REpoRtApril – December 2011

THE MAREK EDELMAN DIALOGUE CENTER

List of contentsprogram

promotion and media

financial report

was established by the City Coun-

cil in Łódź on 25 August 2010 as

a center for cultural and educatio-

nal research. Its purpose is to organize activities promoting the mul-

ticultural and multiethnic heritage of Łódź, with particular emphasis

on the Jewish culture, as well as other cultures which had a significant

impact on the city. On 6 October 2010, the newly founded institution

was named after Marek Edelman.

The Marek Edelman Center for Dialogue was launched on 1 January

2011 at its temporary office at 5 Tymienieckiego Street. For three

months it was managed by Jadwiga Kwaśniak, director. Following

a competition announced by the Mayor of Łódź, as of 1 April 2011,

Joanna Podolska-Płocka took over as the director. As soon as on

18 April, the first event was held, open to the residents of Łódź, inclu-

ding high schools students. From then on, more such events were

organized, such as meetings, lectures, guided walks and concerts.

This is a report documenting the events and projects undertaken by

the Dialogue Center from April until December 2011.

Dialogue Centerin Łódź

program

JEWISH CULtURE DaYS6-19 June 2011

For nearly two weeks, meetings, workshops, lectures, film screen-ings and concerts were held in various places in Łódź, duringwhich, along with our guests and partners, we presented theextraordinary richness of Jewish culture. Meetings proved enor-mously popular, attracting numerous attendees.

6 June 2011 - Jewish Culture Days were officially launched atthe synagogue at 28 Rewolucji 1905r. Street, with a lecture

given by the Head of the Jewish Community in Łódź, SymchaKeller, who talked about holidays celebrated in the Jewish tra-dition, such as Shavuot, which was about to begin at the time.After the lecture, at the Szafa club, an evening dedicated toJulian Tuwim began. Dr. Tomasz Cieślak from the University ofŁódź presented an essay dedicated to the poet, and the RamboJet group performed a concert inspired by Tuwim’s poetry.Participants: over 150 persons.

7 June 2011 – lecture on women in Judaism by Maria Nowackafrom the ETHNOS Society for Culture at the synagogue (at 28Rewolucji 1905 r. Street)Participants: over 70 persons

9 June 2011 - meeting with dr. Joanna Lisek, expert on Yiddishfrom the University of Wrocław, editor of the book Silent Souls?Women in the Yiddish Culture [Nieme dusze? Kobiety w kulturzejidysz], who talked about Jewish female writers and artists. Thelecture, held at the Biedermann Palace, was attended by over140 persons (!).

10 June 2011 - film screening at the City Point of Culture PREXER-UŁ: 8 Stories that Didn't Change the World (dir. Ivo Kran-kowski, script Jan Śpiewak). One of the people interviewed forthe film was Halina Elczewska; Ms. Elczewska, a Łódź-born

programFrom 1 april until 31 December 2011, the Dialogue Center organized the following events:

Holocaust Survivor, was the author of the idea of the Survivors’Park in Łódź, where the main office of the Dialogue Center willbe located. The screening was followed by a Q&A session withJan Śpiewak, author of the script.

12 June 2011 – performance by Raphael Rogiński, musician,leader of projects such as Shofar and Cukunft; the concert, Yiddish music on a guitar, proved so popular that all 250 invi-tations were distributed in a single day.

13 June 2011 – lecture by Hubert Rogoziński (MonumentumIudaicum Lodzense Foundation) on the funeral brotherhoodChevra Kadisha.

14 June 2011 – meeting with Agata Tuszyńska at the Szafa club;Tuszyńska - a writer, poet and journalist - discussed the tragicfigure of Wiera Gran, Jewish artist and singer from pre-war War-saw, who died in 2007.

16 June 2011 - a guided tour of the Jewish artists’ works in thecollection of the Gallery of Polish Masters and the Museum ofthe City of Łódź; the event proved immensely popular.

