Jewish Historical Institute
Jewish Historical Institute
4
9:00 AM - 4:00 PM
Monday
9:00 AM - 6:00 PM
Tuesday
9:00 AM - 8:00 PM
Wednesday
9:00 AM - 6:00 PM
Thursday
9:00 AM - 6:00 PM
Friday
9:00 AM - 4:00 PM
Sunday
10:00 AM - 6:00 PM
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Neighbourhood: Śródmieście Północne
How to get there
- Ratusz Arsenał • 2 min walk
- Muranów • 8 min walk
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Most Recent: Reviews ordered by most recent publish date in descending order.
Detailed Reviews: Reviews ordered by recency and descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as waiting time, length of visit, general tips, and location information.
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4.0
61 reviews
Excellent
30
Very good
21
Average
5
Poor
4
Terrible
1
Hawk470
Baltimore, MD2,658 contributions
Jun 2019
I came to the Jewish Historical Institute for two reasons and found another while I visiting.
The first reason was to see whether I could answer some family heritage questions. The Institute’s world class genealogy staff deeply focuses on your family, doesn’t rush, and navigates with you real time through the online documentation that, while accessible abroad, can be challenging and, once you have found related documents, translates them and deciphers the antiquated script when necessary. They have also followed up after my visit with additional information. Through my work with them I have solved some longstanding family mysteries and been better able to navigate the resources on my own. I contacted them ahead of time and scheduled my visit and recommend that you do so too. They cover historical Poland, including parts of what is now Ukraine.
The second reason we went was to see the Permanent Exhibit (which changes periodically because it differed from the exhibit that I saw on my first visit in 2005). This exhibit was indeed special and inspirational in many ways. The main portion addresses the many facets of “Oneg Shabbat” (Joy of the Sabbath), the organization of several dozen people within the Warsaw Ghetto who took as their mission to clandestinely and systematically chronicle for history the establishment, operation, and liquidation of the Ghetto by the Nazis, as well as the testimonies from others, including an escapee from the Treblinka extermination camp. The exhibit shows how, under the most difficult and dangerous circumstances, they created the records and hid them before the Ghetto’s destruction and how the documents, photographs, and artifacts were found and preserved after the war. Many original documents are on display and a video describes the recovery process. When you realize that those who worked diligently and selflessly to create and hide the archive did so knowing that they would likely die before the truth came to light, the majesty of this effort becomes even more awe-inspiring. Three Oneg Shabbat members survived the war and assisted in the archive’s recovery and restoration.
The building itself is its own significant story and represents another reason to visit. Erected as the main Judaic Library alongside Warsaw’s Great Synagogue just before the Second World War, it was damaged when the synagogue was blown up by the Nazis on May 16, 1943. The library survived, but traces of the resulting fire from the explosion can still be seen on the lobby floor. Another living testament to surviving evil.
The first reason was to see whether I could answer some family heritage questions. The Institute’s world class genealogy staff deeply focuses on your family, doesn’t rush, and navigates with you real time through the online documentation that, while accessible abroad, can be challenging and, once you have found related documents, translates them and deciphers the antiquated script when necessary. They have also followed up after my visit with additional information. Through my work with them I have solved some longstanding family mysteries and been better able to navigate the resources on my own. I contacted them ahead of time and scheduled my visit and recommend that you do so too. They cover historical Poland, including parts of what is now Ukraine.
The second reason we went was to see the Permanent Exhibit (which changes periodically because it differed from the exhibit that I saw on my first visit in 2005). This exhibit was indeed special and inspirational in many ways. The main portion addresses the many facets of “Oneg Shabbat” (Joy of the Sabbath), the organization of several dozen people within the Warsaw Ghetto who took as their mission to clandestinely and systematically chronicle for history the establishment, operation, and liquidation of the Ghetto by the Nazis, as well as the testimonies from others, including an escapee from the Treblinka extermination camp. The exhibit shows how, under the most difficult and dangerous circumstances, they created the records and hid them before the Ghetto’s destruction and how the documents, photographs, and artifacts were found and preserved after the war. Many original documents are on display and a video describes the recovery process. When you realize that those who worked diligently and selflessly to create and hide the archive did so knowing that they would likely die before the truth came to light, the majesty of this effort becomes even more awe-inspiring. Three Oneg Shabbat members survived the war and assisted in the archive’s recovery and restoration.
The building itself is its own significant story and represents another reason to visit. Erected as the main Judaic Library alongside Warsaw’s Great Synagogue just before the Second World War, it was damaged when the synagogue was blown up by the Nazis on May 16, 1943. The library survived, but traces of the resulting fire from the explosion can still be seen on the lobby floor. Another living testament to surviving evil.
