In 2014, we celebrated the 25th anniversary of political, economic and social transformations. To celebrate the 25th anniversary of first free elections and the opening of POLIN Museum of History of Polish Jews, Forum for Dialogue prepared an outdoor exhibition about the breakthrough transformations in Polish-Jewish dialogue. The exhibition was open for a month and located in front of the newly opened POLIN museum. The past 25 years have been a time of political, economic and social changes.

Polish-Jewish relations were undergoing transformations alongside those taking place in Poland. In 1989, almost half a century since the Holocaust and after decades of communism, free Poland inherited closed borders, lack of diplomatic relations with Israel and incapacity to hold a public discussion on any topic related to the history of Polish Jews. Poland today is a completely different country. There is still much to do, but many are willing to be the doers. Their hitherto accomplishments deserve to be acknowledged.

The exhibition presented the wealth of initiatives undertaken over the course of the past quarter of the century. These have been grassroots and top-down in character, local and nationwide, happening both in small towns and in large cities. The exhibition presented the achievements of youth involved in School of Dialogue program, which is meant to open young people’s eyes on what has been forgotten – i.e. the Jewish history of their hometowns.

The exhibition also presented selected personal stories of Leaders of Dialogue – individuals involved in Polish-Jewish dialogue who work to preserve the Jewish heritage in their towns. They change the world around them, often overcoming obstacles and indifference.
Finally, the exhibition touched upon the topic of Polish Jews who come to Poland and confront their perceptions of the country with today’s reality and discover a shared yet complicated past. Thanks to School of Dialogue, they meet young Poles who become their local guides.

See exhibition in the following website

Contributors

The project is co-financed by the Department of Public and Cultural Diplomacy of the Polish Ministry of Foreign Affairs as part of the 2014 edition of the competition Cooperation in the Field of Public Diplomacy. The present publication presents the opinions of its author and cannot be equated with the official position of the Polish Ministry of Foreign Affairs.