During the Jewish Culture Days, we organized lectures and work-shops for school students, which also attracted numerous attendees. Due to the number of participants we had to arrangeadditional meetings. At the specially prepared workshop, se-condary school students and high school students had theopportunity to learn secrets of Jewish traditions and symbols – the workshop was taught by Izabela Grynsztajn from the Monumentum Iudaicum Lodzense Foundation (8 June 2011).Students could also learn the meaning of tales, kipah and mezuzah (workshop taught by Dorota and Baruch Ciesielski ofthe Ronald S. Lauder Foundation in Łódź, 15 June 2011).

16 June 2011 – the Embassy of Israel in Poland along with theDialogue Center invited to Łódź Batsheva Dagan, an Israeli poet,

psychologist and teacher, former prisoner of the Auschwitz--Birkenau and Ravensbrück camps, who met with school anduniversity students at the Biedermann Palace.

19 June 2011 along with the Museum of the City of Łódź, we invited the citizens of our city to a meeting with Professor Andrzej Żbikowski, employee of the Jewish Historical Instituteand the Center for Holocaust Research, author of the recentlypublished book Karski, dedicated to the emissary of the Polish

Underground State. Other members of the panel discussing thefigure of the heroic resident of Łódź and the Righteous Amongthe Nations, included Adam Puławski (IPN Lublin) and SławomirNowinowski (University of Łódź).

During the Jewish Culture Days, we also organized two moreguided walks – on 12 June we arranged a tour of the Jewish ce-metery, and on 19 June – we followed the route of palaces andhouses of Łódź industrialists.

MUSICaL DIaLoGUE 24 June 2011

24 June 2011, on the first day ofsummer, over 20 bands from Łódź

area performed on 4 stages placed along Piotrkowska Street.Musical Dialogue launched the Summer Art Festival in Łódź.The event, modeled after the French Fete de la musique, whenmusicians perform in the streets of various cities. This is an unforgettable experience to everyone involved, both the artistsand people who can listen to the music walking through the city.

program

The first edition features such groups as: Spaces Faces, Overhood,Rambo Jet, as well as The First Guitar Orchestra of Łodź. We couldalso hear a song performed by Emilia Klimczak, solo singer fromthe Musical Theater.

EURopEaN pICNIC 9 July 2011

The European Picnic was organized by the Dialogue Center andthe European Institute in Łódź as a part of Polish presidency inthe EU Council.The Picnic “Europe on the Grass” was held in the Schweikert palace, where the seat of the European Institute is located. Visitors could choose many attractions, such as a “photo-event”(Foto Dej) - the palace was made available to photographerswho could photograph the interior of the palace. During the picnic, the guests could also visit special stands prepared by ofthe offices of the Members of the European Parliament, JoannaSkrzydlewska and Jacek Saryusz-Wolski. Other stands belongedto beneficiaries of Good Practices and non-governmental orga-nizations. Visitors had an opportunity to watch a dog trainingshow and participate in dog therapy. We also organized gamesand activities for children and adults. At the special stand of theNational Bank of Poland guests could buy a two-złoty coin with

the logo of the Polish Presidency in the European Union. Parti-cularly popular were the "Tastes of Europe" - stands offeringSpanish and Polish cuisine. At 4 p.m., a guided tour of the palacebegan, attended by nearly 120 people.During the picnic, citizens of Lodz could also learn about theprinciples of the European Social Fund and find out what PolishPresidency in the European Union means. The guides to theworld of European Union laws and directives were: Witold Gerliczfrom the office of Jacek Saryusz-Wolski and Tomasz Dominiakfrom Joanna Skrzydlewska’s office, who presented brief Euro-lessons.

WoRKSHop FoR HIStoRYtEaCHERS FRoM FRaNCE18 august – 19 august 2011

The workshop was organized in cooperation with Memorial dela Shoah in Paris. It was attended by 30 teachers from variousFrench cities as well as teachers from Italy and Spain.

