Galicia Jewish Museum

Galicia Jewish Museum in Kazimierz

The Galicia Jewish Museum ( Polish : Żydowskie Muzeum Galicja ; German : Jüdisches Museum Galizien ) is located in Krakow in the Kazimierz district, which is strongly influenced by Jews . The museum shows Poland's Jewish past and present from a contemporary perspective. It preserves the memory of the Jewish-Polish culture of the former Galicia and thus of the victims of the Holocaust. In addition to the permanent exhibitions Traces of Memory and An Unfinished Memory: The Jewish Heritage and the Holocaust in Eastern Galicia , temporary special and traveling exhibitions related to photography and contemporary art are shown, such as B. the photo exhibition Salvation, Redemption and Renewal - 100 Years of “The Joint” in Poland . Every year around 30,000 visitors visit the museum (in 2012 there were 30,126) and the number is rising.

history

The museum was founded in April 2004 by British photo journalist Chris Schwarz to commemorate the rich Jewish culture and history of Polish Galicia before the Holocaust . After his sudden death in 2007, Kate Craddy became the new director, followed by Jakub Nowakowski in 2010.

Exhibitions

Permanent exhibition: Traces of Memory

The centerpiece of the museum is the "permanent exhibition Traces of Memory " (Traces of Memory) . This is a special collection of photographs by British photographer Chris Schwarz, which gives a breathtaking insight into the culture and cultural history of Jewish life and its destruction in Polish Galicia. The exhibition was developed with the help of Prof. Jonathan Webber (Emeritus, UNESCO Professor of Jewish and Interreligious Studies at the University of Birmingham, UK; Professor at the Institute for European Studies at the Jagiellonian University , Krakow, Poland). Among other things, Prof. Webber wrote the accompanying texts for the exhibition. The exhibition brings together the rudiments of Jewish life in Galicia to create an impressive picture of a region that was once a center of Jewish culture and life, and presents it in an informative, vivid and deeply moving way. It is a lament to the destroyed Jewish civilization that once flourished in this region and throughout the country, it commemorates the places of extermination and recognizes attempts by the vigil to address these atrocities.

Special exhibitions

The Jewish Museum of Galicia has the space to accommodate several special exhibitions at the same time in addition to the permanent exhibition. The exhibitions cover a spectrum from modern art with a Jewish theme to exhibitions in kind and photo exhibitions, for example on Israel in the 1930s. There are exhibitions that have been developed and compiled by the museum itself, as well as from outside. The museum is also a popular destination for international and national traveling exhibitions.

The museum's special exhibitions included:

" Soshana - Collector of Worlds " (Soshana - A World Collector ) . The exhibition presented the works of the Jewish-Austrian artist Soshana (born 1927 in Vienna). After Soshana gained a lot of international approval, this was the first exhibition of her work in Poland.

In 2006, the exhibition "was Polish Heroes " (Polish hero) on the subject of Righteous Among the Nations , together with the Auschwitz Jewish Center in Oswiecim designed. This is now exhibited in 6 copies in Poland , England and North America .

activities

Excursions and tours to Auschwitz / Birkenau , meetings with survivors and Righteous Among the Nations and tours through Kazimierz, Krakow's historic Jewish quarter, are organized. The museum offers many projects for school groups. There are cultural events in the museum, such as a meeting with the local rabbi, concerts or book readings. In addition, the progressive Jewish community in Kraków, Beit Kraków, celebrates its church service almost every Friday evening in the museum.