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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