Teacher blog

Hi everybody,

yesterday we made interviews with the protagonists of "La Benevolencija", Srdan, Toma and Jakica Finci. 

20 years after the  siege of Sarajevo, we asked them how the work with La Benevolencija has changed their lifes.

 "Helping others is a way to overcome the worst experiences "-  that was one of the most touching answers!

Erwin and Waltraud

Sitting in my room I hear the rain puring down . It is the very first time I am writing on this blog . Nearby the Muazzin is calling his fellow believers to join him in the evening prayer ,which reminds me of my city Jerusalem ( which by the way is one of the most beautiful cities in the world ,but also one of the most complicated ones )  But Sarajevo is a very special and beautiful city of its own - When we arrived I got absorbed by the atmosphere created by the buildings ,shops ,tiny little streets ,the river and its bridges ...

After about 28 hours in Sarajevo, my first impressions of this city are very positive. The hotel is great, the food is good, the people appear to be very friendly and hospitable, and the scenery is beautiful. I was quite surprised to see, in the hotel's bookstore, a copy of the Qur'an next to a book and magazines with pictures of scarcely clad women, and to notice that restaurants are open and alcohol is openly served while banners in the street wish us all Ramadan Mubarak (it is spelt slightly different, but my Bosnian is not as good as my Arabic, I am afraid).

Today was one of the most productive days so far. Already seven teachers (four from US public schools, three from European Jewish schools, one from a European public school, and one Israeli colleague) have expressed interest in working on the Kindertransport-Refugee project that I presented this morning. As soon as Lauren approves the lesson plan that I sent her yesterday I will forward all the material to those teachers who have told me they would like to see it and who might want to work on this subject.

Centropa seems to specialize in providing amazing moments. Yesterday it was the opportunity to stand where the 20th century started on 28 June 1914. It was the corner across from the Latin Bridge where Gavrilo Princip assassinated the Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his beloved wife, Sophie. Princip was NOT, contrary to some mythology, eating a sandwich at the now no longer extant Moritz Schiller's delicatessen. He pulled his FN Model 1910 automatic pistol in .380 ACP (9mm x 17mm Browning Short) and fired twice. The echoes of those two shots continue to reverberate to this very day. 

After a few days of working and sharing the expirience in magnificent Vienna, a very interesting night on a Bana Jelačića square in Zagreb and a long bus journey across ex Yu roads, CSA 2014 participants are all together in Sarajevo. I know that we will have very good time here. Happy

Centropa summer academy in three cities: Viena, Zagrev, Sarajevo....We are making movies, lessons plans....

It's nice to be here in Vienna and Sarajevo and to meet lots of educators from Europe and the USA all of whom are intersted in the Jewish life, culture and history. There are three of us from Lithuania: Gintare, Raimonda and me. To be continued...,