Newsletter - Winter 2018
The Wielkie Oczy Foundation Newsletter
The Former Synagogue in Wielkie Oczy
Now a Library - Alive with the Voices of Children
As readers of past issues of our newsletter may recall, at the end of June, 2009 title to the synagogue in Wielkie Oczy was passed to the town. The circumstances of this and the agreement struck between the town, The Wielkie Oczy Foundation, Inc., The Foundation for the Preservation of Jewish Heritage in Poland (FODZ), and the Union of Jewish (UJRC) communities in Poland was described in our newsletter of the fall, 2009 test.
Our hope at the time was that the crumbling synagogue building would be restored as a library for the town and as a living memorial to the Jewish community of the town. We are pleased to be able to update you about a recent visit to the library by a group of young Wielkie Oczy students. Rather than an empty, crumbling building---a synagogue without a congregation---we envisioned that this house of worship once used by our ancestors, would once again come to life. And it has, with the voices of children.
Here an article with accompanying photographs that had been posted on the Wielkie Oczy municipal website. The English is a human-assisted machine-translation from the Polish by Google Translate. The bottom photo shows a tablet (circled in red) that affirmed the generosity of Elias and Rachel Gottfried of NY in funding the repair of the synagogue building in 1027 after it had been damaged during WWI.
If you have not yet donated to our GoFundMe campaign to publish This Very Stone Shall Be a Witness... Deductibility for 2018 U.S. taxes is running out---only two days left. Please consider doing so here. Donations are tax deductible for U.S. filers under applicable IRS regulations.
Meeting with a Librarian
Created on November 27, 2018On 27 November, pupils from the second to third grade of the primary school went to the Municipal Public Library to meet with the director, Mrs. Irena Litwinska. Students are introduced to new professions every month and meet with those in these professions. This time they got to know the work of the librarian. The children learned that the librarian's task was to collect, develop, store, and share library collections. These can be books, magazines, and other materials. In libraries, apart from borrowing books, a lot goes on. The librarian may be responsible for such things as the organization of exhibitions, meetings with authors as well as training for children and young people.
A visit to the library was an excellent opportunity to arouse the children's interest in books and reading, as well as to shape an attitude of respect toward the work of librarians. The meeting took place in a joyful atmosphere for which we would like to thank you.
