Interviews at Polin: The Museum of the History of Polish Jews

Chasing Portraits – the documentary film in Poland – day two.

First up today was the Monument to the Warsaw Ghetto Heroes and then to Polin: The Museum of the History of the Polish Jews the brand new museum in Warsaw. The monument and the museum stand facing one another, on a plaza, if you will, where the first armed clash of the uprising took place. I visited both the monument and the museum this morning.

The monument is a powerful piece. It’s tall and imposing. The figures in it are strong and steely in their gaze and resolve. The base of the monument is covered in stones (a Jewish tradition and custom to, in part, symbolize the permanence of memory), candles, and flowers. I was at the memorial by myself. I stood at the base and looked up at the men, women, and children who look out into the distance, determined to fight as best they can, knowing the odds are against them. It was later that I realized that the monument is very near to Nalwecki street – a street that was near one of the entrances to the Warsaw Ghetto, where my grandpa George’s sister, Bronislawa, was murdered in 1943. The proximity of the monument to the site of Bronislawa’s death was powerful for me. This is not just history – this is family history. There is, somehow, an important difference.

We went from the monument to the side entry of the museum. The museum itself isn’t quite open to the public. It’s official grand opening is on Tuesday the 28th (I will be in attendance under a press pass!). I was at the museum today to conduct interviews with Renata Piątkowska, an art historian who is quite familiar with the work of my great-grandfather, and Barbara Kirshenblatt-Gimblett, the director of the core exhibition of the museum. Both spent quite a bit of time with me answering a range of questions about their knowledge about the Rynecki body of work, Polish Jewish art history, Warsaw between the wars, and Polish-Jewish culture. [You’ll have to see the movie to learn what they told me!]

One of the goals of the Chasing Portraits project is to find more fragments. When the small details are brought together, we begin to see the outlines of a larger picture and to learn more about the history and work of my great-grandfather. Today Renata revealed a discovery that took me by surprise…she has found an application Moshe Rynecki filled out and submitted to some sort of important art exhibition! I don’t yet have the document in hand, but am very much looking forward to seeing it, which she has promised to deliver while I am still in Poland.

Below are some photos of the day. Enjoy! Thank you for following. Check back in for tomorrow’s post…. The day’s agenda includes visits to sites around the city of Warsaw that are important to and have connections to the Moshe Rynecki story.

Outside the Museum and at the Monument.