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(NEW YORK, NY) – The Workmen’s Circle is sponsoring a very special Jewish Journey to Poland April 16 – 26, 2018. Highlighting the Jewish legacy of “Resistance, Resilience, Commemoration and Culture,” this Jewish journey will connect to over a thousand years of history and Yiddishkayt (Jewishness). Dr. Michael C. Steinlauf of Gratz College will serve as Scholar-in-Residence. The group tour will include bearing witness to history and the extraordinary resistance of the Warsaw Ghetto Partisans, as they commemorate the 75th anniversary of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising at the historic sites of the Warsaw Ghetto.
Designed to take participants on a deep dive into the thousand-year history of Jewish life in Poland, the Workmen’s Circle’s curated journey will include connections to the high cultural tradition of art, literature, music, and theater, and bring participants into the heart of the vibrant Jewish community that existed in pre-twentieth century Poland, as well as commemorating together the losses of the Holocaust. It will truly be a once-in-a-lifetime experience.
To further enrich the experience, Dr. Michael C. Steinlauf, Associate Professor of History at Gratz College, will travel with the group as Scholar-in-Residence. Dr. Steinlauf served as chief historical advisor and curator of modern Jewish culture for the POLIN Museum of the History of Polish Jews; is the author of multiple books about Jewish popular culture in pre-WWII Poland; was a contributing editor to the YIVO Encyclopedia of Jews in Eastern Europe; and is currently at work on a study of the Yiddish writer and activist Y.L. Peretz. Dr. Steinlauf is fluent in Polish and Yiddish, and will help participants process, learn, and connect with all of the sites visited each day.
“The Workmen’s Circle was founded and built by Bundists – Eastern European Jewish labor activists committed to collectively building a better world. So much of our Jewish culture and activist traditions have their roots in our Eastern European history. Our food, literature, music, political discourse, so much is closely connected to the thousand years of Jewish life in and around Poland. We are excited by the opportunity to be taking people on a trip that will literally touch our heritage. And as one of the first organizations to honor and commemorate the heroism of the Warsaw Ghetto Partisans, young men and women who orchestrated the largest single revolt by the Jews during the Holocaust, holding off the German army from April 19th until May 16th, 1943, we are honored to be able to pay respects to these martyrs and give tribute to their bravery at the place where they fought and died on this 75th anniversary,” said Ann Toback, Executive Director of The Workmen’s Circle.
The Jewish Journey highlighting the Jewish legacy of “Resistance, Resilience, Commemoration and Culture” will visit numerous sites in Poland. It will visit former Jewish cities and historic “shtetls” (towns) where there was majority Jewish population pre-WWII, and explore the beautiful and vibrant Poland of today. Included will be city explorations, museum tours, former synagogues and Jewish quarters, workshops on cooking, exploring Old Warsaw and Krakow, and a commemoration of the Warsaw Ghetto uprising. The tour will pay respects at Belzec, Majdanek, and Auschwitz-Birkenau.
For further information on joining the “Resistance, Resilience, Commemoration and Culture” Tour, go to https://circle.org/workmens-circle-trip-poland/.
About The Workmen’s Circle
The Workmen’s Circle powers progressive Jewish identity through Jewish cultural engagement, Yiddish language learning, multigenerational education, and social justice activism. For over a century we have provided this 360-degree approach to Jewish identity-building. Through contemporary cultural programs, joyful holiday celebrations, strategic social justice campaigns, vibrant Yiddish language classes, interactive educational experiences and more, we connect Jewish adults, kids and families of all affiliations with their cultural heritage, working to build a better and more beautiful world for all.
Learn more at www.circle.org.