Tribute to heroic teachers – conference on underground education during the German occupation of Poland.

Dyrektor muzeum Dorota Mleczko wita zebranych gości
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September 18th, The Remembrance Museum of the Land of Oświęcim Residents hosted a conference titled “Underground Education in the Oświęcim Region during the German Occupation”. The meeting was an opportunity to reflect on the heroic attitude of teachers and students of those times and as a reminder of the great value of education, especially in the most difficult moments of history.

The conference attracted a wide range of participants. Among the guests who were par-ticularly close to the subject of underground education were: the 2nd Malopolska’s Vice Superintendent Deputy Education Katarzyna Mitka, representatives of the teaching community and representatives of institutions involved in teachers’ skills improvement. There was also a significant presence of youth from the M. Dąbrowska’s District School Complex No. 9 in Kęty, where the remembrance day of teachers from the Kęty region, murdered by the German occupiers as a part of the genocide against Polish intelligent-sia, is celebrated every year.

The Director of the The Remembrance Museum of the Land of Oświęcim Residents, Dorota Mleczko, addressed the youth in a short introduction, emphasizing the special role of education in shaping national identity. Next, the floor was taken by the 2nd Malo-polska’s Vice Superintendent Deputy Education Katarzyna Mitka, who recalled the edu-cational role of teachers in building community and the importance of cultivating histori-cal memory.

Three lectures were held during the conference. The first speaker was Prof. Dr Hab. Jacek Chrobaczyński, who in his lecture titled: “Underground education in occupied Po-land 1939-1945” presented a broad perspective on teaching during the occupation. The professor focused mainly on the areas of the General Government, explaining how un-derground education emerged after the destruction of the Polish educational system by the occupiers. He highlighted the differences in the functioning of underground education in villages and cities and emphasized the uniqueness of the Polish underground educa-tion system on a global scale.

The second speaker was Anna Chowaniak, who gave a lecture titled “Secret teaching in Kęty and on the outskirts of the town”. She shared the results of her over twenty years of research on this subject, presenting the image of pre-war education in Kęty and its func-tioning during the occupation. Through her research she established that 64 teachers and 358 students participated in underground education in Kęty and surrounding areas. The presentation accompanying the speech included numerous photographs of teach-ers, school documents from that period, and teaching materials prepared for the needs of underground education.

The last speech, dedicated to Janina Kajtoch, was given by Maria Kramarczyk. Janina Kajtoch, a teacher involved in helping prisoners of the Auschwitz concentration camp, conducted secret classes in Babice and Grojec during the war. The speaker talked about her life in a broader perspective including her activities, emphasizing the values inherited from her family home and her involvement in scouting and teaching. During her speech, the participants had the opportunity to listen to a short story of a former student of secret classes conducted by Janina Kajtoch, Józef Gryzełko, who was present in the confer-ence.

When leaving, all of the participants received a gift which was the publication “The Histo-ry of Oświęcim Elementary Schooling” by Barbara Rokowska, which also contains some facts about underground education. The books were donated by the Education Depart-ment from the Oświęcim Town Council.

We would like to thank the speakers for their valuable presentations and the museum guests for their strong participation. We invite you to the next events organized by our museum. Information about the events will be available on our website soon.

Zbigniew Mazur, the curator of The Remembrance Museum of the Land of Oświęcim Residents, introduces the conference subjects to the audience.
Guests of the museum before the beginning of the conference.
Dorota Mleczko, the director of the museum, welcomes the guests.
Katarzyna Mitka, the 2nd Malopolska’s Vice Superintendent Deputy Education.
Lecture by Prof. dr hab. Jacek Chrobaczyński.
At the microphone Prof. dr hab. Jacek Chrobaczyński.
Presentation by Anna Chowaniak.
At the microphone Anna Chowaniak.
Lecture by Maria Kramarczyk.
At the microphone Maria Kramarczyk.
Józef Gryzełko talks about secret classes led by Janina Kajtoch.
Participants of the meeting received the publication “The History of Oświęcim Elementary Schooling” as a gift.
Professor Chrobaczyński’s entry in the commemorative book.
Participants of the meeting received the publication “The History of Oświęcim Elementary Schooling” as a gift.
Thanks and conversations with speakers after the end of the conference.
Entry in the commemorative book.