During the inaugural gala of the POLIN Award, the role and importance of our museum were referenced by representatives of the founders of our institution – the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage, the Warsaw Town Hall and the Association of the Jewish Historical Institute in Poland.

Deputy Prime Minister Piotr Gliński said that “"The Museum of the History of Polish Jews is a place of exchanging ideas concerning our past and our present. (…) Museum education constitutes an invaluable supplement of formal education and is becoming an element of lifestyle for more and more social groups. This is thanks to the fact that modern Polish museums, including the one we are standing in right now, are alive and interactive, offering a wide array of activities for everyone (…)".

"Warsaw has gained a new, necessary educational spot. It successfully carries out numerous projects with thousands of participants among young people," added Włodzimierz Paszyński, Vice-President of Warsaw.

Piotr Wiślicki, the president of the Association of the Jewish Historical Institute in Poland, emphasised that: "This Museum is so important to us because it fills the gap in the memory with the story of how Jews have lived here for a thousand years and, together with Poles, shaped history. Our common history. I cannot help but think of this song lyric: “I deeply believe that there are more people of good will” and regardless of our creed, provenance, worldviews, we are able to achieve a lot if we come together. And that is what we are doing. I would like to thank the winners of the 2016 POLIN Award, who will be presented to you in a second, because thanks to their activity, anything is possible."

We want to thank all people who took part in this weekend’s celebrations. We still invite everyone to visit the Museum!