PROGRAMME OF THE COMMEMORATIONS OF THE 82ND ANNIVERSARY OF THE LITZMANNSTADT GHETTO LIQUIDATION

Saturday, August 22

12:00 PM – Walking Tour: ‘The Łódź Ghetto Through the Eyes of a Child’
- Led by: Andrzej Grzegorczyk
- Meeting Point: Corner of Wojska Polskiego St. and Franciszkańska St.
- Admission: Free (recommended for ages 13 and up)

This walking tour tells the story of the youngest inhabitants of the Litzmannstadt Ghetto: their daily lives, fears, and attempts to maintain a semblance of normality under extreme conditions.

Sunday, August 23

11:00 AM – Walking Tour: ‘Between Words and Silence. In the Footsteps of Alina Szapocznikow and Chava Rosenfarb’
- Led by: Łódź Women's Trail (Łódzki Szlak Kobiet)
- Performative Reading: Joanna Nygard
- Meeting Point: Plac Kościelny
- Admission: Free

Almost exact contemporaries, Chava Rosenfarb and Alina Szapocznikow were bound by their shared experience of imprisonment in the Łódź Ghetto. After the war, each addressed the Holocaust in radically different ways.

During this tour, the Łódź Women's Trail will explore the lives of Chava Rosenfarb—one of the most prominent Yiddish-language writers and author of the monumental epic The Tree of Life—and Alina Szapocznikow, a world-renowned sculptor whose work became a testament to physicality, sexuality, and trauma. We will visit key sites of daily life in the ghetto, revisit excerpts of memoirs and literature, and consider how the physical space of the former closed district preserves the memory of both artists.

The walk will also explore how the early experience of youth in the ghetto shaped their later artistic output. Why did Chava Rosenfarb make memory of the ghetto the central theme of her works, while Alina Szapocznikow rarely spoke of it directly, leaving only traces of memory embedded within her sculptures?

Organised as part of the commemorations of the 82nd Anniversary of the Litzmannstadt Ghetto Liquidation and the Year of Alina Szapocznikow in Łódź.

Tuesday, August 25

5:00 PM – Curatorial Guided Tour: ‘It Is Indecent to Talk About It: Alina Szapocznikow (1926–1973)’
- Led by: Dr Izabela Terela, Maria Szulc
- Venue: Radegast Station, 12 Aleja Pamięci Ofiar Litzmannstadt Getto
- Admission: Ticketed – PLN 12 (regular), PLN 6 (reduced). A 50% discount applies to students, teachers, seniors aged 65 and over, and holders of the Łódź Resident Card or Big Family Card.

The exhibition contextualises the artist through history and the specific places where she lived and worked. During the tour, the curators will discuss these biographical threads and share insights into the making of the exhibition.

Due to the nature of the content, this tour is recommended for visitors aged 13 and older. Younger children may attend at the sole discretion and responsibility of their guardians.

Organised as part of the Year of Alina Szapocznikow.

Wednesday, August 26

6:00 PM – An Evening with Leon Weintraub, Łódź Ghetto Survivor: Premiere Screening of L'dor Vador [PL / ENG / PJM]
- Guests: Leon Weintraub, Dean Körzdörfer, David Körzdörfer
- Host: Michalina Majewska
- Venue: Marek Edelman Dialogue Center
- Admission: Registration required (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.)

Join us for a special evening dedicated to Dr Leon Weintraub—a native Łódź citizen who survived the Łódź Ghetto as well as the Auschwitz-Birkenau, Gross-Rosen, and Flossenbürg concentration camps. A physician, Advocate for Reconciliation, and Honorary Citizen of the City of Łódź, Dr Weintraub joins us this year in his centennial year!

The evening features the world premiere of the documentary L'dor Vador, directed by German filmmakers and brothers Dean and David Körzdörfer.

As Dani Dayan, Chairman of Yad Vashem, noted: “We are at a generational crossroads—nothing can replace looking a Survivor in the eye.”

Programme:

World premiere of L'dor Vador, directed by Dean and David Körzdörfer (recommended for ages 16+).
Q&A hosted by Michalina Majewska (Kino po żydowsku) with Holocaust Survivor Leon Weintraub and directors Dean and David Körzdörfer.

About the Film L'dor Vador:

This documentary follows a year in the life of Leon Weintraub, born in Łódź and residing in Stockholm since 1969. The camera accompanies him to memorial sites, youth educational discussions, conversations with his wife, and intimate dialogues with his children, Emilia Rotstein and Robert Weintraub. The film explores intergenerational responsibility and how wartime trauma is passed down through generations—l'dor vador (Hebrew for from generation to generation). A quote from Emilia Rotstein—“To forget would mean taking the lives of the victims all over again”—forms the conceptual heart of the film and sets the foundation for discussion with the audience.

