogue long years. We left Oświęcim visits. come to such a tragedy? try know about a regime un- and Prayer, we spent the with a tremor of regret, but We moved very slowly, in Why didn’t any of the states der which there are no con- entire day in an animated also in the awareness that we silence and with solemnity. participating in this senseless cepts of person or fi rst and discussion about the crazed know that we will certainly With great attention, and at war react? Where was God?” last name, but rather num- Hitlerite ideology, about the do everything to ensure that times with horror, we lis- The questions multiplied as bers tattooed on forearms. brutality of the Nazis, and the tragic history of Ausch- tened to the words of the we went on, yet they found Viewing the prisoner bar- about being human. The Rev. witz is not repeated. guide who told in a gripping no answer. We left Ausch- racks and their primitive Manfred Dessaelers aided us We are very grateful to the way the story of the place witz I deep in thought, full furnishings, we realized how in these diffi cult discussions, Edith Stein Research Center where hundreds of thou- of admiration for the power hard it was, in these inhu- elucidating many aspects of the AMU, without the help sands of Jews, Poles, Gyp- of the people who remained mane conditions, to remem- connected with the forming of which our trip would not sies, and Russians suffered. unbroken and managed to ber that one was a human and effects of Nazism. have been possible. We also As we walked from one Ex- put up resistance to the per- being. The goal of our trip was to pay our most sincere thanks hibition Room to another, petrators. Brzezinka, for that is the learn how to convey knowl- to the Center for Dialogue we could see the sadness and From the Main Camp, we Polish name of the camp, edge and facts about the and Prayer, which for us ac- horror etched on the faces of made our way to Birkenau. is the place of the martyr’s tragic events in the history tually became such a place. some of our fellow students. In comparison with Ausch- death of one of the greatest of Auschwitz to young peo- Passing more buildings and witz I, it was colossal. Al- Catholic saints of our time, ple unaware of the situation Łukasz Jaskulski (Września) photo: CDPF Participants of the seminar

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 History Oś—Oświęcim, People, History, Culture magazine, no. 4, April 2009

