Component 3. Understanding the past. Objects, people, stories
At the heart of the POLIN Museum is the Core Exhibition, a journey through the 1000-year history of Polish Jews, narrated from different perspectives, in many voices. As part of the project, we intend to modernize selected multimedia stands and elaborate the recordings of the audio guides in order to offer our visitors a better experience.
We plan to further develop the existing Museum online portals — Virtual Shtetl and Polish Righteous. Development of the popular Virtual Shtetl portal documenting and popularizing pre-war and contemporary Jewish culture and history in Poland will focus on collecting visual documentation, including the local Jewish historic sites and cemeteries, as well as contemporary Jewish life in Poland. The Polish Righteous portal, devoted to Poles who helped save Jews during the Holocaust, as well as Jews who helped other Jews, will continue to publish stories of rescue along with the accompanying documentation. We also plan to develop and disseminate our collection of oral history interviews.
POLIN also plans digitization of its collections and publishing them online as well as a handbook on collection management of Judaica – part of a series of handbooks addressed to professionals in regional museums and private collectors across Poland.
Component 4. Making connections and better understanding. Programs for the general public and local communities
POLIN Museum is a platform for dialogue on the Jewish history and culture open to all those who wish to learn more about the heritage of Polish Jews. We will offer cultural and public programs focused around the themes of the (post-)JEWISH… Shtetl Opatów Through the Eyes of Mayer Kirshenblatt temporary exhibition and anniversaries important to Jewish history.
In the summer, POLIN on the Meadow will invite our audience to relax with us in the area surrounding the Museum building, listen to music or poetry, and watch films. In the autumn, we will celebrate the 10th anniversary of Museum’s Grand Opening by organizing a festival of events. One of the most important events will be the 10th edition of the POLIN Award. The Award is granted to individuals, organizations or institutions actively engaged in the preservation of the memory of the history of Polish Jews.
The Museum on Wheels mobile exhibition on the history and culture of Polish Jews will visit ten towns, mainly those up to 50,000 inhabitants. Each visit will be accompanied by a program of educational and cultural events co-created by the project’s local partners. The exhibition was created by the Museum in 2013. Since then, it has visited more than 100 towns all over Poland.