tHE CoMMEMoRatIoN oF tHE LIQUIDatIoN oF tHE LItZMaNNStaDt GHEtto29 august 2011

On 29 August 2011, an event was held commemorating the 67thanniversary of the liquidation of the Litzmannstadt Ghetto. Itbegan with a religious ceremony at the Jewish Cemetery. Aseach year, the Survivors of the Łódź ghetoo arrived, includingCwi Bergman and Jehuda Widawski from the Association of For-mer Citizens of Łódź in Israel, representatives of the Jewish Community in Łódź, local authorities and people od Łódź. Theceremony finished with a March of Remembrance. The partici-

pants walked to the Radegast station, from which 67 years earlier the last transport departed, taking Jews from the Łódźghetto to the extermination camp at Auschwitz-Birkenau.There, at 2 p.m., began the official commemoration of the liqui-dation of the Litzmannstadt Ghetto. In the evening, at the Survivors’ Park, Survivors and their families were given the cer-tificates with the number of a tree dedicated to them. The commemoration ended with a concert “Lament of Empty Houses”, organized at the Survivors’ Park, in front of the futurebuilding of the Marek Edelman Dialogue Center. The concert, attended by large audience, was performed by the Klezzmatesband and Urszula Makosz. The director of the performance wasMiron Zajfert. The program included songs by Mordechaj Gebirtig,fragments of prose by Jeszaja Szpigel and poems by RywaKwiatkowska.

YIDDISH LaNGUaGE WoRKSHop30 august – 9 September 2011

Between 30 August – 9 September 2011, the first workshop ofthe Yiddish language and Jewish culture was held. For twoweeks, the participants studied the language and its history.The classes were taught by: Anna Szyba from the Center for Cul-ture of the Shalom Foundation and Izabela Olejnik, expert onthe literature of the Łódź ghetto. Students could attend the classes free of any charge.

ŁÓDŹ oF FoUR CULtURES13-17 September 2011+ EpILoGUE 23-24 September 2011

Since 2011, the Marek Edelman Dialogue Center in Łódź hasbeen the organizer of the Łódź of Four Cultures festival. The festival, interdisciplinary in character, is rooted in the rich tradition of multicultural Łódź.This year's second edition, organized under the motto MASTERS,was meant as an incentive to learn more about various artistsoperating in a number of disciplines.

program

The special guest of the festival was one of the most famous con-temporary Israeli writers, and a promising film director, EdgarKeret. The film program, focusing on the phenomenon of Jewishethnic humor, was dominated by Mel Brooks and his work.The music program featured a famous Polish performing for-mation, Czesław śpiewa, as well as Vitaly Podolsky a Ukraine-born Israeli accordion virtuoso. Other performers included:Aleksiej Siemieniszczew, an alternative group Łąki Łan as wellas the Deriglasoff Band.Literary meeting were given a personal perspective. CzesławMiłosz was discussed by: Adam Michnik and Adam Zagajewski.Great Polish and Russian writers were presented from the view-point of translators – Natalia Gorbaniawska and Adam Pomorski.Theater events were centered around the person and work of

Hanoch Levin, master of contemporary Israeli theater. Alongwith the Polish premiere of a play by this author, The Labor ofLife (adapted for stage by Łódź’s Jaracz Theatre as The Cascade),also shown was the award-winning performance by the IMKAtheater Rubber Salesmen. The special guest of the epilogue (23-23 Spetember 2011) was Ramund Hoghe, a director and anexceptional figure in the theater of dance, a student of the legendary Pina Bausch.Visual arts provided a confrontation between the classic and thenew. The festival opened with an exhibition of recent works bya famous Polish painter, Jacek Sempoliński. The Museum of theCity of Łódź also presented the Statute of Kalisz as well as otherworks by the Łódź-born Artur Szyk. Czesław Miłosz was the sub-ject and inspiration of projects presented by students of the Academy of Fine Arts in Łódź during the “Night with the Master”.

CoMMEMoRatIoN oF tHE DEpoRtatIoN oF JEWS FRoM WEStERN EURopEto tHE LItZMaNNStaDt GHEtto19 october – 26 october 2011

During the commemoration of the 70th anniversary of the deportation of Jews from the Czech Republic, Austria, Germanyand Luxembourg, special history lessons were organized at theXIII Liceum in Łódź. The subject of the lessons was the historyof the Litzmannstadt Ghetto. The series of lessons concludedwith a guided tour of the Łódź ghetto area.On 22 October, a guided tour was organized for the citizens ofŁódź – it started at the Radegast station and followed a routerelated the Jews from Western Europe and Prague. On Sunday,a film by Borys Lankosz, “Radegast” was shown at the Museumof the City of Łodź.On 24 October, at the Survivors’ Park, a ceremony was held du-ring which a tree was dedicated to Lucille Eichengreen. Ms.

