In April, we won the tender to acquire the former Municipal School building next to our campus.
A place with history
The school opened in 1873, housing two separate elementary schools — for girls and for boys. In the interwar period, the girls’ school No. 1 was named after Queen Jadwiga and the boys’ school No. 2 after Łukasz Górnicki. Children of different faiths, both Jewish and non Jewish, studied here.
During the German occupation, teachers from Oświęcim, including prewar teacher Jadwiga Marciniak, took part in clandestine teaching throughout the city. After the war, the school reopened, and in the 1945/46 school year over 300 girls attended classes there.
From rescue to new purpose
Our Foundation, which previously saved the house of Szymon Kluger — the last Jewish resident of Oświęcim — and the town’s only surviving historic synagogue, now plans to renovate this site while preserving its historical character. The building will be transformed into an educational, exhibition, and community space. Plans include state of the art classrooms, research facilities, an auditorium, a library, a restaurant and exhibitions on history of antisemitism and the story of Anne Frank who was a prisoner at Auschwitz together with her family.
A Place to Confront Antisemitism and Hatred
“We hope the new campus will become a state of the art center on combating antisemitism and other forms of hatred and a meeting point for residents and visitors alike, just as Café Bergson and the Oshpitzin Jewish Museum have done.” says Foundation Director Tomasz Kuncewicz. The Foundation is now seeking partners and sponsors to support the project.
