PERSONAL PROFILE

Tomasz Wisniewski - CV + some Bio
Tomasz Wiśniewski bagnowka@yahoo.pl Tel 507181939, has been documenting Jewish heritage for many years. His main goal is not to let the past be forgotten. Dr Wisniewski wrote some books, many articles and made several film documentaries and exibitions about Jewish history. See https://english.radio.cz/unusual-holocaust-exhibition-opens-warsaw-8094862 He was a pioneer of documenting Jewish cemeteries in Polish shtetl of Podlasie region. His research can be viewed on the website www.bagnowka.pl. It includes several thousands of photographs of gravestones not only from the Jewish cemeteries but also Catholic, Muslim and Christian Orthodox. Dr. Wisniewski taught himself Hebrew. He also knows several other languages including a little Esperanto. (Wisniewski is the author of the book about the founder of Esperanto, Ludwik Zamenhof).  More at http://www.jewishmag.com/114mag/lostworld3/lostworld3.htm Lately concentrated on making film documentaries about testimonies of the older generation of Poles reminiscing about Poland before 1939. His films were shown at a number of film festivals among them Castaways. Others can be viewed on  special YouTube channel. Youtube.com/user/bagnowka7 has over 5 million visitors. The channel is called Bagnówka because "Bagnówka is a district of Bialystok which contains the largest Jewish cemetery in north-east Poland. This cemetery is located next to the Catholic cemetery which in turns adjoins the Orthodox cemetery. Nearby are remnants of the Lutheran (Protestant) cemetery. These four cemeteries in Bagnówka that lie peacefully next to each other are for us a potent symbol of what we are seeking to achieve as the partnership and good-neighbourliness”. Tomasz Wiśniewski graduated from Warsaw University in 1984. During marshall law (1981) was interned for 9 months. Wiśniewski wrote his doctor thesis in Theory of Culture at the University of Poznan (2012). He was granted scholarship by the President of Warsaw, the Minister of Culture of Republic of Poland and Marshal of the Voivodeship of Podlasie. Tomasz Wiśniewski is a historian specialising in Podlasie region. He was a lecturer at the School of Finance and Management in Bialystok, the Bialystok School of Public Administration, Janski Higher School in Lomza and the Podlaski University in Bialystok.  He is an author of 9 books, among them: The Autobiography of Ludwik Zamenhof, The Synagogues and Jewish Communities in Bialystok Region, (fragments of the book also published in Hebrew and in English). In the US he published a guidebook "The Jewish Bialystok and surrendings", which had its review in "The New York Times". He is  a founder of the non-governmental organisation "In the search for Poland" www.szukamypolski.com and also founder of the "Workshop for Image, Sound and Photography" in Michalowo, (PFDF Michalowo in 2010) to which he donated a vast collection of old photographs, documents, reprints, maps  and stamps.  He is a recipient of several awards among them prestgious Zygmunt Gloger prize.  30 years ago at the Jewish Festival in Kraków together with Krzysztof Czyżewski he received a diploma and the Silver Violin medal from the State of Israel in recognition of his activities documenting Jewish heritage.  Tomek Wisniewski has been concentrating lately on making documentary films. His film "Wyrzutki", which he made in cooperation with S.Grynberg, received 4 major prizes at Film Festivals in Poland and abroad, including prestigious prize at festival in Pittsborough and Ann Arbor (USA). His films "The Egoist" and "The Central Park" were shown on Planet Plus (Channel). Tomek Wisniewski's films are made on very tight budget. Tomek is also a cameraman, screenwriter, director and film editor.  Quotation from the review of "The Central Park."  "Observing Tomek's activities, you get the impression that he is obsessed with the idea of saving the lost time and memory. That is certainly the case of The Central Park, The film is telling a story of the oldest Jewish cemetery in Bialystok, which between 1952- 1954 was ... buried. In the interview Tomek said that the "The Central Park" is the beginning of the campaign to uncover the oldest cemetery in Bialystok and in symbiosis with the park create an underground lapidarium." In 2016 he created a website www.jewishbialystok.pl In 2018 Polin Museum Award and Podlasie Marschall Award
1993 Nagroda Stowarzyszenia Dziennikarzy Polskich
Nagroda Stowarzyszenia Dziennikarzy Polskich za reportaż o Narewce "Ciut lepsze byli niż nasze"
1996 Ścieżka rowerowa wzdłuż Białej - Białystok
Dyplom MOŚZNiL za koncepcję "Ścieżka rowerowa wzdłuż Białej" wspólnie ze Sławkiem Kakareko. Projet zakłądał m.in bezkolizyjną komunikację rowerową na specjalnych platformach pod mostami nad rzeką Białą. Dawał możliwość przejazdu rowerem przez całe miasto wzdłuż rzeki Białej.
1998 Award of Izrael State. Dyplom od Państwa Izrael
Za zasługi ochrony kultury zydowksiej w Polsce
1998 Dziennikarz Roku "Kuriera Porannego"
Wyróżnienie dla Dzennikarza Roku Kurera Porannego 1998
2003 Founder (and member) of We are in Search of Poland Society 2003
Załozyciel Stowarzyszenie Szukamy Polski
2005 Award for achievements in building local democracy. Nagroda FRDL za osiągnięcia w budowaniu demokracji lokalnej
Nagroda FRDL za osiągnięcia w budowaniu demokracji lokalnej
Kadry Zagłady - Snapshots of Genocide - 2006
Exibiton about Holocaust article http://www.polish-heroes.org/descargas/Kadry-zaglady.pdf
2009 Creator of the www.bagnowka.pl
former it was bagnowka.com but I lost this domain by my personal stupidity (and lost plentyof data) - domena została stracona przez autorską głupotę
2012 Dr cultural studies, Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań
MA in Polish philology at the Branch of the University of Warsaw in Bialystok in 1984
2015 Walizka Film - strona www
There was no interest of my offer (strange for me...) Z uwagi na całkowity brak zainteresowania moją ofertą - zamknąłem ten "interes". Due to the lack of interest - the business was closed.
2016 Museum of the Jews of Bialystok and the region
In 2016 I created this website, because Bialystok deserves... https://www.petitions24.com/bialystok_deserves_a_jewish_museum W 2016 stworzył stronę www Społeczne Muzeum Żydów Białystoku i regionu. Nie powiodły się jego starania aby uruchomić realne muzeum żydowskie w Białymstoku https://www.petitions24.com/bialystok_deserves_a_jewish_museum
2018 Award of the Marshal of the Podlasie Voivodship
2018 POLIN Museum Award
Wielka Radość oczywiście http://jewish-heritage-europe.eu/2018/12/06/mazel-tov-to-tomasz-wisniewski/?fbclid=IwAR2U_UutYyPwqOIZZoY4wfEYL8uGiDfUEQRkLL3lWMzQd5SE9OXmBycSqr8
2020 Złota Emigra Festiwal - winner
Złota Emigra 2020 za film Chudzielec - The Scrag