The Education and Culture Centre of the Jewish Museum in Prague (ECC JMP) in collaboration with the Forgotten One's organization, invites anyone interested to participate in a unique project called "Neighbours Who Disappeared". This project is a social phenomenon of the Czech Republic. In the light of strong assimilation of the Jewish population till 1939 and following radical change and in the shade of the period 1945-1989, which did not care of the gradual devastation of historic sights and religious life, the path on vanishing traces of local Jewish settlement might for young people become a find of special context.
Important:
This project was designed for Czech conditions. Outside Czech Republic it can only be introduced and serve its actual purpose if the general concept is modified in accordance with local conditions. |
The survey of the project development:
The first collection was published in October 2000. The authors of the contributions were received at the Prague Castle and were appraised by Arnošt Lustig. The first film was shown on Czech Television (ČT1) in 2001.
On the basis of shooting the film an exhibition of the students' works is created which gradually increases up to twelve notice boards from different parts of the Czech Republic. Due to the interest and demands six versions (two big and four small which are easy to be transported) are created and they become a part of international workshops Holocaust in Education in Terezín and other conferences and important events. Twelve boards of the exhibition started the tour in Prague where the exhibition was opened in the Valdštejn Palace in June 2000 and president of the Senate of the Parliament of the Czech Republic Petr Pithart took part in the opening.
The exhibition goes through the regions involved in the project or as a motivation tool through new cities.
Together with complementary material the exhibition is only a part of a long-term, non-profit-making educational project.
2004 - First Visegrad countries meeting where students (Czecch Republic, Slovakia, Poland)
were appraised by Deborah Lipstadt and a Czech writer Arnost Lustig during the Festival of the Jewish culture 9 Gates in Prague.
That is how the II. Phase of the project was born (The I. Phase, called Neighbours Who Disappeared (NWD) serves to Czech and Slovak schools as a motivation tool with itd 12 boards exhibition (6 copies) and methodical book (2 000pc printed):
2005 - The Tribute to the Child Holocaust Victims
is officially announced in June 2005 under the auspices of the Senate of the Parliament of the Czech Republic. Schools are creating their own local projects including web sites, brochures, posters (memorial plaques).
This project's topic, however, is in the first place the life of the WWII students and children in the same schools children go to today.
1. introduciton and motivation (it could be NWD exhibition, film, literature, visit to important place conmemorating Jewish culture, tradition and history
2. Research and collection of local documents, testimonies, photos, diaries, letters, internet research, years books (they were support just unitl 1939 in Czech schools and they could be in regional archves, there was no interest into them duing the Communist regime)
3. Outputs - web-sites, brochures, memorial plaques
memorial plaques are created step by step even
if you have just one photo, you can be a part of our exhibition
- a discoverer of your local history
Do not forget! Before starting the project contact us best on both e-mail addresses and what is of most importance:
1. Personal attitude and original view of authors (and also personal interviews with
eyewitnesses)
2. Regional sources - at least three regional sources are vital
Regional literature focused on Jewish sites and history (J.Fiedler, H.Gold,
J. Klenovský Moravia, B.Rozkošná particularly Central Bohemia, M.Stehlík
Jindřichův Hradec district)
3. General regional literature (chronicles, almanacs of municipalities and towns)
Regional press (pre-war, wartime and post-war newspapers and magazines)
District or school archives, building control offices, land registries, Central Archive
in Prague,databases of the Jewish Museum, the Terezín Memorial
and the Terezín Initiative Institute (www.holocaust.cz)
4. Database of the Jewish Museum in Prague (phone 224 819 456), Documentation
of Jewish Communities (department: Jewish Sites), Remembers and Data of
Survivors (Department of the Holocaust) The Terezín Memorial (phone 416 782 576)
5. Important Internet sites: www.zmizeli-sousede.cz, www.jewishmuseum.cz,
www.holocaust.cz, www.yad-vashem.org.il
Supervisor:
Zuzana Tlášková
The Education and Culture Centre of the Jewish Museum in Prague,
Maiselova 15, Prague 1, 110 00,
phone: 222 325 172, 224 814 926
fax: 222 318 856
e-mail:
zuzana.tlaskova@jewishmuseum.cz
Coordinator and methodologist:
Marta Vančurová
The Forgotten One´s
Jáchymova 3, Prague 1, 110 00
mobile: 603 147 074
e-mail:
martavan@gmail.com