Biographies:

Leon Weintraub – Born on January 1, 1926, in Łódź, he grew up on Kamienna Street (now Włókiennicza Street). During the occupation, he and his family were forced into the Litzmannstadt Ghetto, where he worked as an electrician. In 1944, he was deported to Auschwitz-Birkenau, escaping by surreptitiously joining another transport. He survived the Gross-Rosen and Dörnhau camps as well as a death march. After the war, he completed his medical studies and worked as a respected obstetrician-gynaecologist in Warsaw and Otwock. Forced to emigrate to Sweden following the state-sponsored anti-Semitic campaign of 1968–1969, he has dedicated decades to Holocaust education and Polish-Jewish-German dialogue, rejecting hatred in favor of reconciliation.
Dean Körzdörfer – Born in 2002 in Hamburg, he studies philosophy at Humboldt University in Berlin. While volunteering for Yad Vashem in Germany, he met Leon Weintraub at a synagogue reading. Inspired to capture Weintraub's story, he teamed up with his brother David to visit Leon in Stockholm, travel with him across Poland, and interview Dani Dayan in Israel.
David Körzdörfer – Born in 1996 in Hamburg, he began his film training in 2014 as personal assistant to Oscar-winning director Florian Gallenberger. From 2015 to 2020, he studied film directing at HFF Munich. Over the past decade, he has documented conflicts across the Middle East and Eastern Europe as a filmmaker and journalist. His ARD documentary Bêmal – Heimatlos (2024, 88 min) received the Human Rights Youth Jury Award and the 2025 Stern-Preis (formerly Henri Nannen Award) for Best Documentary.

Accessibility:

The event will be conducted in English with simultaneous translation into Polish and Polish Sign Language (PJM).
The film L'dor Vador features subtitles in Polish and English.
Held in the Dialogue Center's Theater-Cinema Hall, equipped with an induction loop.
The Dialogue Center building is fully accessible for visitors with mobility impairments (wide entryways, accessible restrooms, elevator, auditorium ramp, designated wheelchair seating).
Parking with designated accessible spaces is available in front of the building (entrance via Wojska Polskiego St.).
Assistance and guide dogs are welcome throughout the venue and auditorium.
Equipped with the ToTuPoint audio navigation system.
Nearby public transit stops: Wojska Polskiego/Centrum Dialogu, Wojska Polskiego/Sporna.

Thursday, August 27 – Survivors' Day

11:00 AM – Walking Tour: ‘Rooting: Following the Here-There-Once-Upon-A-Time-Today Trail’ [PL / ENG]
- Led by: Patrycja Dołowy
- Historical Commentary: Milena Wicepolska-Góralczyk
- Special Guest: Hana Svirsky (Holocaust Survivor)
- Meeting Point: Plac Kościelny
- Admission: Registration required (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.)

Last year, as part of the site-specific project Memory Map: Here-There-Once-Upon-A-Time-Today, artist Patrycja Dołowy teamed up with descendants of Łódź's Jewish diaspora to weave their contemporary family histories back into the city's urban fabric. At each stop, personal stories were commemorated with small installations and planted herbs.

This year, we return to help these stories take root. Guided by historian Milena Wicepolska-Góralczyk, this tour connects intergenerational family narratives with Łódź's city history. The walk features special guest Hana Svirsky, who survived the Holocaust as a child thanks to her nanny, Zofia Libich.

Events in Survivors' Park (83 Wojska Polskiego St.) | 4:00 PM – 9:30 PM | Free Admission:

4:00 PM – Presentation of Memorial Trees to Łódź Ghetto Survivors and Concert by the Children’s Choir of the City of Łódź & the Clil Jewish Choir [PL / ENG]
- Venue: Survivors' Park
- Admission: Free

Since 2004, Memorial Trees have been planted in Survivors' Park to honor individuals and families who survived the Holocaust. Each year, new names are added by Survivors or their descendants arriving from around the world. Today, the park is home to nearly 700 Memorial Trees.

This year's ceremony marks the dedication of six new Memorial Tree Certificates, including one dedicated to sculptor Alina Szapocznikow, accompanied by musical performances by the Children’s Choir of the City of Łódź and the Clil Jewish Choir.

