The main content of the page.

Białystok Remembers

  • Print the contents of the current page
  • Save the text of the current page to PDF

/75th anniversary of the Białystok ghetto uprising
August 16th-19th, 2018
free entry

We are inviting you to events commemorating the 75th anniversary of the Białystok ghetto uprising.

Schedule:

  • 14th August 2018
    • ‘Kiriat Białystok’ - exhibition
      Kilinskiego Street / Home Army Square (by the Home Army Memorial)
      A photo exhibition devoted to Kiriat Bialystok, which is a residential area in Yehud - a city in Israel. It was established in 1950 by Jewish Holocaust survivors from Białystok.
      Open until 21st August 2018
      Organiser: Army Museum in Białystok
  • 16th August 2018
    • ‘The Accounts of the Holocaust’ - media booth with eyewitnesses’ records
      Kościuszko Square in Białystok in front of the Podlaskie Museum in Białystok (the city hall)
      A time travel experience offered by Mediateka CLZ – the archive of the oral local history - which includes interviews with the witnesses to the destruction of the Białystok Ghetto.
      Open until 19th August 2018
      Organiser: Białystok Cultural Centre
    • 11.00 a.m. Floral tribute at the Grand Synagogue Memorial Square at 2 Suraska Street
      Organiser: Municipal Council in Białystok
    • 11.30 a.m. Candlelight tribute at the former entrance gate to the Białystok Ghetto
      Corner of I. Malmeda and I. Białówny streets
      Organiser: Municipal Council in Białystok
    • 12.00 a.m. Main ceremonies at the Ghetto Heroes Monument
      Mordechaj Tannenbaum Square
      Organiser: Municipal Council in Białystok
    • 4.30 p.m. Discussion panel: ‘Everyday Life and the Holocaust in the Białystok Ghetto’
      Białystok Cultural Centre / Ludwik Zamenhof Centre, 19 Warszawska Street
      Discussion panel with Joanna Tomalska (Podlaskie Museum in Białystok), Prof. Adam Czesław Dobroński (historian) and Weronika Romanik (University of Warsaw).
      Moderator: Dariusz Szada-Borzyszkowski (Friends of Jewish Culture Association)
      Organiser: Sleńdziński Gallery in Białystok
    • 5.30 p.m. Promotion of the publication ‘Memoir’ by Dawid Szpiro and a meeting with Wiesław Wróbel, the historical preface author
      Białystok Cultural Centre / Ludwik Zamenhof Centre, 19 Warszawska Street
      Dawid Szpiro, the author of the memoir, was the son of D. Szpiro – the owner of one of the biggest textile factories in Białystok, in Łąkowa Street. He was in the Białystok Ghetto from October 1942 and was also a member of Jewish Police Service. The final date in the memoir is July 1943.
      Moderator: Barbara Olech, PhD (The University of Białystok) and Dawid Bujno (Sleńdziński Gallery in Białystok)
      Organiser: Sleńdziński Gallery in Białystok
    • 6.30 p.m. ‘Benkenisz – Longing’ – concert 
      Karolina Skrzyńska
      Białystok Cultural Centre / Ludwik Zamenhof Centre, 19 Warszawska Street
      From the melodies belonging to the centuries-old Jewish tradition to original compositions - the performance will take the audience on an emotional journey balancing on the verge of styles and cultures and expressing a longing for something that seems to be disappearing in the world today.
      Organiser: Białystok Cultural Centre
    • 8.00 p.m. ‘Intimacy’ - a film by Yael Vishnizki-Levi
      Arsenal Gallery in Białystok, 2 Mickiewicza Street
      The short film created by the director together with the POLIN Museum refers to the concept of a shadow theatre and touches upon the struggle of an individual with the regime as well as the Jewish immigration to Israel. The script is based on a dialogue between the artist’s grandfather and Władysław Gomułka, who actually met before World War II.
      Organiser: Arsenal Gallery in Białystok
  • 17th August 2018
    • ‘Illustrations for the Bible’ - Bencjon Rabinowicz exhibition
      The square in front of the Sleńdziński Gallery at 2 Legionowa Street The exhibition presents the copies of the illustrations by Bencjon Rabinowicz, which the artist made for the Bible. Rabinowicz was a Jewish painter born in Białystok in 1905 and associated with the School of Paris. He lost his whole family from Białystok during the second World War.
