POLIN Museum of the History of Polish Jews
Historic museum in Warsaw / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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POLIN Museum of the History of Polish Jews (Polish: Muzeum Historii Żydów Polskich) is a museum on the site of the former Warsaw Ghetto. The Hebrew word Polin in the museum's English name means either "Poland" or "rest here" and relates to a legend about the arrival of the first Jews to Poland.[1] Construction of the museum in designated land in Muranów, Warsaw's prewar Jewish quarter, began in 2009, following an international architectural competition won by Finnish architects Rainer Mahlamäki and Ilmari Lahdelma.
Muzeum Historii Żydów Polskich | |
Established | 2005 (opened April 2013) |
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Location | Warsaw, Poland |
Coordinates | 52°14′58″N 20°59′35″E |
Type | Historical, cultural |
Collection size | History and culture of Polish Jews |
Visitors | expected 450,000 |
Director | Zygmunt Stępiński |
Curator | Barbara Kirshenblatt-Gimblett |
Website | Museum official website |
Completed at a cost of 320 million zloty, the museum opened on 19 April 2013 with the core exhibition, showcasing the thousand-year history of Polish Jews, opening on October 28, 2014. The museum's architecture features a minimalist exterior with glass fins and copper mesh, and an interior designed by Event Communications. A central feature is the cavernous entrance hall, symbolizing the fractured history of Polish Jews. The organizational structure of POLIN includes an academic team led by Barbara Kirshenblatt-Gimblett and chief historian Antony Polonsky.
The museum's Core Exhibition, occupying over 4,000 square meters, presents a comprehensive narrative of Jewish history in Poland across eight galleries. These galleries cover periods from the early Jewish settlers in Poland to the Holocaust and the post-war years, using multimedia narratives, interactive installations, and reconstructions, such as the Gwoździec synagogue's roof and ceiling. The museum also operates the Virtual Shtetl portal, providing extensive information on Jewish life in Poland before and after the Holocaust. The Core Exhibition won the European Museum of the Year Award in 2016.