Berkley Center

Background: As part of the Education and Social Justice Project, undergraduate student Elizabeth Lembo interviewed director of the Auschwitz Jewish Center Tomek Kunewicz in July 2013. Kunewicz has served as director of the center, which aims to preserve Jewish memory and educate the public about the Holocaust, since its founding in 2000. In this interview he discusses student engagement at the center and its purpose and programs.

What is the staff of the Auschwitz Jewish Center (AJC)?

The idea of the AJC was formed by a New York businessman who came to the town and wanted there to be a more permanent center for education on the Holocaust. I have been with AJC for the last 13 years, since the beginning. We have a full-time staff of four people, along with numerous volunteers. We promote education and research; we lead workshops on administration and finance, and we have volunteers who lead regular visitors and groups. In terms of financial resources, we are independently funded by various states as well as by the Polish government. Six years ago, the Museum of Jewish Heritage in New York partnered with us; thus we are now affiliated with them.

What is the purpose of the Auschwitz Jewish Center, and whom do you serve?

The purpose of the center is to provide education and information about the Holocaust and the importance of anti-discrimination. Here at the center, we believe that a firm knowledge of history and what led to historical events is critical to understanding of modern anti-discrimination. At the center, we offer education for all types of people. One large group that we educate throughout most of the year is Polish participants—specifically high school students and educators. We customize a different model with different lengths depending on the program and participants; however, all programs follow the general outline of beginning with a workshop at the center on the Jewish community in Auschwitz. We then travel to Auschwitz and end with an anti-discrimination workshop.

How do you present education of the Holocaust?

The primary purpose of this center is to facilitate education for visitors of Auschwitz and commemorate the Holocaust. Here at the center, we want students, teachers, members of the police, and other visitors to think about today—they can’t just think about history as an isolated event. The large focus on anti-discrimination education aims to raise awareness, create a culture of sensitivity, and empower people. In today’s society, there are instances of discrimination, such as racist language, that might seem trivial, but research and history show how these notions develop into more serious issues. The center is trying to educate so as to end discrimination of these forms from the offset.

Are there any specific programs that have been particularly successful in working towards a more socially just Poland?

Yes. Recently we held a three-day police-training program on anti-discrimination that was found to be very successful. In light of recent spikes in anti-Semitism in the country, a program like this was both fitting and necessary. This program is tailored to the specific needs and desires of the police. In these workshops, the goal is to put participants in the shoes of victims and empathize with groups that are discriminated against. During the tour of Auschwitz, participants learn how groups at the camps were treated. We organize these functions for teachers, police offices, and high school students. For adults, there is always more time spent on anti-discrimination sessions because is very important for adults in society to understand what anti-discrimination is and what can result from it.

How are high school students in Poland educated about Poland’s history, specifically the Holocaust? How do you connect with the high school students that you work with?

Generally speaking, the culture in Poland is a bit shy in regard to reaching out for educational opportunities. Usually it is only a minority of teachers that will reach out to do more to offer supplemental educational material for their students. I think this is a cultural trend in Poland, where teachers do not tend to be as aggressive to find extra education. I am very excited about a high school program that we currently offer that has proven to be very effective. The goal of the program, entitled “Oswiecim: A Different Perspective,” is to present a new approach to visiting Auschwitz. Rather than the students coming for a short two or three hour tour, this is a full-day program. We received a large grant from the government to offer this full-day program that involves a tour of Auschwitz and lunch. We have promoted this program for a while, which has led to a very high demand for it, and we are already filled up for the entire year.

What other opportunities exist? How does the Holocaust workshop work?

We offer at the Auschwitz Jewish Center a fellowship program for twelve students who are studying topics such as history of Holocaust, education, human rights, and Eastern European studies. The focus of this fellowship is to provide participants with an in-depth and contextualized study of the Holocaust’s history and its effects today. We started this program in Krakow by visiting the Gestapo and Communist Prison and Kasimiesz. We then went to Warsaw to visit the Museum of the Uprising of 1944. We also visited Auschwitz (Oswiecim) and then Tarnow in southeast Poland. In Tarnow, we sought to interact with community members to learn more about Jewish heritage and what happened at these sites. In Warsaw, we meet with a non-Jewish Auschwitz survivor and studied at a museum of the history of Polish Jews.

What is the purpose of these programs?

We conduct discussions of museums and how they present their history and meet many participants who are interested in the museum studies field. We seek to have a better understanding of Polish-Jewish relations and how history presented in Poland and the United States has different interpretations. It is definitely true that the way Jewish history in Poland is presented can be different than how it is viewed in other countries. By visiting different sites, we’re able to discuss a variety of approaches of varying opinions on what are good examples of how to really manage places. We analyze how Jewish history is being preserved in Poland through buildings with synagogues, museum, etc.; how they present this history; and how education can be most effective.

What other activities go on at the Center?

In Poland, many students usually visit Auschwitz but are not really looking for something more extensive than that. The programs for Polish students run from September through June is an ongoing project that takes up a lot of our time. Participants learn about the Holocaust through classes. We do a lot of work with the seminar for teachers who are interested to do something more for their students. We also offer cultural programs, as well as events, lectures, and film screenings, on a monthly basis. In the winter, we host film screenings each week of movies from the Jewish Film Festival to local audiences. We have a museum and synagogue, and people will often request group tours for these as well. At the Jewish museum, there is currently a permanent exhibition that we are working on. We now own the house of the last Jewish resident of the town, which will soon be a café and have an exhibit.

What do they do at the New York museum of Jewish heritage?

The center offers internship programs that receive funding through a dinner that happens every year. Through this event we receive money for the museum. We also consult for many different exhibits. The website offers history-related resources, and there is a mobile app that one may download to their phone and then share—this is great. Ultimately, we must keep history alive today—it is not a book that is finished and over.