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From May 22 to 26, two partner schools from the Hanseatic cities were hosted in Krzyzowa as part of a school exchange: the Sterntalerstrasse school from Hamburg and the Dr. Urszula Mroczkiewicz Elementary School No. 15 from Gdansk, each with 15 students from fourth and fifth grades! After a fun-filled day of integration and an excursion to Görlitz/Görlitz, the children worked on a shadow play that connects the two cities: it tells the story of a drop of water that enters the water cycle through a toilet in Hamburg and, after an adventurous journey, ends up in a rain barrel in Gdansk. In this way, the children were able to experience an artistic connection between their hometowns.

Read more: School exchange Hamburg - Gdańsk, 22-26.05.2023

From 19 to 24. March 2023, 60 students from Germany (Berufliche Schule Bad Oldesloe), Poland (Zespół Szkół Zawodowych w Pustkowie-Osiedlu, I Liceum Ogólnokształcące Dębica) and Ukraine (Ihor Sikorskyi Aero-Space Lyceum Kyiv) came together to work in international small groups on the fates of former concentration camp prisoners and to search for their family members in order to be able to return their relatives' personal belongings to them.  The encounter took place as part of the #StolenMemory campaign, initiated by the Arolsen Archives, which was carried out this week simultaneously at six locations under the auspices of the Bad Oldesloe Vocational School. It was special for this meeting in Krzyżowa that both the German and Polish groups included young refugees from Ukraine, who then met youth from their home country. During the integration and warm-up activities, the young people from all countries showed great curiosity and openness, and a good community atmosphere developed, which was further strengthened by a joint excursion to Wrocław and jointly organized evenings such as international evening, campfire or sports evening. A central part of the project week was the visit to the former concentration camp Groß-Rosen, which the group prepared and followed up and which was the first visit to such a place for most of them and impressed many very much. On the last day, the small groups were able to present the results of their research work. The young people were very motivated and took away many new experiences and acquaintances from this week. 

Read more: Stolen Memory in Krzyżowa 19.-24.3.2023

During a school exchange between Częstochowa and Ludwigshafen, young people took part in workshops on identity, overcoming stereotypes and reconciliation after the Second World War.

In a special question and answer session called "Everything you would like to know about Poland and Germany but haven't had a chance to ask", questions were asked about the school system, favourite foods or contemporary social challenges such as racism.

Read more: School exchange Częstochowa-Ludwigshafen

From 6-11.02.2023, Krzyżowa was visited by a group of very young people (8-13 years old) from Poland, Germany and Ukraine who came to discover and develop their talents in circus, sculpting, music and cooking.

The days were full of excitement and the activities supported getting to know each other! The exchange culminated with a trip to the trampoline park and to the slope in Rzeczka, where we were able to encounter real winter and go sledding.

Read more: Winter Adventure