Category: Uncategorized

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In 2025, we carried out a project commemorating the victims of the Holocaust in the Chodówki Forest, encompassing two interrelated locations: the mass graves of Holocaust victims and a memorial site located approximately 500 metres away. The aim of the project was to create a coherent and legible space of remembrance, linking both places into a single historical narrative.

In the Chodówki Forest, we marked the burial sites using wooden markers and ivy plantings, and designated paths leading through the area.

At the same time, conservation works were carried out on the memorial commemorating the victims of the Holocaust, erected in 1964. The monument was conserved, and the surrounding space was reorganised and adapted to serve as a point of orientation and an introduction to the history of the site. The renovated memorial and the forest burial sites now form a coherent whole, connected both spatially and symbolically.

The project was accompanied by educational activities and meetings involving young people and local residents. In autumn 2025, a summary meeting was held during which we presented the results of the project to residents and outlined plans for the continued care of the memorial site and further commemorative activities.

The project was co-financed by the Minister of Culture and National Heritage from the Culture Promotion Fund – a state special-purpose fund – in the amount of PLN 100,000. The total value of the project was PLN 125,150.

Over the course of more than two years (2023–2025), we have organised 47 events in several EU countries and online, attended by over 5,600 participants from 27 countries. We implemented the MultiMemo project together with partners from Poland, Germany, and Belgium: the Urban Memory Foundation, FestivALT, the Foundation for the Documentation of Jewish Cemeteries, the Culture of Closeness Foundation, JCC Warsaw, CEJI – A Jewish Contribution to an Inclusive Europe, Universität Würzburg, and Hochschule für Jüdische Studien Heidelberg.

The project produced 12 multilingual case studies, a six-part podcast, and digital documentation of nearly 40 cultural heritage sites. It also resulted in exhibitions, artworks, and research that introduced new perspectives into the public debate on the meaning of memory and the ways it is cultivated.

MultiMemo proposed an intersectional approach to remembrance – one that combines reflection on the past with responses to contemporary challenges, including violence, exclusion, and the migration crisis. All project results and experiences have been collected in the MultiMemo Playbook – an evolving online resource featuring articles, case studies, podcast episodes, 3D documentation of matzevot, a database of pre-war Jewish art collectors, an online exhibition, and research on Holocaust sites and Jewish cemeteries.

The project strengthened the partners’ cooperation with public institutions in Poland and was part of cultural diplomacy, including its presentation in Brussels during the Polish Presidency of the Council of the EU in 2025. MultiMemo provided communities, educators, and local leaders with practical tools, knowledge, and inspiration for working with difficult history, supporting dialogue, the preservation of cultural diversity, and actions for social justice.

The MultiMemo project was funded by the European Union (CERV programme). Views and opinions expressed are solely those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union. The European Union cannot be held responsible for them.

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“Social Laboratory of Jewish Heritage” is an educational and artistic project implemented in 2025 by the Zapomniane Foundation in cooperation with artists, local communities, and partners from Poland and Germany. Its goal was to restore the memory of forgotten burial sites of Holocaust victims and to develop new, inclusive, and ethical forms of commemoration.

The project activities took place in three locations: Przegaliny Małe, Pawlichy, and Las Chodówki – small villages and rural areas where executions of Jewish residents took place during World War II. In each location, commemorative interventions – artistic, landscape-oriented, and educational – were carried out, engaging local communities in the process of discovering, understanding, and commemorating the burial sites.

Jewish artists from Poland and Germany were involved in the project, including Atalya Laufer, Anna Schapiro, Natan Kryszk, Marcin Król, Alex Roth, and landscape architect Natalia Budnik. The project combined contemporary art with local history, memory work with intergenerational and community activities. Each location resulted in a unique form of commemoration – a memory ritual, a landscape gesture, or a site-specific sound installation – created together with local residents.

The project demonstrated that it is possible to build a shared, empathetic memory – not through erecting monuments, but through action, presence, and relationships. Its results include not only physical interventions in space but also bonds, conversations, and collaborations that have permanently embedded the forgotten burial sites into local landscapes of memory.

Co-financed by the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage as part of the Cultural Program of the Polish Presidency of the Council of the European Union 2025 within the SYNERGIE grant program.

The NeDiPa: Negotiating Difficult Pasts project focused on twelve neglected sites of Jewish heritage in Poland, where Jewish, Polish, and German histories and legacies intersect – places that bear witness to the complex and painful experiences of the 20th century. The destruction of Jewish communities in Poland and Central and Eastern Europe left behind a difficult heritage – sites where the processes of commemoration and revitalisation often encounter resistance or blockage due to strong taboos.