Eichengreen was given the certificate by the Deputy Mayor ofŁódź, Krzysztof Piątkowski. Also on 24 October, Lucille Eichengreentalked to the audience at the Litera Café about her experiencesfrom the ghetto.On 25 October 2011, at the Artur Rubinstain Philharmonic inŁódź, a “Concert from the Past” was held, the program of whichwas based on the archival repertoire of concerts performed in the Litzmannstadt Ghetto. The first part of the concert was a recital of a pianist, Piotr Kościk.After the intermission, violin player Vlastimir Korble performedwith the philharmonic orchestra conducted by Wojciech Radek.On 26 October 2011, at the Jewish Cemetery, the religious ce-remony began. The Chief Rabbi of Poland, Michael Schudirch and the Head ofthe Jewish Community of Łódź, Symcha Keller, said prayers du-ring the ceremony. The commemoration was concluded with laying flowers at the Memorial of the Victims of The LitzmannstadtGhetto. After that, the participants of the ceremony walked tothe Radegast Station. There, commemorative candles were litand laid in front of the monument at the Station.

RoMa CULtURE DaYS14 November – 18 November 2011

The Roma Culture Days began with a meeting with Adam Bartosz, ethnographer, expert on the Gypsy culture and directorof the District Museum in Tarnów. Along with the director of theDialogue Center, Joanna Podolska, he discussed his latest book,“Don’t be afraid of a Gypsy”.On the second day of the Roma Culture Days, at the AHEART gal-lery, students of the 1st Primary School in Łódź learnt aboutgames played by Roma children. During a two-hour workshop,taught by Anna Grażyna Suchocka from the ETHNOS Society andRóża Kowalska from the Society for Culture and Support of theRoma People in Poland, the children played “the devil”, mademice out of handkerchiefs, danced and listened to stories aboutRoma people. On the same day, at the Poleski Art Center, a cu-

linary workshop was organized; it was taught by Krystyna Markowska, the president of the Center of Counseling and Information for the Roma People in Poland.Under the supervision of Ms. Markowska, over 20 participantscooked together traditional Roma soup, while listening to herstories about the Roma culture. Between 14 and 18 November, at the office of the Dialogue Center in Łódź, photographs of Beata Gamrowska were shown– “Multicultural Łódź. The Roma”.

CHaNUKaH21 December 2011

Chanukah was organized in the Museum of the City of Łódź, at the Izrael Poznański’s palace at Ogrodowa Street. The parti-cipants of the event heard a lecture on the origin of the holidayand its history. Later, they took part in the ceremony of lightingthe Chanukah candles along with the Head of the Jewish Community in Łódź, Symcha Keller. They could also sample koshercakes and slivovitz. Everyone enjoyed the family atmosphere ofthe meeting and the turnout surprised the organizers (nearly400 people attended the event). The staff of the Dialogue Centerare very grateful to everyone who came to the meeting to theMuseum. We are very happy that there is so much interest inthe tradition and customs of the culture which has been a partof our city for such a long time.

promotion and media

publications

Jacek SempolińskiRęka farbiarza / The Dyer’s HandPrinted in 300 copies

Artur SzykCzłowiek dialogu / Man of DialoguePrinted in 1000 copies

publications

promotion and media

number of displays

71 347

number of visitors

21 036

InternetFacebook

439 persons „likes” the Dialogue Center fanpage

The Dialogue Center website,www.centrumdialogu.com, which was launched in June 2011, featuresinformation on the current events organized by the Dialogue Center, as well as articles about the many cultures of Łódź (Polish, Russian, German and Jewish), descriptions of trees planted in the Survivors’ Parkand information on Marek Edelman,patron of the institution, materials on the history of the LitzmannstadtGhetto and information on the Dialogue Center. Since the website was launched, until 31 December 2011,14 162 individual hits were recorded.The overall number of visitors was 21 036.

