Opening of the Museum of the History of Polish Jews

The museum began its cultural and educational activity in April 2013, but its official grand opening is scheduled for 28 October 2014, when the core exhibition presenting the thousand-year history of Polish Jews will open. Eight galleries present consecutive periods of Jewish presence in Polish lands, from the first settlement in the Middle Ages to the gradual revival of the Jewish community after the fall of communism in 1989. Visitors are immersed in the story told by antique objects, paintings, interactive installations, reconstructions and models, video projections, sounds and texts.

The Museum of the History of Polish Jews was founded in an extremely symbolic place in the centre of Warsaw: the pre-war Jewish neighbourhood that the Germans turned into a ghetto during the war. The nearby Ghetto Heroes Monument commemorates the Polish Jews who died, while the museum is a reminder of how they lived. That is why it is called a “museum of life”.

The museum’s exhibiting and research activity is combined with an extensive cultural and educational programme. The museum organizes exhibitions, concerts, theatre productions and film screenings. There are also lectures and debates involving scholars and public figures, meetings with the Righteous and Survivors, and workshops for children and adults.

The museum building, designed by the Finnish studio Lahdelma & Mahlamaki, is a true architectural gem – a mark of modern Warsaw and a monument of its colourful past.

The Museum of the History of Polish Jews was founded as Poland’s first cultural institution to be created in a public-private partnership by the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage, the City of Warsaw and the Association of the Jewish Historical Institute of Poland.

www.jewishmuseum.org.pl/en

Joanna Kuls – violin
Marcin Zdunik – cello

Sinfonia Varsovia

Andres Mustonen – conductor

The Programme:
Aleksander Tansman
Nun komm, der Heiden Heiland
Grzegorz Fitelberg
Song of the Falcon
Mieczysław Weinberg
Fantasia for Cello and Orchestra Op. 52
Ignacy Waghalter
Violin Concerto in A Major Op. 15
Karol Rathaus
Polonaise symphonique Op. 52