A museum for future generations

Was there a need to establish the Warsaw Ghetto Museum in Warsaw, or does the POLIN Museum not exhaust the subject of the Holocaust? 

The Warsaw Ghetto, established by the Germans, was the largest ghetto in Europe in terms of population and the site of one of the most serious crimes against Warsaw residents, a crime that has yet to be properly commemorated for future generations. Within a short period, one-third of the capital's population was relocated there, and Jews from all over Poland were subsequently relocated to the ghetto, resulting in a population of over 400,000. Crowded in inhumane conditions within a limited space, ghetto residents attempted to maintain their dignity, organizing self-help groups and health services. Although it may seem difficult to believe, the ghetto also housed theaters, which allowed some residents of the closed district to escape their daily lives. Orthodox Jews attempted to live according to religious principles, even though it was forbidden. Under the conditions of terror, organizations were formed whose goal was resistance, demonstrated in various ways. Oneg Shabbat (Joy of the Sabbath), an organization founded by Emanuel Ringelblum, documented daily life in the ghetto, striving to provide the world with testimony to the Jewish tragedy. Fighters from the Jewish Combat Organization and the Jewish Military Union organized an armed uprising against the Germans. The ghetto wall, 16 kilometers long, divided the city almost overnight. It's difficult to tell this story today, as Warsaw looks completely different, but it must be fully presented, and that's exactly what will happen at the Warsaw Ghetto Museum.  

To what extent will the WGM be interested in ghettos in other Polish cities? Were there ghettos similar to those in the Second Polish Republic in other countries? 

One of the statutory goals of the WGM is to commemorate ghettos throughout Poland, not just the Warsaw Ghetto. By presenting the reality of the closed district in Warsaw in the permanent exhibition, we will also symbolically illustrate the situation of isolated Jews in other ghettos.   

What significance does its location have for the emerging Museum – on the site of the former ghetto and in a hospital that played a significant role in the ghetto itself? 

The building of the former Bersohn and Bauman Hospital is an important witness to history. It symbolizes several eras, a brief history of Warsaw Jews. Its history began in the second half of the 19th century. It was funded by Jewish philanthropist families. Children of all faiths were treated here. After Poland regained independence, in the 1920s, thanks to investments from Jewish organizations, the hospital was one of the most modern in Poland. The ghetto era was a period of heroic struggle for the lives of young patients, waged by doctors led by Dr. Anna Braude-Hellerowa. After the war, the building became the headquarters of the Central Committee of Jews in Poland. Here, immediately after its discovery in September 1946, the first part of the Ringelblum Archive was examined. History is written within these walls. The permanent exhibition team of the Warsaw Ghetto Museum will bring this history to light.  

The museum is an exhibition combined with an educational program and a research program – scientific papers, documentation, and a publishing program. Could you describe the research program? Last year, a very interesting conference took place – I watched it online – which raises questions about international cooperation. To what extent and what should it cover?  

The process of creating the Warsaw Ghetto Museum has had an international character from the outset. The core exhibition team is headed by the world-renowned Israeli historian, Professor Daniel Blatman of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. The Warsaw Ghetto Museum Council also has an international membership. Our programmatic initiatives are reviewed by, among others, Holocaust Survivors Marian Turski and Wacław Kornblum; Colette Avital, Chairwoman of the Association of Holocaust Survivors in Israel; Barbara Jolson Blumenthal, daughter of Warsaw-born Survivor Leon Joselzon vel Jonson, who has distinguished herself in preserving Jewish cultural heritage; Irene Kronhill-Pletka, who supports Jewish cultural and educational projects worldwide through her foundational work; and Gideon Nissenbaum, President of the Nissenbaum Family Foundation. It is worth recalling here that it was Sigmund Nissenbaum, Gideon's father and the founder of a foundation that has been saving traces of Jewish culture in Poland for three decades, who was the first to come up with the idea of ​​establishing the Warsaw Ghetto Museum in the early 80s.  

Last year's academic conference was a major event, commemorating the 80th anniversary of the outbreak of World War II. It was organized in cooperation with the Polish Society for Jewish Studies, the Jewish Historical Institute, the European Network Remembrance and Solidarity, and Touro College in Berlin. It is an example of the scholarly activities the Warsaw Ghetto Museum will conduct. We also plan to establish an Educational Center at the museum. However, our efforts are currently focused on developing the framework for the permanent exhibition.   

The exhibition program – it's clear that few historical artifacts remain; those that do remain are the property of the Jewish Historical Institute or other museums, and the preserved photographs also belong to archival or museum institutions. So what will the permanent exhibition be like? Will it be a multimedia exhibition? How will this museum differ from other Holocaust-related museums? What is the permanent exhibition team currently involved in? 

The several dozen-page preliminary script for the permanent exhibition – co-authored by Professor Blatman – outlines the key themes of the eleven galleries comprising it. Wandering through them, visitors will become acquainted with over fifty years of the history of Warsaw Jews – from the late 19th century to the end of World War II and the return of the survivors to the capital. The museum aims to present the everyday history of the Warsaw Ghetto and other ghettos established by the German occupiers in Polish lands. The museum will be located in the heart of the Polish capital, at 60 Sienna Street, so we must build a narrative that is understandable for generations to come. Our audience will not be limited to Poles; we will need to reach people from all over the world with our story.  

Does the Museum already have any collections, and how does it intend to acquire them? 

"We Collect, We Build, We Remember" – this is the title under which the museum is launching its memorabilia collection campaign. We have the support of various institutions. The Institute of National Remembrance has promised to deposit the Stroop Report, one of two original copies of the ghetto liquidation document, with the Warsaw Ghetto Museum. We have received a valuable collection of drawings by Henryk Hechtkopf from his heirs in Israel. We are grateful for this first foreign gift to our collection. The Nissenbaum Family Foundation supported the purchase of a cart used to transport the bodies of those who died in the ghetto. We are collecting letters, photographs, and everyday objects. I realize that after so many years, accessing original artifacts will be difficult, but the above examples demonstrate that it is not impossible. Hence our appeal to the public for cooperation in building this exhibition. We are seeking original artifacts from the Warsaw Ghetto and other ghettos. Using these, we want to bring the everyday life of the ghetto closer to life. We will also utilize new technologies, which, while maintaining a balance between original artifacts and multimedia, provide enormous support to museums. The exhibition is scheduled to open in a few years, and we need to think today about how to tell stories that will reach future generations.  

At what stage of development is the Museum? 

The pandemic has caused delays in our work due to restricted travel, particularly in conducting archival and museum research in Poland and internationally. This has unfortunately led to postponements in subsequent stages of the Museum's construction plans. We are working as quickly as possible given the current situation.

How do you plan to adapt the historic former hospital building into a museum? The building likely can't undergo many transformations...? 

We are currently working on the designs for both the permanent exhibition and the adaptation of the building itself. The challenge lies in housing the exhibition in the original, historic building. To maximize exhibition space, we must ensure that this facility meets the needs of visitors and is accessible to everyone who visits. The work is being carried out under the supervision of a specialist. In August, Joanna Dudelewicz, who led the architectural work on the revitalization of the Museum of Warsaw's Old Town buildings, joined our team. We will therefore draw on her experience. Our task is to build the Warsaw Ghetto Museum while simultaneously preserving the historic site of the former Bersohn and Bauman Hospital, a unique, over 140-year-old witness to history located in the very center of the capital. This is a huge commitment, but I believe that with the help of the Museum team, we will be able to meet it.   

Interview by Ewa Kielak-Ciemniewska, editor-in-chief of the monthly "Stolica"

Photo: "The Capital"