On Thursday, January 15, 2015, Poland marked for the 18th year in a row “the Day of Judaism”, a solemn event created and supported by the Roman Catholic Church, today celebrated in numerous towns and cities around Poland.

Begun in 1997, the event's purpose is to foster interfaith dialogue and education, reminding contemporary Catholic Poles of the long and rich 1000 year history that Poles and Jews shared before the Holocaust.  This year’s event was held in Auschwitz.  A letter was read by the Committee on Dialogue with Judaism from the Polish Bishops’ Conference with a very localized and personal theme: inviting and encouraging individuals and communities to demonstrate their remembrance of pre-War Jewish families and neighbors by actively engaging in initiatives to save Jewish cultural and religious sites in their Polish towns.  In their words, making it a “Duty of Conscience” to recognize that Jewish Heritage is Polish Heritage.

The Foundation for the Preservation of Jewish Heritage in Poland (FODZ) expresses its full and unqualified support for this noble and very necessary initiative.

To read more (in Polish) on the website of the Polish Bishops' Conference