      Open until 31st August 2018
      Organiser: Sleńdziński Gallery in Białystok
    • 5.00 p.m. Promotion of the book ‘Angel of the Ghetto: One Man’s Triumph Over Heartbreaking Tragedy’ and a meeting with the authors Sam Solasz and Judy Katz
      Białystok Cultural Centre / Ludwik Zamenhof Centre, 19 Warszawska Street
      Sam Solasz is one of the few Holocaust survivors from the Białystok Ghetto. During the Nazi occupation he was frequently detained and imprisoned. He actively supported the preparations for the Białystok Ghetto uprising. After leaving Poland for the USA, he presided over Bialystoker Centre being involved for many years in the integration of former Bialystokers. The book tells his life story.
      Moderator: Dariusz Szada-Borzyszkowski (Friends of Jewish Culture Association)
      Organiser: Sleńdziński Gallery in Białystok
    • 6.30 p.m. ‘My City Białystok’ - Frey-Lech Trio concert 
      Białystok Cultural Centre / Ludwik Zamenhof Centre, 19 Warszawska Street
      The band performs klezmer music. They will present reflective and nostalgic pieces in Polish, Yiddish and Esperanto languages.
      Organiser: Białystok Cultural Centre
  • 18th August 2018
    • 11.00 a.m. and 1.00 p.m. ‘Grand Synagogue out of Lego Bricks’ - family workshops
      Białystok Cultural Centre / Ludwik Zamenhof Centre, 19 Warszawska Street
      Participants will learn the history of the Grand Synagogue in Białystok during a workshop based on the Synagogue model built out of twelve thousand Lego bricks. Having learnt about the symbolism in Judaism, the participants will individually create a stained glass composition which ‘tells’ and commemorates old religious stories.
      Limited number of participants. To make a booking call 85 67 67 67 or visit Białystok Cultural Centre / Ludwik Zamenhof Centre at 19 Warszawska Street
      Organiser: Białystok Cultural Centre
    • 12.00 noon and 2.00 p.m. Historical walking tour in the area of the former Białystok Ghetto
      Białystok Cultural Centre / Ludwik Zamenhof Centre at 19 Warszawska Street (start)
      The guides will take the participants on a tour created on the basis of an account by a Holocaust survivor. Who? This is not going to be revealed until the day of the tour, so it is not only an opportunity to learn history, but also to revive the memory of an individual Bialystoker.
      Organiser: Big Picture Association, Tour Guide Club of the Polish Tourist and Sightseeing Society in Białystok
    • 7.00 p.m. ‘To the Ghetto Heroes’ - concert
      Klezmer Orchestra of the Sejny Theatre
      Kościuszko Square in Białystok
      The orchestra will present a special programme created for the 75th anniversary of the Białystok Ghetto uprising. The musicians are associated with ‘Borderland of Arts, Cultures and Nations’ Centre in Sejny.
      Organiser: Białystok Cultural Centre
  • 19th August 2018
    • 11.00 a.m. and 1.00 p.m. ‘Grand Synagogue out of Lego Bricks’ - family workshops
      Białystok Cultural Centre / Ludwik Zamenhof Centre 19 Warszawska Street
      Participants will learn the history of the Grand Synagogue in Białystok during a workshop based on the Synagogue model built out of twelve thousand Lego bricks. Having learnt about the symbolism in Judaism, the participants will individually create a stained glass composition which ‘tells’ and commemorates old religious stories.
      Limited number of participants. To make a booking call 85 67 67 367 or visit Białystok Cultural Centre / Ludwik Zamenhof Centre at 19 Warszawska Street
      Organiser: Białystok Cultural Centre
    • 8.00 p.m. ‘Voices of the Vanishing World’ – concert
      Krzesimir Dębski with Primuz String Orchestra and Kamil Radzimowski band
      Kościuszki Square
      An ethno-world music project which combines film score, Balkan, Caucasian and Jewish music as well as own pieces. It makes the listener feel the atmosphere of the Middle East.
      Organiser: Białystok Cultural Centre