In response to these challenges, the project developed the Difficult Heritage Remembrance Framework, grounded in the principles of inclusivity, a balanced approach, and epistemic justice. Over the two years of the project, more than thirty onsite and online events were organised – from commemorations, conferences, and community-building meetings to public events and educational trainings. They brought together residents, NGOs, researchers, local governments, policymakers, teachers, architects, artists, and activists, creating space for dialogue and cooperation.

As a result of NeDiPa’s work, a set of tools, good practices, and guidelines was created to support collaboration between diverse groups and to propose a new approach to memory and commemoration, relevant to the challenges of the 21st century. These include the Difficult Heritage Remembrance Toolbox and Guidelines, which feature definitions of key concepts, educational materials, and practical tools for activists, professionals, teachers, and decision-makers, as well as the Multimedia Library with audiovisual resources based on NeDiPa’s online training sessions. Although the Framework was developed in the context of Central and Eastern Europe, it is universal in scope and can serve as an inspiration for other countries dealing with the issues of difficult heritage.

The project had a significant impact on local cultures of memory throughout Poland. Twelve commemorative events were held, introducing and popularising new forms of action, such as green commemorations and artistic interventions as acts of memory. Over two years, 209 activists and volunteers became involved in caring for Jewish heritage sites, building a network of grassroots initiatives and integrating them into mainstream commemoration practices.

Thanks to NeDiPa, the cooperation between three Polish partners – the Zapomniane Foundation, FestivALT, and the Urban Memory Foundation – evolved into the broader European Engaged Memory Consortium, which continues its work within new projects and partnerships. The project helped shift attitudes among both Jewish and non-Jewish organisations in Poland, fostering the creation of coalitions, networks, and a more open, inclusive culture of remembrance.

The NeDiPa project was funded by the European Union (CERV programme).

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Za nami 47 wydarzeń zorganizowanych na przestrzeni ponad dwóch lat (2023-2025) w kilku krajach UE oraz online, w których wzięło udział ponad 5600 uczestników i uczestniczek z 27 krajów. Projekt MultiMemo realizowaliśmy z partnerami z Polski, Niemiec i Belgii: Fundacją Urban Memory, FestivALT, Fundacją Dokumentacji Cmentarzy Żydowskich, Fundacją Kultury Zbliżenia, JCC Warszawa, CEJI – A Jewish Contribution to an Inclusive Europe, Universität Würzburg, Hochschule für Jüdische Studien Heidelberg. Powstało 12 studiów przypadku w kilku językach, sześcioczęściowy podcast oraz cyfrowa dokumentacja blisko 40 obiektów dziedzictwa kulturowego. Efektem projektu były także wystawy, prace artystyczne i badania, które wniosły nowe wątki do publicznej dyskusji o znaczeniu pamięci i sposobach jej kultywowania. MultiMemo proponował intersekcjonalne podejście do upamiętniania – takie, które łączy refleksję nad przeszłością z odpowiedzią na współczesne wyzwania, w tym przemoc, wykluczenie i kryzys migracyjny. Wszystkie rezultaty i doświadczenia projektu zostały zebrane w Przewodniku MultiMemo – stale rozwijającym się zasobie online, obejmującym artykuły, studia przypadku, nagrania podcastu, dokumentację 3D macew, bazę przedwojennych żydowskich kolekcjonerów sztuki, wystawę online oraz badania miejsc Zagłady i cmentarzy żydowskich. Projekt wzmocnił współpracę partnerów z instytucjami publicznymi w Polsce, a jego działania były częścią dyplomacji kulturalnej m.in. poprzez prezentację w Brukseli podczas Prezydencji Polski w Radzie UE w 2025 roku. MultiMemo dostarczył społecznościom, edukatorom i lokalnym liderom praktyczne narzędzia, wiedzę i inspiracje do pracy z trudną historią, wspierając dialog, pielęgnowanie różnorodności kulturowej oraz działania na rzecz sprawiedliwości społecznej.

Projekt MultiMemo był finansowany ze środków Unii Europejskiej (program CERV). Wyrażone poglądy i opinie są wyłącznie poglądami autora/autorów i niekoniecznie odzwierciedlają poglądy Unii Europejskiej. Unia Europejska nie ponosi za nie odpowiedzialności.

The MultiMemo project was funded by the European Union (CERV programme). Views and opinions expressed are solely those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union. The European Union cannot be held responsible for them.

As part of the Digital Culture 2022 program, we are implementing the project “Development of the digital archive of Jewish war graves outside the extermination camps and the educational use of archive resources.” The main assumption of the task is to develop, digitize and make available heritage resources regarding 25 uncommemorated and unexplored burial places of Jewish victims of the Holocaust in 25 towns in Poland, as well as developing and making available 25 transcripts of witness recordings.

The project was co-financed by the Minister of Culture and National Heritage from the Culture Promotion Fund – a state earmarked fund in the amount of PLN 78,000. The total value of the task is PLN 97,700.

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