Organizers on the County Literary Competition “Zatrzymać w czasie”:

It is worth recalling that the competition was established years ago on the initiative of Ms. Eugenia Wolska. By granting it his patronage, the superintendent recognized its high substantive and educational value, as well as the fact that it shapes patriotic and moral attitudes among children and young people.

The competition aims, among other things, to “gain as much knowledge as possible about the residents of the town and county, develop an interest in the history of one’s own family, town and region, and, above all, strengthen intergenerational bonds.” Equally important objectives include improving the ability to write various forms of written expression and to use correct and rich Polish.

This school year, the competition took place under conditions complicated by the pandemic. Remote learning, which prevented, among other things, direct contact between teachers and students, made it difficult for everyone involved in the competition, both participants and organizers. For students’ health and safety, the second stage was not held.

The entries submitted for the competition were evaluated. They included works by students from primary and secondary schools in Bolesławiec, as well as schools in Nowogrodziec, Osiecznica and Wykroty. The County Competition Committee consisted of:

  • Helena Strzelczak-Kunicka – chair of the Bolesławiecka Rada Seniorów;
  • Iwona Banach – writer and translator;
  • Kornel Filipowicz – Polish teacher, director of the Bolesławiecki Ośrodek Kultury – Międzynarodowe Centrum Ceramiki;
  • Ewa Ołenicz-Bernacka – Polish-language teaching adviser at PCEiKK;
  • Katarzyna Reguła – director of the Powiatowe Centrum Edukacji i Kształcenia Kadr in Bolesławiec.

The competition committee emphasized that all the students’ written works are immensely valuable because they are the result of the work of young people—often very young, including nine-year-olds—who chose to take an interest in the past of their loved ones. They told their families’ stories, in full or in fragments. They recalled memories connected with various events preserved in photographs found in family albums. Many of them described, through the prism of various events, relatives who played or continue to play a crucial role in their lives.

Some works returned to the distant past, as far back as the wartime years, while others told of events that had taken place quite recently. PCEiKK:

It is worth noting that the idea of the competition is not only to record history from long ago, but also our own history—the history that is unfolding now. Thus, alongside moving stories about great-grandparents who saved the lives of Jewish citizens during World War II, there are stories about contemporary grandmothers who, in entirely different but no less dramatic circumstances, saved the lives of their grandchildren. Many of the entries are based on an interesting idea, such as the story of a wedding dress captured in a photograph. Others evoke genuine emotion because they contain so much truth and love for loved ones preserved in time.

The best competition entries will be available on the website of the Powiatowe Centrum Edukacji i Kształcenia Kadr in Bolesławiec. The very best will be published in the “Rocznik Bolesławiecki”.

List of winners

Third-grade primary school students

  1. Antoni Blatkiewicz (Primary School No. 2 in Bolesławiec),
    Lena Cieśla (Primary School No. 4 in Bolesławiec).

Fourth- to sixth-grade primary school students

  1. Wiktoria Parkita (Primary School in Osiecznica),
  2. Magdalena Hil (Primary School No. 4 in Bolesławiec),
    Emilia Hoszowska (Primary School No. 4 in Bolesławiec),
  3. Maja Czarna (Primary School No. 4 in Bolesławiec),
    Natalia Czurejno (Primary School in Wykroty),
    Wiktoria Urbaniak (Primary School in Nowogrodziec).

Honorable mention: Zofia Orawiec (Primary School in Nowogrodziec).

Seventh- and eighth-grade primary school students and first- to fourth-year secondary school students

  1. Natalia Broszko (Primary School No. 4 in Bolesławiec),
  2. Dawid Sobolewski (Primary School No. 4 in Bolesławiec),
  3. Anna Kopacka (Primary School No. 4 in Bolesławiec),
    Sabina Ozga (Secondary School No. 2 in Bolesławiec).

Honorable mentions:

  • Sławomir Męczyński (ZSE in Bolesławiec),
  • Oliwia Ostycharz (Secondary School No. 2 in Bolesławiec),
  • Oliwia Pawłowicz (Primary School No. 1 in Bolesławiec),
  • Oliwia Skrzypek (Secondary School No. 2 in Bolesławiec),
  • Maria Wolszczak (Primary School in Wykroty).

Powiatowe Centrum Edukacji i Kształcenia Kadr:

We invite you to take part in the competition next year, because preserving the history of our families and our loved ones is worthwhile!