Students researched the histories of Irena Sendlerowa and Władysław Bartoszewski. Sendlerowa was a Polish social worker who led the rescue of 2,500 Jewish children from Warsaw ghetto and found Polish families to look after them. Bartoszewski was the founder of Warsaw Bilingual School, as well as an Auschwitz survivor and resistance fighter with the Polish underground.

Students learnt how to examine historical documents and were able to interview people who had known these local heroes of Warsaw. The project cultivated direct engagement and empathy through firsthand learning about Warsaw’s local heroes. This deepened the student’s empathy for the victims of the Holocaust and encouraged them to reflect on what it means to stand up against oppression.

Students took educational trips to historical sites and places of Holocaust remembrance in Warsaw and met with local historians. They also consulted with Marian Turski, a former Auschwitz prisoner and an expert on Holocaust education. To cement their learning, students engaged in discussion and debate around discrimination and prejudice, and the importance of standing up for human rights.

As inhabitants of a city which had the largest Jewish population in Europe before the second world war, Warsaw Bilingual School felt compelled to take part in My Hometown. The students were keen to ensure their research reaches diverse audiences through a combination of local presentations within the school community, online sharing, and international collaboration via this platform.