“They Risked Their Lives...” Exhibition in Płock and an Agreement of Cooperation

Mateusz Szczepaniak, 16 November 2016
Our exhibition "They Risked Their Lives - Poles Saving Jews During the Holocaust” was the first event in the fourth Płock Jewish Days festival highlighting Jewish history and culture. The exhibition went on display in the restored building which once housed the Płock synagogue. For the past three years, it has housed the Museum of Mazovian Jews. During the exhibition's opening, POLIN Museum Director Prof. Dariusz Stola and Mazovian Museum Director Leonard Sobieraj signed an agreement whereby both institutions would cooperate into the future.

Prior to signing the cooperation agreement, Professor Stola said, "Even though the POLIN Museum surpasses the Płock institution in terms of dimensions, the Museum of Mazovian Jews was established first and has led the way in preserving the Jewish chapter of Polish history".

The Museum of Mazovian Jews was established in Płock in 2013, as a section of the Mazovian Museum. Its Director, Leonard Sobieraj, expressed the hope that this new cooperation would allow the Płock museum to develop. "Your knowledge and experience will assist us to accomplish many tasks", he said. "We care, on the one hand, about educating Polish society, reminding them of the tragic war period. But also, we want the international Jewish community to know of our museum's existence and that it is also directed at them".

The signing of the agreement featured during the opening of our exhibition "They Risked Their Lives - Poles Saving Jews During the Holocaust", the showing in Płock being the first effect of the cooperation agreement between the two institutions.

The exhibition tells the stories of the Righteous Among the Nations - Poles who risked their own lives and the lives of their families to aid persecuted Jews. The stories of the rescuers and those rescued is told in the historical context of occupied Poland, setting out the circumstances and extent of the aid provided, as well as the motivations behind the Righteous' deeds.

The exhibition was created in 2013 by the POLIN Museum in partnership with the Polish Ministry of Foreign Affairs. To date, it has been on display in numerous places around the world, including Chicago, Düsseldorf, El Paso, Havana, Madrid, Melbourne, Moscow and Paris. It has been translated into five languages - English, Spanish, German, Russian and Lithuanian.

The exhibition will be on display at the Museum of Mazovian Jews in Płock until 20th November 2016.