The "They risked their lives – Poles who saved Jews during the Holocaust” exhibition extended to 14 April

author, 16 November 2016
Whoever saves one life, saves the world entire – this quote from the Talmud adorns the Righteous Among the Nations medal. Rescuing Jews in the Nazi occupied Poland was an exceptional challenge and equalled risking one’s own life as well as lives of an entire family. The most recent temporary exhibition at the Museum of the History of Polish Jews presents Poles rescuing Jews, first and foremost those titled by the Yad Vashem Institute in Jerusalem as Righteous Among the Nations. Due to their heroism several dozen thousands of Polish Jews were saved.

There are 18 exhibition panels depicting faces, stories and emotions of both the Righteous Poles and those saved by them. Using their biographies and stories we show what was the measure of human grandness, sacrifice and unmeasurable kindness as well as the extent of human capacity for evil at a time of war and genocide.

The exhibition sketches out activities of the Polish Underground, Polish Government-in-Exile, clergy as well as laymen. We will seek answers to the following questions: what did rescuing Jews entail in the reality of Nazi occupied Poland? How were the hideouts organized? What motivated people rescuing Jews and what consequences were they facing?

The exhibition will be accompanied by a display of museum pieces from the Museum collection – medals, diplomas, photos, documents and other objects from the Museum collection belonging to the Righteous, amongst them Irena Sendler and Władysław Bartoszewski.

The exhibition was made available thanks to the invaluable collection of over 400 interviews with the last living Righteous Among the Nations in Poland, conducted in the years 2007-2013 as part of the Museum project Righteous Poles – Recalling Forgotten History.

The exhibition premiered at the UNESCO headquarters in Paris. Our Museum will host the exhibition on occasion of the second commemoration of the International Righteous Among the Nations Day.

Open from March 7 until March 17, 2014.

Free admission.

The exhibition was produced in partnership with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.