Their Fate – our History
Among the many planned events of and preparations for the World Reunion in 2024, the Student Project “Their Fate – Our History, a Student Project on Jewish Memories of Győr and its Surroundings”, developed by the Jewish Roots of Győr Foundation, will be one of the highlights.
Students from ten secondary schools in and around Győr will participate in the competition on an invitation basis. Let’s list these schools, as all of them have confirmed their participation in this prestigious competition at headmaster level in preliminary discussions. With two exceptions, these are institutions based in Győr. These are: Apor Vilmos High School, Baksa Kálmán High School, Czuczor Gergely Benedictine High School, Győr SZC Pattantyús-Ábrahám Géza Technical College, Hunyadi János Technical College (Csorna), Kazinczy Ferenc High School, Lukács Sándor Technical College, Benedictine High School of Pannonhalma Abbey (Pannonhalma), Péterfy Sándor Evangelical High School, Révai Miklós High School.
What is the purpose?
The main target is to arouse the interest of local young people of non-Jewish origin in the history of the Jewish community in and around Győr.
In this spirit, the activities of the competing student groups are essentially aimed at acquiring and disseminating knowledge and increasing social openness and sensitivity to the topic. It is not about basic scientific-academic research, which cannot be a realistic expectation, but about the exploration of additional information and insights, and, in particular, a specific creative work.
Ideally, we would like the competing young people to meet young or even older members of the Jewish communities in Győr and elsewhere in the course of their work.
What do we expect from students?
Part of the students’ activities would focus on the process leading up to the Holocaust and the genocide that took place. This embodies a ‘classic’ research project, which consists of two parts: a broad theme and a specific theme.
Some examples of the so-called broad themes to be examined are given here:
- Details and extracts from the list of names of Jewish children murdered in Győr and the surrounding area in 1944, their composition (young children/elementary-secondary school pupils), their daily life before deportation, the schools they attended, the functioning of the Jewish community’s own primary school, the relationship between Jewish and other religious children/students in Győr in schools and beyond the walls of schools
- The personalities, activities and institutional background of the “Righteous among the Nations” in and around Győr, with particular reference to persecuted Jewish children and young people
The results of this research will be delivered in a projected presentation (PPT), which will be shared with the jury at the final session of the student competition.
Let us show you one or two topics from a special subject area on which the students will produce a very short written report:
- The socio-economic exclusion of Jewish citizens in Győr and the surrounding area before deportation; 2-3 concrete examples
- The Jewish population of Győr in the local press (1935-1945) – trends and examples; critical presentation of 2-3 specific cases
The other part of the student competition consists of a creative work of art or other independent work, the theme of which is defined only by the subtitle of the student project: Jewish monuments of Győr and its surroundings. The form of the work is freely chosen by the participating teams. They can be literary works, works of art, short films, photojournalism, electronic works, or any other creation that the teams dream up.
Technical Terms
The students will start their work during the 2022-23 academic year, with final completion expected by 31 December 2023.
The personal involvement of the students will be on a voluntary basis. Competing teams will consist of 3 students. A school may enter more than one team, as there has already been a demand. The deadline for entries is planned for 1 November 2022.
There is a significant role for an adviser/support teacher to accompany the nominated teams and assist their students in methodological, resource research, work organisation and other areas.
A kick-off meeting will be organised in autumn 2022 for the counselling teachers, where experts (e.g. from the Holocaust Memorial Centre) will give a presentation and provide ongoing professional support.
The submissions will be reviewed and evaluated by a Jury, including the presentation of the students’ papers.
We are currently considering a suitable and worthy set of rewards for the best entries, which will depend largely on the level of external financial support received by our Foundation.
The winning team will present its entry at the World Reunion’s memorial conference. The winners will also be awarded on this occasion and the participating teams will be saluted. The best creative works will be exhibited here, as far as possible. A summary of all entries and the students as well as the teachers involved will be presented on the World Reunion’s website.
Like the idea?
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Jewish Roots in Győr Foundation
(Zsidók Győri Gyökerei Alapítvány)
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