Reich, to which the Oświęcim rogation and then sent to the PEOPLE OF GOOD WILL area had been annexed. The prison in Mysłowice. Piotr border police apprehended Jarzyna was sent to Ausch- him during one of these op- witz, while his daughter PIOTR JARZYNA erations in the autumn of was sent back to the Bielsko (1893-1943) 1942. He managed to jettison Gestapo jail. Piotr Jarzyna a parcel full of medicine at was shot on October 22, school there before learning the pseudonym “Jacek.” He the last moment, but the po- 1943. After the war, in rec- the trade of wheelwright. was a courier between the lice found several ampoules ognition of his heroism and He served in the Austrian Cracow district SL and the of typhus vaccine on his per- combat record against the army. In 1919, he married Roch command in the Biała son. They took him to Wa- occupation regime, he was Rozalia Mierta. They had region, while also belong- dowice, where he was tried posthumously awarded the three daughters and two ing to the BCh group that and sentenced. He was sent Order of Grunwald Third sons. Until 1938, he lived in operated near Auschwitz. to Auschwitz III-Monowitz, Class. His daughter Helena his native village, where he While living in Cracow, but managed to escape after survived the occupation. farmed on a small scale and he frequently made clan- three weeks there and re- Biographical sketch from: ran a wheelwright’s shop. destine trips to the camp turn to Cracow. When carry- Ludzie Dobrej Woli. Then he moved to Cracow area, carrying contraband ing another consignment of Księga Pamięci and settled in Płaszów. that included underground medicine to the camp in Jan- mieszkańców Having been active before publications and, above all, uary 1943, he and his daugh- ziemi oświęcimskiej the war in the peasant move- medicine for the prisoners, ter Helena were caught by niosących pomoc ment in Polanka, he joined including some extremely the German border police. więźniom KL Auschwitz, The son of Ignacy Jarzyna the peasant underground valuable specifi cs. When They were both incarcerated Henryk Świebocki, ed. and Marianna (Maria) Ja- during the occupation. He approaching the Ausch- Auschwitz-Birkenau in the prison in Wadowice State Museum rosz Jarzyna, he was born was a member of the Peas- witz area, he ran the great before being transferred to and Auschwitz in Polanka Wielka near ant Party (SL) and was risk of illegally crossing the Gestapo headquarters in Preservation Society, Oświęcim on June 27, 1893, a soldier in the Peasant Bat- border between the General Bielsko, where they were Oświęcim, 2005 and attended the seven-class talions (BCh). He went by Government and the Third put through a brutal inter- FROM GANOBIS’S CABINET HISTORY OF OŚWIĘCIM he story of these two postcards is an —APRIL unusual one. A red brick house, known as the “Libra House,” still stood a few • 1 April 1929 Sforza of Milan and Isabel of as recorded on the plaques in T The self-government represen- Aragon, she stayed and her 19 languages at the foot of the years ago on Berka Joselewicza street. From tation of the powiat of Oświęcim entourage stayed overnight monument was infl ated (4 mil- the times of my youth, I have a clear memory began its work. Created by in the Oświęcim castle. She lion). In 1995, new inscriptions the Austrian government on traveled on and fi nally met were added in 19 languages, of both that house and its former residents. July 1, 1910, the Imperial and up with King Sigismund I on reading: “For ever let this When the building had fallen into ruin, it be- Royal starostwo of Oświęcim April 15. place be a cry of despair and was incorporated in the Cra- • 11 April 1564 a warning to humanity, where came a place for young people to play. I used cow województwo in August A town court operating under the Nazis murdered about to run there with my friends, mindless of the 1919 as a political powiat report- Polish law began functioning one and a half million men, ing to the local government of in Oświęcim. The second in- women, and children, mainly dangers that could befall us there. the powiat in Biała. corporation privilege, signed Jews from various countries of One day, information ran friends had discovered in 1 April 1932 by King Sigismund August, Europe. Auschwitz-Birkenau around town about the dis- a red brick house on Berka A ruling by the Council of Min- provided for the full autono- 1940-1945.“ isters of the Republic of Poland my of the duchies of Oświęcim • 18 April 1518 covery of Jewish treasure in Joselewicza street. It turned abolished the powiat starostwo and Zator, while also broaden- Janusz, the son of Duke Janusz a building—the Libra house. out that this was one of my of Oświęcim. Zator was rein- ing the political rights of the lo- V of Zator, took part in the of- Some young people had been friends, who had not owned corporated into the Wadowice cal nobility. fi cial wedding of the Polish playing among the ruins, up to anything at the time. powiat while Oświęcim and its • 13 April 1967 monarch Sigismund I the Old when one of the roof beams Several weeks earlier, I had surroundings returned to Biała The Council of State of the and Bona Sforza d’Aragon, suddenly collapsed. Strange bought some Jewish seals powiat. Polish People’s Republic and her coronation as Queen objects fell from above. They from that acquaintance. When • 7 April 1433 awarded the town of Brzeszc- of Poland. The younger Janusz were souvenirs of the Jew- I asked him for more details, The army of Duke Kazimierz ze the Grunwald Cross Third was the last representative of ish population of Oświęcim, he changed the subject. All of Oświęcim took part in the Class for help to the prisoners the Oświęcim line of the Sile- battle at Rybnik between the of Auschwitz-Birkenau Con- sian Piasts. although no one knew what he would say was that he Silesian duchies and the Hus- centration Camp and involve- • 18-19 April 1940 had really been found. No- was only an intermediary, sites. Kazimierz was probably ment in the resistance move- Director Rudolf Höss of Sach- body wanted to talk about it. and that the seals came from wounded during the battle, ment. senhausen Concentration Camp There were even rumors that Oświęcim for sure. However, and this may have been the • 14 April 1904 carried out an inspection of the carpets, candelabras, books, this was not enough to satisfy cause of his death (1433/1434). Ignacy Fik was born in Oświęcim region. On the basis and prayer garments had my curiosity. After a time, • 10 April 1931 Przeciszów. He was a profes- of Höss’s report, SS command- been found. Some of the items I asked him about it again. Doctor Wiktor Bałanda, a sor at the Stanisław Konarski er Heinrich Himmler issued went on sale at an antique Although he would not di- “socialist” lawyer from Łódź Gimnazjum in Oświęcim in orders for the founding of the shop in Oświęcim, but far vulge the identity of the per- who had been associated with 1930/1931, and a poet, literary Auschwitz camp. more of the items ended up in son who had entrusted him Oświęcim since 1919, died at critic, and leftist journalist con- • 25 April 1778 a clinic in Cracow. In the year nected with the workers’ and The Austrian government antique shops in Cracow. with the seals, he confi rmed 1910-1931, he was head of the communist movement, and sold the starostwo of Zator to Years passed. Someone called that they had once been dis- Oświęcim branch of the Polish the secretary of the Cracow Fryderyk Piotr Dunin of the at the synagogue in Oświęcim covered in the Libra house on Socialist Party. He played an ac- committee of the Polish Work- Łabędź arms and his wife Zo- to say that he was in posses- Berka Joselewicza street. And tive role in defending the rights ers’ Party (PPR). Arrested by fi a Małachowska. The new sion of various mementoes so a part of that mysterious of workers, in the recovery of the Gestapo, he was shot at owner, the illegitimate son of connected with the Jews of trove came to light and now Polish independence, and in Montelupich prison in Cracow King August II the Strong and Oświecim, which he and his fi nds itself in my collection. the powiat Plebiscite Commit- in November 1942. general of the Polish armies Mirosław Ganobis tee. He was a city councilor • 16 April 1967 until 1794, held the offi ce of and the initiator of many social Premier Józef Cyrankiewicz of starosta from 1744. and patriotic projects. He was the Polish People’s Republic • 28 April 1993 buried in Rakowicki Cemetery performed the ceremonial un- At the request of the Soci- in Cracow. veiling at the site of the former ety of Lovers of the Land of • 11 April 1518 German Auschwitz-Birkenau Oświęcim, the Town Council Bona Sforza d’Aragon arrived Concentration Camp of the passed a motion on the hejnał in Oświęcim, the fi rst royal International Monument to trumpet signal of the Town of aw Ganobis

