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Viewing cable 09WARSAW257, POLAND AND ODIHR - NEW MATERIAL TO COMBAT
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Reference ID | Created | Released | Classification | Origin |
---|---|---|---|---|
09WARSAW257 | 2009-03-10 14:38 | 2011-08-24 00:00 | UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY | Embassy Warsaw |
VZCZCXRO5232
PP RUEHAG RUEHAST RUEHDA RUEHDBU RUEHDF RUEHFL RUEHIK RUEHKW RUEHLA
RUEHLN RUEHLZ RUEHNP RUEHPOD RUEHROV RUEHSK RUEHSR RUEHVK RUEHYG
DE RUEHWR #0257/01 0691438
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 101438Z MAR 09
FM AMEMBASSY WARSAW
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 7938
INFO RUEHZL/EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RUEHKW/AMCONSUL KRAKOW PRIORITY 2256
UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 WARSAW 000257
SENSITIVE
SIPDIS
E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PHUM PGOV PREL PL
SUBJECT: POLAND AND ODIHR - NEW MATERIAL TO COMBAT
ANTI-SEMITISM
REF: WARSAW 00192
WARSAW 00000257 001.2 OF 002
¶1. (SBU) Summary. On March 5, the Polish Ministry of
Education and the OSCE Office of Democratic Institutions and
Human Rights (ODIHR) launched a set of teaching tools to
combat anti-Semitism. The materials are specifically aimed
at middle-school age (gymnazium) students. Discussions are
underway to have these new teaching tools included in the new
national curriculum which the Ministry of Education is
developing for middle schools. The roll-out of this material
is a great step forward. Mission Poland is also cooperating
with a number of institutions to combat anti-Semitism and
expand Holocaust education. End Summary.
Teaching Tools to Combat Anti-Semitism
--------------------------------------
¶2. (U) ODIHR cooperated with the Polish Ministry of
Education, local governments and schools, and Polish NGOs to
adapt these pedagogical materials to combat anti-Semitism in
Poland. The materials, developed originally by the Anne
Frank House in Amsterdam, are now available on the internet.
ODIHR said that Poland is the fifth country to roll out the
teaching tools. Polish experts contributing to preparation
of the materials included the Polish-German Center in Krakow,
the Pedagogical University of Krakow, and the International
Center for Education about Auschwitz and the Holocaust at the
Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum in Oswiecim. Following an
international template, the materials in Polish include a
teachers guide and three student workbooks: 1) "History of
Anti-Semitism in Europe up to 1945," 2) "Anti-Semitism: a
Never Ending Struggle?," and 3) "Prejudices. You too?" The
material is not a history of the Jews in Poland, but is
designed to teach about the problem of anti-Semitism in an
international context with specific examples from Polish
history. It highlights the fact that being "Jewish" and
"Polish" are not mutually exclusive. The material can be
incorporated into classes on social studies, ethics, history,
or literature and is addressed to this younger middle-school
(gymnazium) audience with the intent of correcting
stereotypes and prejudices at an earlier age.
Launch Event and Official Endorsement
-------------------------------------
¶3. (SBU) The launch of the material in Warsaw on March 5
amounted to an official endorsement by the Polish government.
Professor Wladyslaw Bartoszewski, an 87-year old Auschwitz
survivor and the Prime Minister's Plenipotentiary for
International Dialogue, gave the keynote speech. He was
joined by Ambassador Janez Lenarcic, Director of ODIHR, and
the Deputy Minister of Education, Krzystof Stanowski, who
gave the Ministry of Education's official endorsement of the
material. During the launch, Dr. Piotr Trojanski from the
Pedagogical University of Krakow, noted that the Ministry of
Education is developing a new middle-school curriculum and
expressed hope that the Ministry would directly incorporate
the new materials so that the work to date on the
anti-Semitism project would not be in vain. Following the
event, ODIHR's principal project advisor, Norbert
Hinterleitner, told poloff that ODIHR is optimistic that the
Ministry will incorporate the materials into its new
curriculum. The event was immediately followed by a two-day
teacher-training course at the National In-Service Teacher
Training Center in which 20 teachers participated.
Mission Poland's Engagement
---------------------------
¶4. (U) Mission Poland actively supports Holocaust education
programs. In 2008, the Embassy and the Jewish Foundation for
the Righteous in New York (JFR) hosted a conference for
teachers to distribute a poster set on rescue called "Traits
that Transcend," provided in Polish translation. The Embassy
is partnering with the Center for Citizenship Education to
host another conference for 120 middle and high school
teachers on April 3, 2009, again featuring distribution of
the poster sets and workshops on how to use them. Elizabeth
Edelstein from New York's Museum of Jewish Heritage will
conduct workshops throughout Poland in the week prior to the
Warsaw conference. We also sponsor 4-5 teachers annually to
participate in US-based Holocaust teacher training.
¶5. (U) ConGen Krakow supports Holocaust education programs in
the southern region as well. Krakow cooperates with three
major institutions: The Auschwitz Jewish Center in Oswiecim,
the Galicia Jewish Museum in Krakow, and the newly opened
Holocaust Studies program at Jagiellonian University in
Krakow, which have a cooperative agreement and share and
advertise each others programs. Both museums have extensive
WARSAW 00000257 002.2 OF 002
education programs which ConGen Krakow helps through small
grants. The Auschwitz Jewish Center, for example, has an
ongoing program for high school students about Jewish life in
Poland and religious tolerance called "My Former Neighbors."
Additionally, ConGen Krakow supported a traveling exhibition
and educational materials for the Galicia Jewish Museum on
Nazi labor camps. This exhibition is currently touring
Poland through cooperation with the Institute of National
Memory (IPN). ConGen Krakow also helps organize lectures for
students and teachers at the Holocaust Studies program at
Jagiellonian University. For example, State's Special Envoy
for Holocaust Issues, Christian Kennedy, gave a lecture there
on property restitution. In addition, ConGen Krakow
cooperates with the newly-created Raphael Lemkin Center for
the Prevention of Genocide to bring together government
officials from over ten countries for a week-long seminar,
sponsored in part by the Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum, on
how to recognize the signs of and prevent genocide.
Comment
-------
¶6. (SBU) The Ministry of Education's official endorsement and
funding for this material is a significant step forward in
terms of Polish efforts to combat anti-Semitism through the
Polish educational system. There is certainly a need for
both the Polish-language material and administrative support
for its use. Our impression from tolerance teachers is that
they currently teach this type of material primarily in the
context of after-school international clubs or in English
classes, perhaps because the material available so far has
been primarily English-based or the teachers are more
internationally-oriented. Although the inclusion of the
materials in the national curriculum would not make their use
mandatory, it would significantly increase the likelihood of
their use by middle-school teachers -- as teachers and
administrators become aware of the existence and availability
of (inexpensive) Polish-language materials. Mission Poland
will continue to work with teachers and others to promote
tolerance and combat anti-Semitism. We will also monitor the
progress of the curriculum development and report any
developments.
ASHE