5:00 PM–7:30 PM – Performative Action by Ola Ignasiak: ‘The Tree of Life: Exercises in Tenderness’
- Venue: Survivors' Park
- Admission: Free

In Survivors' Park, trees serve as living monuments, guardians of memory, and symbols of continuity. Ola Ignasiak's performative intervention explores concepts of transformation, deep-rootedness, and the reciprocal relationship between humans and the living world. Grounded in the archetype of the Tree of Life—connecting the subterranean to that which grows toward the light—this ritual performance engages nature as an active collaborator rather than mere material.

The performance is open-ended and designed to accommodate visitors with diverse sensory needs, creating an inclusive space for shared reflection.

About the Artist:

Ola Ignasiak (b. 1982, Łódź) is a visual artist, painter, and site-specific installer. She graduated with honors from the Strzemiński Academy of Fine Arts in Łódź, earning diplomas in Painting (2007) and Jewelry Design (2011), followed by a PhD in Fine Arts in 2018. She currently lectures at her alma mater, directing the Studio of Painting Actions in Public Space. Her practice integrates painting, performance, and public installation, focusing on relationships between color, urban space, and social experience. She is the founder of the internationally exhibited project De-graying the City (Odszarzanie miasta) and co-founder of Slow Painting Studio.

5:30 PM – Youth Dance Performance Inspired by Alina Szapocznikow (Finale of ‘Summer in the Theatre’)
- Venue: Survivors' Park
- Admission: Free

Inspired by the artwork of Alina Szapocznikow, this performance marks the culmination of the "Summer in the Theatre" educational day-camp project (‘Journey into Identity’) hosted by the Dialogue Center.

6:00 PM – Conversation: Weronika Kostyrko and Marek Beylin on the Remarkable Sculptor Who Had a ‘Fierce Appetite for Life’ [PL / ENG]
- Hosted by: Izabella Adamczewska
- Venue: Survivors' Park
- Admission: Free

Marking the Year of Alina Szapocznikow—born a century ago in Kalisz, raised in Pabianice, and imprisoned in the Łódź Ghetto—this discussion examines new perspectives on her life and legacy. Biographer Marek Beylin (author of the acclaimed 2015 biography) and author Weronika Kostyrko (currently research-writing a new biographical account) discuss recent archival discoveries and Szapocznikow's enduring impact.

7:30 PM – Concert: ‘Litzmannstadt-Getto Memorial’
- Performers: Mikołaj Trzaska, Macio Moretti, Olo Walicki, Remont Pomp Ensemble
- Venue: Survivors' Park
- Admission: Free

Conceived specifically for the 82nd Anniversary of the Litzmannstadt Ghetto Liquidation, Litzmannstadt-Getto Memorial is a musical project led by saxophonist and film composer Mikołaj Trzaska. Drawing heavily from Jewish heritage, tradition, and intuitive music, Trzaska brings together artists to create a musical community capable of processing complex historical trauma and contemporary anxieties.

The performance features original compositions by Trzaska, culminating in the premiere of a dedicated piece honoring Marian Turski—Łódź Ghetto Survivor and moral advocate.

Ensemble:

Mikołaj Trzaska – Alto/Baritone Saxophones, Bass Clarinet
Olo Walicki – Double Bass
Macio Moretti – Drums
Remont Pomp Ensemble: Magdalena Spaleniak, Wojciech Birtus, Sebastian Włodarek, Jacek Cieślicki, Jan Skiba, Miriam Porębska, Jarosław Marciszewski, Małgorzata Mleczko-Marciszewska.

About the Musicians:

Mikołaj Trzaska – Saxophonist, bass clarinetist, and film score composer (Rose, Volhynia, Clergy, Scarborn). A foundational figure in the Polish yass movement and co-founder of the band Miłość.
Macio Moretti – Multi-instrumentalist, graphic designer, and prominent figure in the Polish avant-garde music scene since 1991.
Olo Walicki – Double bassist, composer, and producer (OW Kaszebe, The Saintbox); veteran of the Polish jazz and yass scenes.
Remont Pomp – An avant-garde percussion ensemble combining ethnic rhythms and everyday objects, operating under the Polish Association for Persons with Intellectual Disability (Gdańsk Branch).

Friday, August 28

12:00 PM – Main Official Commemoration Ceremonies of the 82nd Anniversary of the Litzmannstadt-Ghetto Liquidation [PL / ENG]
- Venue: Radegast Station, 12 Aleja Pamięci Ofiar Litzmannstadt Getto
- Admission: Free
- Details: On behalf of the Mayor of Łódź, Hanna Zdanowska, you are invited to the official commemorations honoring the victims of the Litzmannstadt-Ghetto.
  
  PLEASE NOTE: This year's official ceremony takes place on Friday, August 28, as August 29 falls on Saturday (Shabbat).

