About the Auschwitz Jewish Center
Before Auschwitz became the ultimate symbol of the Holocaust, it was just an ordinary Polish town known as Oświęcim. The majority of its citizens were Jewish. Generations of merchants, rabbis, doctors and lawyers raised families there and contributed to a richly textured Jewish culture. In September of 2000, the Auschwitz Jewish Center opened its doors to honor the former residents of the town and to teach future generations about what was lost. It is the only remaining Jewish presence in the town.

The Auschwitz Jewish Center (AJC) is located less than two miles from Auschwitz-Birkenau. It is the mission of the AJC, in the shadow of the camps, to juxtapose the enormity of the destruction of human life with the vibrant lives of the Jewish people who once lived in the adjacent town and throughout Poland. 

The AJC’s mission is also to provide all visitors with an opportunity to memorialize victims of the Holocaust through the study of the life and culture of a formerly Jewish town and to offer educational programs that allow new generations to explore the meaning and contemporary implications of the Holocaust. The AJC is a place of understanding, education, memory, and prayer for all people.

Watch a video about the Auschwitz Jewish Center.

The facilities include the Chevra Lomdei Mishnayot Synagogue, the only remaining synagogue in the once predominantly Jewish town, and the Kornreich House, which houses an exhibition on pre-War Jewish life and rotating special exhibitions, as well as venues for meetings and educational programs.

For information about the AJC, visit www.ajcf.org. 

Download a brochure in English or Hebrew.

To arrange a visit, contact the AJC’s offices in Oświęcim at info@ajcf.pl or call the Museum of Jewish Heritage at 646.437.4276.

Join us for this upcoming event:

Auschwitz Jewish Center Foundation Dinner

Monday, June 3, 2013

Cocktails at 5:30 p.m.

Dinner at 7:00 p.m.

The Auschwitz Jewish Center Foundation Dinner on June 3 will honor Howard Gordon, co-creator and producer of Homeland, winner the 2012 Emmy and Golden Globe awards for best tv drama.  The dinner will feature special guests from the United States Service Academies.

To learn more, contact Erica Marcus at ajc@mjhnyc.org.

The AJC and Museum Together
In 2006, the AJC and the Museum united: both organizations share a commitment to commemoration and education, not only about the tragedy of the Holocaust, but also about the rich culture of the Jewish people. And both believe in the power of personal artifacts and testimony to communicate. The addition of AJC to the Museum broadens the reach and expands the capacity of both institutions.

Together the AJC and Museum offer four educational programs:

Spring 2013 Auschwitz Jewish Center Program for Students Abroad (AJC PSA)

“I am honored to have been a part of the Program for Students Abroad. It was a great mix of tours, history, present culture, and important education. I absolutely recommend this program.” -2011 PSA Participant

SPRING 2013 FLYER

The AJC PSA is a long-weekend program in Kraków for students studying overseas. The program, which includes a scholarly visit to Oświęcim/Auschwitz, provides an academic environment through which participants engage intensively with the history of the Holocaust and Jewish life in Poland.

The program takes place during fall and spring semesters and is facilitated by American and Polish staff of the Auschwitz Jewish Center, under the auspices of the Museum of Jewish Heritage – A Living Memorial to the Holocaust in New York. During the program, meals, accommodation, entrance fees, and transportation are provided.

SPRING 2013 DATES:

April 17-21 (Wednesday-Sunday)
April 21-25 (Sunday-Thursday)
April 25-29 (Thursday-Monday)
May 9-13 (Thursday-Monday)

Applications are available here, accepted on a rolling basis, due no later than one month before each program. Early application is encouraged. Candidates of all religious, ethnic, and cultural backgrounds are encouraged to apply. Financial aid is available for the $375 program fee. Participants are responsible for arranging individual transportation to and from Kraków. 

AJC PSA Sample Syllabus

For further information, please contact Dara Bramson at DBramson@mjhnyc.org, visit our website here, and follow us on Facebook here for ongoing updates.

Auschwitz Jewish Center Fellows Program

The Auschwitz Jewish Center Fellows Program is a three week study trip for students who are matriculated in graduate programs or are completing undergraduate degrees in 2012 in Holocaust studies and related fields. After a brief orientation in New York City, the Fellows travel in Poland for three weeks, during which time they visit Krakow, Warsaw, Lódź, Treblinka, and Oświęcim (Auschwitz). The Fellows travel to small towns in the regions surrounding Warsaw and Krakow, as well as through south-eastern Poland and north-eastern Slovakia, to explore the area’s rich Jewish heritage and meet with local leaders to learn about pre-war Jewish life, life under the Nazi occupation and Communism, and the state of Jewish communities and memory in Poland today.

In Oświęcim, the Fellows attend an intensive program at the Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum where they tour the camps, study the history of Jewish, Roma, and Polish inmates, and take part in workshops with Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum staff on the collections and education departments. While in Oswiecim, the Fellows have the opportunity to meet European students and observe educational workshops at the Auschwitz Jewish Center.

American Service Academies Program
The United States Service Academy Program is a 16-day educational initiative in Poland created by the Auschwitz Jewish Center Foundation (AJCF) for a select group of cadets and midshipmen from the academies for the U.S. Military, Naval, Air Force, and Coast Guard. Focusing on the Holocaust and related contemporary moral and ethical considerations, this in situ program provides an authentic learning experience for future military officers that extends beyond what they are taught in the classrooms of their respective academies. The poignancy of the setting not only educates them about the past, but also stimulates dialogue about history's relationship to the present and the future. Within this framework the Academy students are challenged to understand what can happen in the absence of open and democratic governing institutions — when evil is given free reign, when fear overpowers ethics, and when democratic ideals are not defended.

This program is supported by The Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany.