Visited the Jewish Cemetery in Łódź.

Toured the the former site of Litzmannstadt Ghetto in Łódź and located the site of the café that was once owned by the family of Jack Aizenberg, one of the Windermere Boys now living in Manchester.

PM.

Drove to Piotrków Trybunalski, the fomer home of several of the Windermere Boys.

Met Mrs Janina Grędecka, a local resident, who now looks after the Jewish Cemetery. Talked to her at length about both her memories, and her late father’s memories of life in Piotrków during and after the Second World War.

Walked around the Jewish Cemetery and discovered that Ben Helfgott, another of the Windermere Boys and former Piotrków resident now living in London, had visited the cemetery the day previously.

Visited the sites of the Piotrków Ghetto and The Great Synagogue.

Drive back to Łódź.

1.00 pm. Park Ocalałych: Invited to attend the ceremony and official unveiling of the ‘Monument Honouring the Poles who saved Jews during the Second World War’. Monument unveiled jointly by by President of Poland, Lech Kaczyński and Mayor of Łódź, Jerzy Kropiwnicki.

4.00 pm. Memoriał Radegast Bahnhof: Attended the premiere of the 3D film ‘Likwidacja 08.1944′ (Liquidation 08.1944) directed by Michał Bukojemski, Marek Miller and produced by Jacek Gwizdała

5.00 pm. Muzeum Kinematografii: Attend screening of  the film ‘Litzmannstadt Getto. Piekło na ziemi obiecanej’ (Litzmannstadt Ghetto. Hell on Promised Land) written and directed by Mariusz Olbrychowski.

8.00 pm. Manufaktura: Meet Krzysztof Noworyta of the National Centre of Culture, Warsaw in this redeveloped artistic quarter of Łódź. Introduced to Marek Cieślak, President of the Board for the Łódź Special Economic Zone and Monika Ptasińska International Cooperation Officer who are leading on the activities and developments towards Łódź’s bid to become European Capital of Culture in 2016.

Invitations extended for return visits and collaborative projects and exhibitions in Łódź, and Warsaw. Preliminary arrangements made to invite Krzysztof Noworyta, Monika Ptasińska, and others to visit Calgarth and Windermere.

Introduced to Ron Huldai, Mayor of Tel Aviv, whose parents were originally from Łódź, and invitation extended to explore exhibition opportunities.

AM – Drive to Sieradz, the former home town of Mayer Hersh (Manchester) and Arek Hersh (Leeds) both Windermere Boys who are closely connected to the Avenue of Exile project.

Met with Jacek Potakowski, Head of Customer Service at Urząd Miasta Sieradz (Sieradz Town Council), who showed us archive photographs of the town. Meeting with the town registrar who showed original documents relating to Mayer Hersh’s family.

Telephoned Mayer Hersh in Manchester and identified the address where he had lived in Sieradz. Jacek Potakowski then took us on a guided tour around Sireadz and the former Jewish area.

Meeting with Dr. Jerzy Kowalski, Director of Muzeum Okręgowe w Sieradzu  (Sieradz Regional Museum) who gave us material relating to the Jewish community including photographs, essays and documentation.

Meeting with Sister Agnieszka Tarabuła in the Dominican Monastery who we interviewed at length. She told us stories from the time about the Jewish community, the liquidation of the Sieradz Ghetto and intimate details of help and assistance offered by the Sisters to some Jewish children and families.

Invitation extended from Sieradz Town Council and Regional Museum for a return visit and project collaborations.

PM – Drive from Sieradz to Chełmno nad Nerem (the site of Kulmhof Extermination Camp) and Rzuchowski Forest (the site of the Waldlager or Forest Camp).

Kulmhof Extermination Camp was the place where many of the Windermere Boys families were murdered and their corpses subsequently buried in the camp in Rzuchowski Forest.

Met with Kazimierz Erber from Koło to walk around Rzuchowski Forest. He had been involved in building the memorial on the site of the former camp.

Drive back to Łódź.

25 August. Arrive in Łódź (from Edinburgh) 10.30am local time.

Walk from hotel to Ulica Piotrkowska to buy maps of the area.

15.00 pm.  Joined by Mark Wright (Sound Artist and Psychophonographer) from London (flown in from Stansted) and Ryszard Berechula from the Manchester Polish community (flown in from Birmingham to Bydgoszcz) who arrived with hire car from Warsaw.

16.00 pm. Visit Memorial Radegast Bahnhof.

This rail station, established in 1940, was used as a major deportation point from which the the Jewish community of Łódź were sent to extermination and concentration camps throughout Poland.

18.15 pm. Visit Park Ocalałych (Survivor’s Park).

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20 August. Meetings with Senior Education Officer Tanja Petersen and archive officer at the Jewish Museum Berlin

Invited to return to Berlin to develop projects with Jewish Museum Berlin and with the Berlin City Archives and authorities (focusing on the Windermere Boys connections with Berlin).

Return to UK

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The exhibition shows some of the geophysics scan results obtained by John Gater, a member of Channel Four’s “Time Team”, alongside a film made by Rosemary Smith and art works by students at the Lakes School, Windermere.

A specially designed book by international artist Neasden Control Centre has been produced to coincide with the exhibition.

The exhibition can be visited during the library opening times:-
Monday 0930 – 1900:  Tuesday 0930 – 1700:  Wednesday 0930 – 1900:  Thursday 0930 – 1200:  Friday 0930 – 1700:  Saturday 0930 – 1530:
Sunday 1200 – 1600

We chatted over coffee and mulled over the different culture that prevailed in 1940’s Britain compared with 2009. No bitterness, no rancour and no points scoring, just about the difference.

It still amazes me that Derek was twenty years old when he was a qualified pilot taking the controls of arguably the largest aircraft in the world at that time. Not only that, but taking it for long flights over the Atlantic in all weathers in the years before GPS systems etc.

Coming just two days after seeing and hearing Jack share his story with children about how he survived concentration camps (non of his family did) it was striking what different wars they had been involved in.

It occurred to me that Another Space was a unique conduit that connected these two very different people. I wonder what “interface” that constitutes?

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Jack’s testimony was very emotional and the children were moved by witnessing something of which they have had very little experience.

Jack clearly connects with these young people, aged 14 years and above, as they are roughly the age he was when he went through his experiences in concentration camps…..and lost his family in, he suspects, Belzec.

Many have heard of Auschwitz Birkenau, few of Belzec near the Russian border.

The children’s reaction to Jack was extraordinary.

Another Space supported this event through their “From Auschwitz to Ambleside” project and their partnership with Cumbria County Council and the MLA with “Their Past Your Future II” project.

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