The Heart of the City That Once Was. Collection of the Jewish Historical Institute

Only individual items, notes, and keepsakes remain of the former Jewish life. Each of these splinters carries a unique story. We are able to discover and rediscover it thanks to the proper storage and preservation of each object, as well as its digitisation – creating its accessible, durable digital copy. All of these tasks are performed by JHI employees. 

The goal of the exhibition The Heart of the City That Once Was. Collection of the Jewish Historical Institute is to showcase the results of this work and present the digitised collection of items from the old Jewish community. We have chosen to display photos of surviving artefacts in the urban space, thus incorporating them into the city’s modern history. Each poster is accompanied by a story inspired by the object, available to read on the Institute’s website. 

Preserving the memory of the people whose stories survive only in slivers of a reality long gone has been a mission carried out by the Jewish Historical Institute for over 75 years. It is the beating heart of the former Jewish Warsaw – the heart of a city that once was. 

The presented objects have been digitised, described, and made available as part of the “Jewish Cultural Heritage” programme. 

More information

Map of the exhibition

Krzysztof Czajka-Kalinowski about the object:

Krzysztof Czajka-Kalinowski about the object:

Destroyed Warsaw / Photo from the Landau family archive
Agnieszka Mastalerz about the object:

Agnieszka Mastalerz about the object:

Irises / Symcha Trachter
Justyna Majewska about the object:

Justyna Majewska about the object:

Curriculum of the agricultural course offered by the Organisation for the Support of Industrial, Artisanal, and Agricultural Production in Poland (ORT)
Karolina Sulej about the object:

Karolina Sulej about the object:

The Last Garment / Karol Młodnicki / Page from ‟Tygodnik Ilustrowany”
Marta Kapełuś: about the object

Marta Kapełuś: about the object

“They Fought For Our Honour and Freedom” poster design / Judyta Sobel
Sylwia Chutnik about the object:

Sylwia Chutnik about the object:

End cap of a Bund banner pole
Agnieszka Witkowska-Krych about the object:

Agnieszka Witkowska-Krych about the object:

Korczak's Orphanage. Peeling Potatoes / Henryk Bojm
Piotr Paziński about the object:

Piotr Paziński about the object:

Dispute (At a Synagogue) / Artur Markowicz
Anna Kowalczyk about the object:

Anna Kowalczyk about the object:

Swan Dance. Drama Club in Rychbach / Album From the Life of the “Gordonia-Maccabi HaTzair” HeHalutz Youth / Unknown author
Agnieszka Jeż about the object:

Agnieszka Jeż about the object:

Woman under a Tree / Abraham Weinbaum
Agnieszka Kajczyk about the object:

Agnieszka Kajczyk about the object:

Leisure Time / Album From the Life of the “Gordonia-Maccabi HaTzair” HeHalutz Youth / Unknown author
Ola Bilińska about the object:

Ola Bilińska about the object:

Warsaw – View of the Monastery of St. Casimir / Aniela Cukier
Beata Chomątowska about the object:

Beata Chomątowska about the object:

Magistrate's Courts in 53/55 Leszno Street / Unknown author
Jowita Michalska about the object:

Jowita Michalska about the object:

Vinyl Record in company sleeve of the “Muza” Phonograph Record Factory. Recording of the song ‟Hamavdil” performed by cantor Josef Rosenblatt
Monika Krawczyk about the object:

Monika Krawczyk about the object:

Stamp of the Jewish Historical Institute in Warsaw, operating under the Central Jewish Committee in Poland