Lectures and Discussions
In cooperation with the teachers of the Anton Bernolák Grammar School in Namestovo, the Pamätaj association organises regular lectures and discussions with students about the history of the Jewish community of Upper Orava and the Holocaust. Recordings of the meetings are available on YouTube under the title "Žili medzi nami" (They Lived Among Us).
Lecture "What Happened in Namestovo..." – 11 February 2026
The discussion in the small assembly hall was attended by senior students of the Anton Bernolák Grammar School. It opened with the piece "Eli, Eli" for two violins, performed by Ľubomíra Puchelová and Adrián Malovaník in an arrangement by Ľubomíra Puchelová. The following topics were presented:
- Richard Duda (president of the Federation of Jewish Communities in Slovakia, connected via Zoom) – Current moods, or the forced "consensus" about the genocide in Gaza
- Karol Kurtulík – A short reminiscence: the history and present of Pamätaj
- Avior Byron – The interweaving of family history, academic research and the power of words
Avior Byron visited Namestovo with his daughter on 11–12 February 2026, prompted by media coverage of the Pamätaj association and the Facebook page of the Jewish cemetery in Namestovo. Also present was the historian Lucyna Bosczuch from Poland, with whom Pamätaj cooperates. An audio recording of the lecture is available on YouTube under the title Žili medzi nami.
Visit to the Jewish Cemetery – 12 February 2026
Accompanied by Karol Kurtulík, Avior Byron and his daughter visited the Jewish cemetery in Namestovo and took a keen interest in its history and restoration. He has close ties to Orava – his grandfather came from Wielka Lipnica, today part of Poland. After visiting the cemetery in Namestovo, he is determined to install memorial plaques in Wielka Lipnica for his family, who perished in the Holocaust. Karol Kurtulík is helping him in this effort, and together they are looking for ways to realise it.
