People Who Made It Possible
The Private Partners: Piotr Wislicki and Marian Turski, Chairman and Vice-Chairman of the Association of the Jewish Historical Institute of Poland
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Piotr Wislicki, Chairman of the Association of the Jewish Historical Institute of Poland
For generations my family was active in social and political life, both Jewish and Polish. My commitment to POLIN Museum of the History of Polish Jews continues a family tradition of public service. For me, this Museum affirms the permanence of Jewish life on Polish soil. There is no history of Poland without the Jews, and there is no Jewish history without Poland.
Marian Turski, Vice-Chairman of the Association of the Jewish Historical Institute of Poland
Who is the Museum for?
For Poles – particularly Polish youth – to offer them a virtual way of filling the void left after almost 1,000 years of Jewish presence on Polish soil.
For Jews – particularly Israeli youth – to make them familiar with a very important chapter in their past; indeed, for many centuries Poland was home to the largest and most significant Jewish diaspora community.
For everyone – to meet a Jewish community, which has given the world civilization fabulous thinkers, leaders, scholars, writers, musicians and painters.
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The Museum: Dr. Dariusz Stola, Museum Director; Dr. Barbara Kirshenblatt-Gimblett, Core Exhibition Program Director; Dr. Antony Polonsky, Museum Chief Historian
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Dr. Dariusz Stola, Director, POLIN Museum of the History of Polish Jews
POLIN Museum of the History of Polish Jews came into being thanks to the joint efforts of many institutions and individuals — founders, donors and friends, historians and curators, architects and builders, artists and IT specialists. The fruit of their labor — the stunning building and innovative historical exhibition, one of the best in Europe — demonstrates the binding force of the ideas on which POLIN Museum is founded.
I hope those ideas will continue to attract many people of good will. There is still much to be done.
Prof. Barbara Kirshenblatt-Gimblett, Core Exhibition Program Director,
POLIN Museum of the History of Polish Jews
The Museum will present the thousand-year history of Jewish civilization in Poland, the epicenter of world Jewry for centuries prior to the Holocaust and the ancestral home of the majority of Jews today. We are the heirs of this rich heritage, which encompasses one of the longest, most vital periods in Jewish history. The profound sense of Jewish connection and belonging that this Museum will invoke will be an inspiration for generations to come.
Dr. Antony Polonsky, Chief Historian, POLIN Museum of the History of Polish Jews
It is my hope that this museum will contribute to the preservation and informed appreciation of the history and accomplishments of the Jews of this region and of their descendants all over the world. The Nazi attempt to annihilate the Jews and Stalin’s efforts to eradicate their culture ultimately failed. There are still Jews in Poland and elsewhere in Eastern Europe, and the rich culture the Jews created here remains a source of admiration and inspiration to both Jews and non-Jews, in Poland and across the globe.
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The Public Partners: President of Poland Bronislaw Komorowski, Minister of Culture Malgorzata Omilanowska, Former Minister of Culture Bogdan Zdrojewski, Mayor of Warsaw Hanna Gronkiewicz-Waltz, Minister of Culture Museum Plenipotentiary Waldemar Dabrowski
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Hon. Bronislaw Komorowski, President of Poland, and Honorary Patron of the
Grand Opening of POLIN Museum of the History of Polish Jews
We have great hopes that the Museum will showcase an inspiring Jewish history that is an integral part of Polish history.
Hon. Malgorzata Omilanowska, Minister of Culture and National Heritage
With full responsibility I can say that the Core Exhibition will truly be a remarkable event. It will allow visitors to get to know the thousand-year history of Jews on Polish lands as well as their contribution to Polish culture, history, and society. There will also be no shortage of controversial subjects. But that goes for all good exhibitions, and I hope that the ensuing discussions and polemics will contribute to a better understanding of the past.
Hon. Bogdan Zdrojewski, Former Minister of Culture and National Heritage
I am proud that my time in the Ministry has coincided with this act of creation, the construction of an exceptional Museum of remembrance – POLIN Museum of the History of Polish Jews, the only Museum of this kind. As Minister, I supported the Museum financially; as a person, spiritually and emotionally.
Hon. Hanna Gronkiewicz-Waltz, Mayor of Warsaw
The walls of the Museum will enclose not only a record of our common history but also contain a powerful moral message of tolerance for future generations. I thank you all for supporting this project.
Waldemar Dabrowski, Minister of Culture Plenipotentiary for
POLIN Museum of the History of Polish Jews
As a Pole, I feel a sense of duty to Polish Jews, who have experienced the most devastating tragedy in the history of a nation and individual lives. In 2005, as Minister of Culture, I became aware of the historical importance of this Museum. Together with the late Lech Kaczynski, then Mayor of Warsaw, and Marian Turski, then Chairman of the Association of the Jewish Historical Institute, I made the decision to create this Museum of Life. It will complete the memorial complex as a place of special importance for the world, for Europe and for Warsaw. Museum educational, cultural, and artistic programs will engage audiences, especially our youth, in the great 1,000-year story of Polish Jews.
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