ł stronghold on her route, after the Victims, designed by the Oświęcim. Its musical motif is a 6-week journey from Italy. team of Pietro Cascella, Gior- the fi rst 4 bars of the Wedding King Sigismund I the Old mar- gio Simoncini, Jerzy Jarnusz- Polonaise by the Oświęcim com- ried her in Castel Sapuazo on kiewicz, and Julian Pałka. Un- poser Aleksander Orłowski. December 6, 1517. The daugh- til 1991, the number of victims Compiled by Leszek Żak, local photo: Miros ter of Prince Gian Galeazzo of this largest Nazi death camp and Beskidy mountain guide Stamps

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 Photographer

11TH INTERNATIONAL PEOPLE DID THIS TO OTHER PEOPLE ARTISTIC CONTEST

There were 1,025 entries in the 11th Interna- tional People Did This to Other People Artistic Contest, organized by the Youth House of Cul- ture in Tychy: 779 from Poland, 102 from Italy, 77 from the Czech Republic, 50 from Ukraine, and 17 from Russia. The commission awarded prizes to 32 entries, honorable mention to 40, and en- try for 152 of the entries to the exhibition now open to viewers in Tychy. The honorary patrons of the contest are the Ministry of National Edu- cation and the Director of the Auschwitz-Birk- enau State Museum in Oświęcim, Dr. Piotr M. A. Cywiński. Here are some of the entries. Kamila Antoszewska, 11, (Poland) Ilona Dybka, 15 (Poland)

Roman Michniewicz, 13 (Ukraine) Roksolana Szukel, 14 (Ukraine) Katarzyna Ostrowska, 18 (Poland)

Olga Chrapek, 12 (Poland) Zuzanna Spyrka, 14 (Poland)

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