Numerous concerts, lectures, exhibits and conferences have been scheduled in Krakow and elsewhere in Poland to coincide with this week’s commemorations marking the 50th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz.
In addition, Jewish organizations and others are using the occasion to launch separate initiatives of their own.
These include the opening of a youth club and education center here by the Ranald S.Lauder Foundation, a New York-based organization sponsoring Jewish education efforts in central and eastern Europe.
It will be the fourth such center in Poland, providing social, cultural and educational programs for young Jews seeking to discover their heritage.
Activist New York Rabbi Avi Weiss announced that he would stage a demonstration during the official commemoration ceremony, at Birkenau on Friday, to protest against Christian symbols at Auschwitz.
Weiss, who for years led a militant campaign against the Carmelite convent just outside the fence of the Auschwitz camp, said he and supporters would stand in front of the cross that still stands near the former convent, which nuns vacated in 1993.
He said he would also protest at a church across the street from Birkenau that has a tall cross on its roof. The church building originally was part of the Birkenau camp complex.
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