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POLIN Museum, Warsaw


We have visited this museum when it first opened a few years ago.  In fact, we were very eager to see it, but the museum was not  ready for us.  There was nothing really there but just one exhibit showing old photos of prewar Jewish Warsaw.  We found the building itself to be so interesting that it was thrilling to be able to get a taste of what was to come.

Polin Museum of the history of Polish Jews opened its core exhibition in 2014.
This year, the Museum was awarded the very prestigious title of European Museum of the year 2016.

A well deserved honor.

The Hebrew word POLIN means either Poland or "rest here", and it relates to a legend of the arrival of the first Jews in Poland.

The Museum rests on the site of the former Warsaw Ghetto



Rainer Mahlamaki, a Finnish architect, designed this really spectacular structure.  The break in the building is meant to symbolize the Holocaust, a break in continuity of Jewish life in Poland.
The glass space faces the Ghetto Monument in front of the building.









The POLIN Museum traces the history of Jews from their first appearance in Poland in the middle ages to today. 


It shows the beginnings of Jewish life in Poland from the year 960. 










 This museum is full of multimedia exhibits, fascinating information, creative displays and artifacts, video projections and interactive installations.










  This is a replica of the Gwozdziec Synagogue. The Synagogue was originally erected in 1640 under the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth.  It was damaged during a WWI Pogrom by Tsarist troops and burnt down in 1941 by the Germans.  This reconstruction was possible due to the detailed 1898-99 drawings by the Polish painter Karol Zyndram Maszkowski.

Personally speaking, I stopped short when I walked into this room.  It is breathtakingly beautiful, the colors, the attention to detail and the feeling of importance are stunning.  I cannot imagine how much work  it took for this to be completed but the result is truly spectacular.








       In this room, one can learn about the history of Partitions of Poland and the impact on the Jewish population.






Here, we learn about the Jewish role in the building of the rail system and the history of mass migration.





We can see a multitude of Yiddish newspapers for every interest.




From the Museum's website:
"We present 1000 years of Polish - Jewish coexistence, speaking of cooperation, rivalry, conflicts, autonomy, integration and assimilation.  While seeking to confront thorny issues, we also bring attention to bright chapters in our common history."


This is a spectacular museum, worth the devotion of some time.  We spent a bit over 2.5 hours there and it was not enough.  I will definitely be returning with each visit to Warsaw.

The gift shop has a good selection of souvenirs and books.

Polin Museum
ul. Mordechaja Anielewicza 6
Monday - Thursday - Friday - 10am -6pm
Wednesday - Saturday - Sunday - 10am- 8pm
Tuesday - closed


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