Source: Alon Goldman

It is Poland’s Independence Day. The weather is bitterly cold, with temperatures close to zero degrees Celsius. But the Hebrew language was once again heard in the streets of Częstochowa, as 240 Israeli high school students, from two separate delegations, visited the city at the same time.

They included 80 students from the OR Branco Weiss High School in Tzur Hadassah and approximately 160 students from the Hadassah Neurim youth villages in Israel – Meir Shfeya, Hadassah Neurim, Ben Shemen, Ramat Hadassah, Kiryat Yearim, and Amit Jerusalem.

After visiting the hiding bunker at the Stary Rynek (Old Market Square) and learning the story of the rescue of the Frajman family, the two groups continued on separate itineraries.

Above: Students from OR Branco Weiss High School in Tzur Hadassah proceeded to the Częstochowa Jewish Museum, which was specially opened for them. There, they learned about the history of Częstochowa’s Jewish community, its tragic fate during the Holocaust, the ongoing efforts to preserve the memory of the city’s Jewish heritage.

Below: Students from the Hadassah youth villages continued to the Częstochowa Jewish cemetery. Despite the national holiday, advance arrangements had been made, with the help of our World Society friends Marcin Bucian and Szymon Browarski, who ensured that tools and gloves would be available for the students.

The visitors were especially moved to meet local Polish residents, who devote their time and energy towards maintaining the cemetery and preserving the memory of the Jewish community.

Thanks to the efforts of Alon Goldman in organising the event, the encounter and the joint work were an emotional and meaningful experience for the students, demonstrating the power of shared human responsibility for preserving memory, beyond borders, languages, and nationalities.