Auschwitz Jewish Center Foundation

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From NYC to Oświęcim/Auschwitz, AJCF teaches students to challenge hatred and antisemitism for a better future.

10/11/2026

Special guests and meaningful conversations in Oświęcim!

Over the past few days, we co-organized the visit to Poland of a delegation from JCRC-NY (Jewish Community Relations Council of New York)!

The visit was both comprehensive and deeply reflective:
Before visiting our Museum, the group toured the Auschwitz-Birkenau Memorial and Museum, guided by our educator, Kamil Gut.

The next part of the program took place at our Jewish Museum and the Chevra Lomdei Mishnayot Synagogue, where the guests met with our Director, Tomasz Kuncewicz, and educator Hila Weisz-Gut. It was an inspiring time of discussions focused on the pre-war history of Jewish Oświęcim (Oshpitzin), contemporary anti-bias education, and the challenges of fostering intercultural dialogue.

Throughout the entire program, the group was accompanied by the head of our education department, Maciek Zabierowski.

Encounters like this remind us how essential it is to exchange perspectives and build bridges between the past and the present. A warm thank you to the entire JCRC delegation for your openness, commitment, insightful questions, and inspiring presence!

09/30/2026

It was a truly special and moving day at our Museum. We had the honor of welcoming the Rosenberg family, led by two brothers, Sam and Harry.

Their visit carried a deep personal significance. The brothers' mother, Malka Schmeidler, came from Oświęcim – the Schmeidler family rented an apartment in the Finder house, at the corner of Solna and Kościelna streets, just a short walk from our Museum.

In the morning, the family visited the memorial site of the former German N**i concentration and extermination camp Auschwitz-Birkenau, guided by our educator Kamil Gut. They then toured the Jewish Museum and the Chevra Lomdei Mishnayot Synagogue with Dr. Artur Szyndler, the curator of our Museum. To conclude this meaningful journey into their roots, they walked together to the spot where the Finder house once stood.

The Rosenberg family has been actively supporting our Museum and its projects for many years, for which we are deeply grateful. Thank you for this visit, filled with shared memory, profound emotion, and connection.

Photos: Kamil Gut

09/28/2026

This past weekend, we had the pleasure of hosting an extraordinary pilot group as part of Paweł Szczerkowski's original tour. Projects like this showcase Oświęcim from a broader perspective—not only as a memorial site of a tragic history, but also as a vibrant city with a rich, multicultural past, fostering a bold dialogue about the future. Participants visited our Jewish Museum and historic Synagogue, and took part in special educational sessions led by our educators. It was a time filled with meaningful questions, reflection, and open discussions. We would like to extend our heartfelt thanks to the organizers and all participants for their sensitivity, engagement, and time spent together. We are thrilled to have been a part of this valuable initiative!

Photo: Kamil Gut

09/24/2026

Recently, we had the pleasure of welcoming some very special guests – several generations of the Bochner family. It is always a special occasion when descendants of families who helped shape the history and life of our city’s Jewish community over generations return to Oświęcim. In the photograph, from right to left: Chaim Yehoshua Bochner, Sholom Simcha Bochner, Velval Elimelech Bochner, Yerachmiel Moshe Bochner, Israel Leib Bochner, Nechemia Pinchos Bochner, Shlomo Bochner, and Ohad Lobel, husband of Tovy Bochner. We were particularly pleased to welcome Israel Leib Bochner, great-grandson of Naftali Dawid Bochner – a prominent figure in the history of prewar Oświęcim, who served for many years as a member of the city council and as chairman of the Jewish community. Thank you for visiting us! 🇵🇱 ✡️

Photo: Artur Szyndler

09/22/2026

ENG: We are pleased to announce that we have received confirmation from the Institute of National Remembrance – Office for the Commemoration of the Struggle and Martyrdom in Warsaw that the grave of Icchak Izydor Hirsch, a Polish Legionnaire and veteran of the struggle for Poland’s freedom and independence, has been entered into the Register of the Graves of Veterans of the Struggle for Freedom and Independence maintained by the Institute of National Remembrance, under number 13130. This is an important moment in preserving the memory of the residents of prewar Oświęcim and their lives and stories. On 11 November last year, Poland’s National Independence Day, we held a ceremony to unveil the surviving fragment of Icchak Izydor Hirsch’s tombstone, which had previously undergone extensive restoration and conservation. Today, we can say that this tangible trace of his life and history has also been officially recognized and protected as a site of remembrance by the Institute of National Remembrance.

