Museum of the History of Polish Jews

The Museum of the History of Polish Jews, which will open in 2012 on the site of the former Warsaw Ghetto, was the focus of attention at a lavish reception hosted by Mrs. Wanda Presburger and Mrs. Helena Krol, at the Krol's beautiful Beverly Hills, California residence.

Ms. Barbara Kirshenblatt-Gimblett, Head of the Core Exhibition Planning Team gave a detailed presentation on the Museum, the first and only museum to focus on the history of Polish Jews.

Poland was once home to the largest Jewish community in the world and center of the Jewish Diaspora. Many Jews trace their ancestry to Poland, which was one of the largest countries in Europe and one of the most culturally diverse. As a result, the legacy of Polish Jews extends also to areas that are today Lithuania, Belarus, and Latvia, as well as to parts of Ukraine, Estonia, and Western Russia. The Museum of the History of Polish Jews will be a portal, a place to begin an exploration of the world of Polish Jews.

Initiated by the Jewish Historical Institute Association in Warsaw in 1996, the Museum of the History of Polish Jews will be a unique institution. It will seek to explore the Jewish presence in Poland across the ages, including the first settlements; the unique guarantees offered to Polish Jews in the 13th century; the “golden age” of Polish Jewry in the 16th and 17th centuries; the Shoah and the remnants of the extinguished presence in post-war Poland. Visitors will be taken on a virtual journey to a lost world in which countless generations lived and flourished. The Museum will discover the vibrant civilization of what was once the largest Jewish community in the world and center of the Jewish Diaspora.

In attendance was the Consul General of Poland in Los Angeles, the Honorable Krystyna Tokarka Biernacik, the Honorary Consul of Poland in Las Vegas, Nevada, the Honorable John Petkus, the U.S. Representative to the World Federation of Consuls and Honorary Consul of Chile in Las Vegas, Nevada, the Honorable Paulina Biggs-Sparkuhl, the Honorary Vice Consul of Guatemala in Las Vegas, Nevada, the Honorable Dr. Aldo A. Aguirre, the President Emeritus of the Consular Chamber of Commerce, Mr. Jonathan Warren, Mr. Stanley Kolodziey and Peter Krol, from KROL Vodka.