Poland 

Day of Remembrance: 19 April

Historical Background:
On the morning of April 19, 1943, the Germans entered the Warsaw Ghetto in order to round up the remaining Jews and to liquidate the ghetto. However, they found no Jews on the streets, for the Jews were hiding throughout the ghetto, and when the Germans entered, they were met with fierce resistance. This battle, in preparation for months, was the greatest act of physical resistance against the Nazis in World War II. The Jewish residents of the Warsaw ghetto fought the Germans face to face for a few days, and then went into hiding. By May 16, 1943, the Germans reported the fighting over, and that 56,065 Jews had been killed. However, hundreds remained alive in the Ghettos underground bunkers and many escaped to the Aryan side through the sewers.

Poland and the Holocaust:
Lexicon entry from Yad Vashem's online Holocaust Resource Center: Poland

Educational Activities:
On December 11, 2003 Polish Curricula Law introduced by Regulation of Ministry of Education and Sport Government Gazette 2003 Nr. 210, position number 2041. This curricula is compulsory for every school in Poland. It includes the standards of education provided to Polish students.
Holocaust education in Polish schools is taught during history lessons as well as in lower and upper secondary schools.
Some teachers work with non-governmental organizations: representatives of Survivors, or Righteous amongst the Nations are invited for the lessons, and students visit various memory sites and museums.
The book “Holocaust. School Curriculum on History and the Holocaust in Polish secondary schools’, which was published Robert Szuchta has been adapted to the Polish educational system.
Many academic centers in Poland offer courses and postgraduate studies on Holocaust and Jewish culture. It is crucial for teachers to prepare students for multicultural dialogue and coping with problems prejudices, xenophobia and antisemitism.
Various programs are organized, such as lectures, seminars, workshops and movie presentations. Students often visit museums in the former death camps and memory sites.
Different academic centers conduct researches on the Holocaust and publish books on Polish – Israeli history and on Holocaust history in particular.
Currently, Collegium Europeum in Gniezno is composing works to present to the students Jewish Studies Centre.

Since 1989, Poland cooperates with institutions organizing the annual March of the Living, an international, educational program that brings thousands of Jewish teens from all over the world to Poland on Yom HaShoah, Israel's Holocaust Memorial Day, to march from Auschwitz I to Birkenau.

Educational Activities on Holocaust Memorial Day:
The program of this year's ceremony will be available on  the Auschwitz website www.auschwitz.org.pl within a few days. Additional events will be taking place In schools, municipalities and various institutions  throughout the country.

Websites and Teaching Aids:
Auschwitz-Birkenau Memorial and Museum: www.auschwitz.org.pl
Polish Centre for Holocaust Research (includes extensive list of links on the Holocaust in Poland and Holocaust education and commemoration): www.holocaustresearch.pl
Jewish Historical Institute (Zydowski Instytut Historyczny): www.jewishinstitute.org.il
Museum of the History of Polish Jews: www.jewishmuseum.org.pl
Galicia Jewish Heritage Institute: www.galiciajewishmuseum.org
Polish Press Agency – Auschwitz-Birkenau Liberation Ceremonies www.pap.com.pl/auschwitz/auschwitz-en.pdf
Jewish Historical Institute of Poland www.jewish.org.pl/english/foundati/ZIH.html

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