We remember. We preserve. We restore memory! 🇵🇱 ✡️

Photo: Andrzej Rudiak

09/13/2026

Yesterday, September 12, marked exactly 26 years since the grand opening of the Jewish Museum in Oświęcim! 🏛️✡️✨

The anniversary coincided with a wonderful gesture — Mr. Marcin Płużek sent us unique archival photographs he took in the late 1990s, just before the restoration of the entire complex. In the photos, we can see what these sites looked like years ago:

▪️ The historic Chevra Lomdei Mishnayot Synagogue
▪️ The building that houses today's Museum
▪️ The Szymon Kluger House (now home to Cafe Bergson)

We would like to extend our heartfelt thanks to Mr. Marcin for sharing these extraordinary keepsakes with us! It is a special journey back in time for us and a valuable piece of our history.

We invite you to take a look at these shots from the past! Who among you remembers this place from that period? And who attended the opening ceremony? 😉

09/11/2026

Today marks the beginning of Rosh Hashanah – the Jewish New Year 5787! 🍎🍯 On this occasion, we take a look at local history and travel back in time to Oświęcim nearly a century ago. In 1929 (year 5690 in the Hebrew calendar), Rosh Hashanah eve fell on October 4. An extraordinary trace of the daily lives of the town's former residents has survived from that period. During renovation work in the Jewish Museum building at 5 Księdza Jana Skarbka Square, a greeting card with blessings for Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement) was discovered. Its author, Mordechai Neumark, together with his wife, ran a painting supply store in Oświęcim at 1 Kościelna Street. The card features traditional wishes written in Hebrew:

“With G-d's help, Erev Rosh Hashanah, 1929,
A blessing for a good year. May you be inscribed in the Book of Life for the New Year and sealed on Yom Kippur.
From Mordechai Neumark and wife, Oświęcim.”

08/20/2026

It is with great sadness that we say farewell to Wanda Traczyk-Stawska – a Home Army soldier, Warsaw Uprising veteran, and tireless guardian of the memory of its soldiers and civilian victims.

In 2023, participants of the American Service Academies Program (ASAP) had the extraordinary privilege of meeting Ms. Traczyk-Stawska at the Warsaw Insurgents Cemetery and hearing her testimony firsthand. That encounter will remain an important part of our program’s history.

We are deeply grateful for the courage, testimony, and memory she shared with generations to come.

May her memory be honored.

08/14/2026

Yesterday, we had the great pleasure of welcoming the new Consul General of the Federal Republic of Germany in Kraków, Mr Marc Eichhorn. Accompanied by Dr Artur Szyndler, the Consul General visited the Jewish Museum and the historic Synagogue. We also had time for coffee at Café Bergson and a conversation about our plans for future cooperation. The Consulate General of the Federal Republic of Germany in Kraków has been a valued and trusted partner of our Museum for many years, supporting our educational and remembrance projects. We are delighted to have had the opportunity to meet yesterday and thank the Consul General for his visit and for our continued cooperation!

Photos: Aleksandra Barchańska

08/12/2026

We are pleased to share USMMA’s reflections on the third year of the American Service Academy Program (ASAP) for Midshipmen of the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy.

We are grateful to USMMA, Dr. Michael Melcer, Captain Patrick Keane, and this year’s Midshipmen for their thoughtful engagement and commitment throughout the program.

We value this growing partnership and look forward to continuing our collaboration in the years ahead.

Address

599 Lexington Avenue, 22nd Floor
New York, NY
NY10022

Website

https://ajcfus.org/

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