Museum dedicated to Jewish history in Poland opens in Warsaw

A museum dedicated to the history of Jews in Poland officially opened in Warsaw this week at the site of the former Warsaw Ghetto. The museum opened its doors to the public last year, but the event Tuesday formally inaugurated the institution, whose full name is the POLIN Museum of the History of Polish Jews.

The opening drew prominent political and cultural figures, including Polish President Bronislaw Komorowski and Israeli President Reuven Rivlin. Film director Roman Polanski was also in attendance for the museum’s inaugural celebrations.

The museum’s name is a reference to the Hebrew words for “Poland” and to “dwell” or “rest here.”

On Tuesday, the museum unveiled its core exhibition titled “A Thousand-Year History of Polish Jews.” The exhibition begins with the arrival of Jews in what is now Poland during the Middle Ages and continues through the Holocaust and into the present day.

At the start of World War II, Jews numbered about 3.3 million in Poland. By the end of the war, the number was 200,000 to 300,000.

The museum, which is estimated to have cost close to $100 million in total, was designed by Finnish architects Rainer Mahlamäki and Ilmari Lahdelma.

The rather stark design features a large gap in the middle that the architects have explained as representing the parting of the Red Sea.

Rivlin, who became Israel’s president in July, spoke at the museum’s opening. An Agence France-Presse report quoted him as saying that “although Jews were torn away from Poland, it is difficult, or even impossible to tear Poland away from Jews. It is impossible to erase history so rich, so full and so extremely painful.”

The museum describes itself on its website as a private-public partnership, with the city of Warsaw and the Polish Ministry of Culture covering the majority of its operating budget. The Assn. of the Jewish Historical Institute of Poland, a private organization, also contributes the operating budget.

Twitter: @DavidNgLAT