The Marek Edelman Dialogue Center also runs two separate websites: the website of the Łódź of Four Culturesfestival, www.4kultury.pl and a website devoted to the Litzmannstadt Ghetto, www.ghetto.lodz.pl

www.centrumdialogu.com (

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promotion and media

The Dialogue Center is present in press, radio and television as well as in the Internet.From 1 April 2011 until 31 December 2011 the following information on the DialogueCenter appeared: 132 articles in press, 520 articles in the Internet, approx. 45 radioprograms and approx. 26 television programs.The advertising value equivalent of the press coverage concerning the Marek EdelmanDialogue Center from 1 April until 31 December 2011 amounted to 743 332 PLN (according to Instytut Monitorowania Mediów).The advertising value equivalent of press coverage concerning the Łódź of Four CulturesFestival from 1 July until 30 September 2011 amounted to 1 588 289 PLN.

Media

1 april - 31 December

press 108internet 471radio 45TV 23

advertising value equivalent

743 332,00 PLN Centrum Dialogu

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advertising value equivalent

1 588 289,00 PLN Łódź of Four Cultures festival

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promotion and media

Identification

The Dialogue Center logoIt was designed by Małgorzata Misiowiec. It refers to the idea of dialogue and community but it also indicates diversity. Arrows, though coming from different, sometimes opposing directions, form a single circle and come together in one place – it is a place of meeting and dialogue. The symbolism may refer to sitting together at onetable or around a campfire, where it is natural to talkand exchange views. Green, though in a variety ofshades, shows the common roots and differences atthe same time but with a similar tone. There is also a reference to the Survivors' Park, where the symbolof life is a tree.The Marek Edelman Dialogue Center used standardpromotional and informational materials, such asleaflets and gadgets with the Center’s logo and name. Information leaflet - introduction to the activities and a detailed program for April and May and announcement of the program for summer and fall.Leaflets were distributed at tourist information officesin Łódź and places associated with culture and duringevents organized by the Dialogue Center, when alsopins and scarves were distributed.

Gadgets

BadgesColor – 1000 itemsBlack&white – 1000 itemsEdelman – 1000 items

Key chain leashes300 items

Identification tags500 items

T-shirts500 items

financial report

The Marek Edelman Dialogue Center is financed from the budget of the city of Łódź.

From April until December 2011 the Dialogue Center organized 11 events (including the Łódź of Four Cultures festival) the total cost of which amounted to: 515 762,56 PLN (including the events of the Łódź of Four Cultures festival: 411 329,98 PLN).The total expenditure on promotion of the Dialogue Center was: 201 631,95 PLN (including the Łódź of Four Cultures festival: 149 941,20 PLN).

Finances

11 eventscost 515 762,56 PLN

promotion of the Dialogue Center201 631,95 PLN

Łódź of Four Cultures festival

411 329,98 PLN

((

ul. Wojska Polskiego 83, 91-755 Łódź

office: Plac Wolności 5, 91-415 Łódź

phone/fax (+4842) 636 38 21, 506 155 911

www.centrumdialogu.comPARTNERS:AHE ArtAkademicki Ośrodek Inicjatyw ArtystycznychEmbassy of Israel in PolandEmbassy of Austria in PolandAustrian Cultural ForumBank Żywności im. Marka EdelmanaEcumenical Center for Dialogue of Religion and Cultures in Aleksandrów ŁódzkiFabryka SztukiFestiwal Nowa Muzyka ŻydowskaŁódź PhilharmonicFenomen FoundationMagen Dawid FoundationMonumentum Iudaicum Lodzense FoundationSztuka na Bruku FoundationJewish Community in ŁódźEuropean Institute in ŁódźInstitute of Theory of Literature, Theater and Audio-Visual Arts of the University of ŁódźInstitute of Tolerance in ŁódźLauder Club in ŁódźSzafa ClubCity Point of Culture PREXER-UŁMuseum of CinematographyMuseum of the City of Łódź, the Józef Czeraszkiewicz branchPoleski Art CenterPolish Society for TourismRadio ŁódźSoundeditSociety of the Friends of the Old CityETHNOS Association for CultureTopografie AssociationMusical TheaterUniversity of ŁódźMunicipality of Łódź