The First Event of Civ-Ashoah Project
On Sunday, October 23, we hosted the first event of the inter-European project, Civ-Ashoah
which is run in partnership with Ligue de l’enseignement (France) and Arci (Italy), and
supported by a grant from the European Union. The goal of the project, coordinated in Poland
by Taube Center staff members, Marta Eichelberger-Jankowska and Aleksandra Sajdak, is to
develop a new forum for transmitting the historical experience of Ashkenazi Jews with all of its
diversity, and the enormity of the loss suffered throughout Europe as a result of the Holocaust
and World War II.
The program engaged participants in lively discussions through various workshops including a
deep dive into Polish Jewish History through the vibrant and nuanced world of the pre-war and
wartime Jewish poetry of Zuzanna Ginczanka, Julian Tuwim, Kadia Mołodowska, and Icyk
Manger was explored.
Scholar, architect, and artist, Dr. Natalia Romik introduced her project “Hideouts” which
illuminates the Holocaust and human relationships through exploring hiding spaces – tree trunks,
cupboards, and caves – that provided Jews with safe havens during the War. Romik’s project is
an artistic tribute to survival architecture. She also addressed the need for highlighting
contemporary hideouts giving the example of those hastily created by refugees who are refused
entry into Poland on the Belarusian- Polish border.
The program concluded with a brief concert by Yiddish singer, Ola Bilińska, who engaged the
participants through Yiddish lullabies and the Jewish lives they conveyed, and Michał
Moniuszko founding director of the Sejny Theater Klezmer Orchestra. Moniuszko shared the
rich history of the former shtetl and described how family roots are not cut off so easily.
The second Civ-Ashoah event will take place on April 2, 2023. More details will be
announced soon.