Over 200,000 Jews passed through the Łódź Ghetto before its final liquidation in August 1944. The ceremony will feature addresses by Survivors Leon Weintraub and Hana Svirsky, with musical accompaniment by the Children’s Choir of the City of Łódź.

Live translation into English will be provided on site. A live stream featuring Polish Sign Language (PJM) translation will be available on Facebook ([fb.com/centrumdialogulodz](https://fb.com/centrumdialogulodz)) and YouTube ([youtube.com/centrumdialoguwlodzi](https://youtube.com/centrumdialoguwlodzi)).

Organisers: Marek Edelman Dialogue Center in Łódź and Museum of Independence Traditions – Radegast Station Branch.

5:00 PM – Panel Discussion: "How Many Layers Does Memory Have?" [PL / ENG]
- Guests: Mikołaj Trzaska, Mikołaj Grynberg, Joanna Chmarzyńska-Golińska
- Hosted by: Izabella Adamczewska
- Venue: Marek Edelman Dialogue Center
- Admission: Registration required (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.)

A discussion on transgenerational trauma, memory, and Jewish identity featuring second-generation Holocaust Survivors Mikołaj Trzaska and Mikołaj Grynberg alongside psychoanalytic psychotherapist Joanna Chmarzyńska-Golińska.

6:30 PM – Secular Chevruta & Shabbat Dinner [PL / ENG]
- Led by: Patrycja Dołowy
- Venue: Marek Edelman Dialogue Center
- Admission: Registration required (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.)

In Jewish tradition, a chevruta refers to collaborative text study. Organized by the Miszpucha Foundation, this secular adaptation brings participants together to read and discuss literary excerpts by Chava Rosenfarb, followed by a communal Shabbat dinner with candle lighting and challah.

Sunday, August 30

12:00 PM – Walking Tour: "Following the Traces of the Łódź Ghetto: Radegast Station"
- Organiser: Museum of Independence Traditions – Radegast Station Branch
- Meeting Point: Radegast Station Exhibition Building
- Admission: Ticketed – PLN 12 (regular), PLN 6 (reduced).

Originally a freight loading dock, Radegast Station became the arrival point for thousands of deported European Jews and the final departure site for over 120,000 people sent to extermination camps. The tour covers the station grounds and the Monument to the Victims of the Litzmannstadt Ghetto. (Recommended for ages 13+).

Thursday, October 8

6:00 PM – Discussion: "Not Just 'The One from Białoszewski': Justyna Sobolewska on Her Grandmother, Jadwiga Stańczakowa"
- Hosted by: Izabella Adamczewska
- Venue: Marek Edelman Dialogue Center
- Admission: Registration required (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.)

This author event with Justyna Sobolewska centers around her biographical book Jadwiga. Opowieść o Stańczakowej(Jadwiga: The Story of Stańczakowa). In the book, the prominent literary critic brings to light the figure of her grandmother, Jadwiga Stańczakowa, stepping outside the shadow of her long-time friend, Miron Białoszewski, where she has traditionally been placed in public memory.

Sobolewska presents a complex, determined, and vivid portrait of Stańczakowa: a Warsaw Ghetto survivor, poet, and prose writer who, after losing her sight completely, learned to experience the world anew through her other senses, courageously broke taboos surrounding disability, and battled depression. The discussion highlights Sobolewska's grandmother above all as an autonomous, independent artist creating on her own terms, while also touching upon complex, multilayered family bonds and the process of working through intergenerational trauma.

Saturday, December 5

11:00 AM–3:00 PM – Genealogy Workshop for Beginners: "How to Search for Information About Your Ancestors?"
- Led by: Milena Wicepolska-Góralczyk
- Venue: Marek Edelman Dialogue Center
- Admission: Registration required (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.)
- Note: Participants must bring their own laptop.

An introductory workshop on archival research using case studies of prominent Łódź figures. Participants will learn how to navigate online databases, civil registry offices, and state archives to locate ancestral records.

About the Instructor:

Milena Wicepolska-Góralczyk is a genealogist, researcher, and tour guide specializing in the Jewish history of Łódź, collaborating with institutions such as the POLIN Museum, the Jewish Historical Institute, and Yad Vashem.

OUTDOOR EXHIBITION

Outdoor Exhibition: "Alina Szapocznikow"
- Dates: August 25 – December 7
- Venue: Survivors' Park
- Organiser: Museum of Independence Traditions in Łódź
- Curator: Maria Szulc

Exploring themes of femininity, human relationships, bodily deconstruction, Holocaust trauma, and illness transformed into artistic expression through the works of Alina Szapocznikow.