The seminars, which took place in February, were yet another step towards cooperation and establishing partnership between the two institutions. They were an extended version of the seminar for the leaders of the March of the Living North America, held at POLIN Museum in July 2016. During those visits, usually lasting for several days, IMOL representatives and members of the team of POLIN Museum Guides work together on the program for the March groups’ visits at the Museum.

On 13 and 15 February, a group of 18 guests from the March of the Living Great Britain visited the Museum, and on 20-24 February 11 representatives of the March of the Living Latin America (Argentina, Brasil, Mexico City and Panama) were the POLIN Museum’s guests.

During the seminars, methodological experiences within the framework of educational and guidance work were exchanged, the core exhibition was explored and scripts for tours in which needs and capabilities of children and youth visiting Poland with the March of the Living were prepared. Evaluation  for subsequent visits was also prepared.

During the meetings accompanying the seminar, guests had an opportunity to acquaint themselves with the educational activities at POLIN Museum and the Resource Centre holdings. They met people who had been responsible for producing the core exhibition, i.a. Barbara Kirshenblatt-Gimblett and Joanna Fikus. They visited the Warsaw branch of the Jewish Community Center (JCC), the Jewish cemeteries on Okopowa Street and Św. Wincentego Street, and the Etz Haiym synagogue.

The March of the Living

The March of the Living (Hebrew: מצעד החיים‎) is an international organisation which brings annually over 10,000 Jews from all over the world to Poland where they explore the remnants of the Holocaust. On the Holocaust Memorial Day (Yom HaShoah), thousands of participants march silently from Auschwitz to Birkenau, the largest Nazi concentration camp complex built during World War II. For the past several years the program of visits in Poland have included elements which step beyond the Holocaust. Each year, a group of IMOL decides to tour the POLIN Museum core exhibition – since they began to participate in the preparation process, the tours have become even more popular and sought after. In 2016, over 3,000 people visited the POLIN core exhibition in the week of the March of the Living. Cooperation between the Museum and IMOL helps the Museum guides adjust the program of tours to make it fit the needs of people from various corners of the globe.

"What has been most valuable for me at the seminar? New take on the Polish-Jewish experience"  - Representative of the March of the Living

Members of the March emphasized that thanks to the visit at POLIN Museum and the work of POLIN many guides, they can now pass on the knowledge on the rich and varied Jewish life in Poland prior to WW2, as well as on the revival of Jewish life in Poland after the Holocaust. A visit to POLIN Museum should be a vital element of the program of events in Poland as it enables us to understand the complex history of Polish Jews. Inter-personal relations and exchange of experiences and opinions is crucial as well.

"It is fantastic to get to know one another and together come up with ideas for our future cooperation."  - Representative of IMOL

 

The event is co-financed by International March of the Living, March of the Living UK & Global Education Outreach Program

 

The event is organized within the framework of the GEOP		The event was made possible thanks to the support of the Taube Foundation for Jewish Life & Culture, the William K. Bowes, Jr. Foundation, and the Association of the Jewish Historical Institute of Poland