Auschwitz Jewish Center
The Auschwitz Jewish Center Foundation was established in 1995 in New York. Its sister organization in Poland is the Jewish Educational Center Foundation in Auschwitz. The Polish foundation has been active since September 12, 2000. The only synagogue from the town of Oswiecim (Auschwitz) to survive, Chevra Lomdei Mishnayot, is part of the Center. It has been restored with Foundation funds. The Foundation worked for many years before the Jewish Center in Auschwitz could open its doors. The Center's aim is to commemorate the victims of the Holocaust through the study of the history and culture of Polish Jews, taking the small Galician town of Oswiecim as an example. Before the war, over 7,000 Jews lived in the town, which was almost 60% of its total residents. The Jewish Center is a place for education, understanding, memory and prayer.
Opening hours:
April-September: 8:30am – 8pm
October-March: 8:30am – 6pm
The Center is closed on Saturday and on Jewish holidays.
Entrance is free of charge.
ADDRESS:
Centrum Zydowskie w Oswiecimiu
plac ks. Jana Skarbka 5
32-600 Oswiecim
Poland
Tel: (+48 33) 844-70-02
Fax: (+48 33) 844-70-03
info@ajcf.pl
www.ajcf.org; www.ajcf.pl
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Auschwitz Jewish Center activities:
- Visiting the only synagogue in the town of Oswiecim (Auschwitz) to survive, Chevra Lomdei Mishnayot and an exhibition about the life of Jews in Oswiecim before the Second World War.
- Viewing of a film presenting the recollections of former residents of Oswiecim, titled "Memories of Oswiecim"
- An educational program for young people, including "An Introduction to Judaism: The Main Aspects of Jewish Tradition and Culture"; "Jews in Oswiecim Over the Centuries"; "Traces of the Oswiecim Jews", which is a walk through the town and cemetery.
- Competitions for young people, including: "Jews: How I Imagine Them", which began in September 2002. Results were announced in February 2003. The best artworks were put on temporary display in the Center; "Neighbors", which began in September 2003, with results to be announced in February 2004.
- Archives and library.
- Computer Lab, which serves primarily for genealogical research.
- Educational and cultural program for adults: lectures, meetings, films and concerts. By the end of 2003, meetings had taken place with Halina Birenbaum, Miriam Akavia, Rabbi Sacha Pecaric, Dr. Sean Martin, Reuven Zygielbojm, Stanislaw Musial SJ, Alex Dancyg, Michal Sobelman, Izabella Cywinska, Professor Shevach Weiss (the Ambassador of Israel to Poland), Professor Michael C. Steinlauf, Konstanty Gebert, Pavel Vogler, Stanislaw Janicki, Anka Grupinska and Henryk Grynberg.
- Discussions about tolerance: a new project designed to raise awareness about the dangers of xenophobia and intolerance. The first meeting focused on anti-Semitism today and was led by Dr. Jolanta Ambrosewicz-Jacobs. The project is being realized in conjunction with the International Youth Meeting Center in Oswiecim and the "Nigdy Wiecej" ("Never More") Association.
- A scholarship program for students. Since 2001, the Foundation has sponsored study programs several months in length at the Jewish Center in Oswiecim during the summer holidays.
- Volunteer work. Since 2002, volunteers from the German organization "Aktion Sühnezeichen" have been working at the Center.
- Dialogue: the Center organizes meetings to promote dialogue between Polish, German and Jewish youth.
You are welcome to discuss about "Auschwitz Jewish Center"
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