Muzeum Historii Żydów Polskich POLIN

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POLIN Museum is the first public-private institution in Poland, created jointly by the government, local government and non-governmental organization. Under the trilateral agreement signed on 25 January 2005 by the Minister of Culture and National Heritage, Warsaw and the President of the Association of ŻIH, the public side financed, among others, the cost of building a building and its equipment. ŻIH Association is responsible for for financing and organizing the process of creating a main exhibition (details: public-private partnership).

The first director of the museum was Jerzy Halbersztadt, who contributed significantly to the creation of the Museum of the History of Polish Jews and to elaborate the concept of the main exhibition, among others. by setting up an international team of experts. His successor was Agnieszka Rudzińska, acting as the director until June 2012. Then, for less than two years, Andrzej Cudak was the director. Currently, since March 2014, the Museum's director is Professor Dariusz Stola.

POLIN Museum is the reference point for all those interested in the heritage of Polish Jews and the sign of a breakthrough in the mutual relations between Poles and Jews. Hundreds of thousands of Jews who come to Poland every year will find the most important information that will enable them to consciously form their own travel plans to family history sites. The existence of the museum is intended to support the development of Jewish identity among the revived community of Polish Jews, and one of its tasks is to support local and national initiatives taken in democratic Poland to rethink the experience of coexistence between the two communities. The program of the museum is a kind of starting point for debates on both the clear and the dark cards of the Polish-Jewish past. It gives general orientation, sets directions, encourages self exploration of rarely visited places.

POLIN is, above all, a meeting point for people who want to get to know the past and contemporary Jewish culture, want to face stereotypes and limit the phenomena that threaten the modern world, such as xenophobia and nationalist prejudices. In this sense it is a place for everyone, radiating the ideas of openness, tolerance and truth.

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Museum of the History of Polish Jews opened its doors in April 2013. It currently functions as a cultural and educational center with a rich cultural program, including temporary exhibitions, films, debates, workshops, performances, concerts, lectures and much more. The Core Exhibition, presenting the thousand-year history of Polish Jews, was opened on October 28, 2014.

Formally founded in 2005 by the Association of Jewish Historical Institutions, the City of Warsaw and the Polish Ministry of Culture and National Heritage, the Museum is a unique and unprecedented initiative, spanning many fields of research and drawing on the expertise of scholars. and museums professionals from around the world. We also work with the community at large to create a place to exchange their views, ask questions and grow.

Occupying around 4,000 sq m (ca 43,000 sq. Ft.), The Museum's Core Exhibition will immerse visitors in the world of Polish Jews, from their arrival in Poland as traveling merchants in medieval times until today. The exhibition was developed by an international team of more than 120 scholars, working under the direction of Professor Barbara Kirshenblatt-Gimblett from New York University. It is produced by the Association of the Jewish Historical Institute of Poland thanks to the support of donors from all over the world. Each of the eight galleries will present a different chapter of the story of Polish Jews, enabling visitors to come into intimate contact with those who lived that story through images, artifacts, first-person accounts and interactive multimedia.

The Museum stands in what was once the heart of Jewish Warsaw - an area which the Nazis turned into the Warsaw Ghetto during World War II. This is a great place to hang out with friends and family. This is a great place to stay in Ghetto Heroes. The design by the Finnish studio Lahdelma & Mahlamäki was selected in an international competition. In 2008, with the building still under construction, it received the prestigious Chicago Athenaeum International Architecture Award (2008).

Come join us for a memorable, transformative and thought-provoking experience!