Written October 17, 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
AshesToProveIt
Philadelphia339 contributions
May 2019 • Couples
The museum holds records, photographs, videos and artifacts from the Warsaw Ghetto during the Nazi occupation, chronicled by a small clandestine group within the Ghetto during the war. You can go through the museum within an hour to two hours. Being able to read the reports and personal writings of these people caught in a desperate and hopeless situation is very moving and, of course, sad. The reports made by this group were used at the Nuremberg trials. A visit to this museum is well worth the time. There is also a small bookstore attached to an internal small cafe within the museum. The museum is located in the Ghetto area, only about a 10 minute walk from the much larger and better known Polin Museum of the History of the Jewish People.
Written May 23, 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Raphaël Freeman
Modiin, Israel10 contributions
Aug 2018 • Couples
I was a bit apprehensive entering the museum having not a clue as to what it was about. After a few short minutes a lady approached us to give us a guided tour. Her English wasn’t brilliant but we managed to understand.
The museum is dedicated to a clandestine group of people, we only a know 35 of their names and only 3 survived the war, who never met each other and organised a project to archive everything about the Warsaw ghetto from testimonials to theatre tickets.
They knew that none of them were destined to live so they gathered this information so that the world would know what happened.
They stored the 35,000 pieces of information in 10 metal boxes and then more in 2 milk tins the latter of which was discovered 7 years after the law.
The information is presented in a powerful way with each part of the exhibition presented very differently.
This is chilling stuff. Reading how people “lived” in the ghetto in their own words…
The museum is dedicated to a clandestine group of people, we only a know 35 of their names and only 3 survived the war, who never met each other and organised a project to archive everything about the Warsaw ghetto from testimonials to theatre tickets.
They knew that none of them were destined to live so they gathered this information so that the world would know what happened.
They stored the 35,000 pieces of information in 10 metal boxes and then more in 2 milk tins the latter of which was discovered 7 years after the law.
The information is presented in a powerful way with each part of the exhibition presented very differently.
This is chilling stuff. Reading how people “lived” in the ghetto in their own words…
Written August 10, 2018
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Howard S
Albany, NY804 contributions
Nov 2013 • Solo
I am glad I went to this museum as the movie on what Warsaw Ghetto life was like filmed during the actual time was moving and made you feel like you were there. They also had other great archival material. In addition, they had an exhibit of anti-Semitic cartons that appeared in the Polish press in the period 1919 to 1939, and while I could not read Polish, I got the hateful message, because like the saying goes, one picture is worth a thousand ways. To me it showed how institutionalized anti-Semitism was.
Written November 17, 2013
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
wilanow
London, UK137 contributions
May 2019 • Couples
We went on a Sunday and pre ordered tickets, that were free, online. A very interesting insight in to the suffering of Jewish people during the war. We spent 2.5 hours here. There was an exhibition of photographs on the top floor.
Written May 20, 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Bryre_Patchell
Krakow, Poland8 contributions
Jun 2018 • Solo
Today I visited this institute. It was not on my list of places to go to in my very short 48 hours in Warsaw but I am pleased that I did.
Most of us are very familiar with the history of the Shoah and the events that lead up to the creation of the Warsaw Ghetto and its systematic liquidation and destruction by Germany.
The exhibitions in this place centre on the discovery, study, restoration and display of priceless documents and letters written by ghetto residents stored under buildings and later rediscovered after the end of the war and the end of German occupation.
Here can be seen, under glass and originally presented, actual letters and testaments written by people who witnessed and were victims of the liquidation of the ghetto. These actual artefacts do more to sheet home the utter horror and helplessness experienced by people who knew they were going to die but wanted to do what they could to at least write down what was happening in the hope that this reality could be exposed to a future world.
This is stern and confronting material - words - from real people long since murdered by terrible men.
It is extremely well presented, capturing the entire Warsaw beginning through to end in one cleverly laid out story board. It takes the visitor on the personal and inevitably final journey of many actual inhabitants.
Visit this place.
Most of us are very familiar with the history of the Shoah and the events that lead up to the creation of the Warsaw Ghetto and its systematic liquidation and destruction by Germany.
The exhibitions in this place centre on the discovery, study, restoration and display of priceless documents and letters written by ghetto residents stored under buildings and later rediscovered after the end of the war and the end of German occupation.
Here can be seen, under glass and originally presented, actual letters and testaments written by people who witnessed and were victims of the liquidation of the ghetto. These actual artefacts do more to sheet home the utter horror and helplessness experienced by people who knew they were going to die but wanted to do what they could to at least write down what was happening in the hope that this reality could be exposed to a future world.
This is stern and confronting material - words - from real people long since murdered by terrible men.
It is extremely well presented, capturing the entire Warsaw beginning through to end in one cleverly laid out story board. It takes the visitor on the personal and inevitably final journey of many actual inhabitants.
Visit this place.
Written June 26, 2018
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
den150165
East Boldon, UK214 contributions
Feb 2018 • Solo
Excellent place to visit. First gallery is about the 'Joy of Sabbath' a collection of Jewish men and women who lived in the Warsaw ghetto whilst under Nazi Occupation. Fascinating that even in such horror there was still the sense to keep a record of daily life in the ghetto through letters, photos, art and other works. The second gallery was, at the time of my visiting, a room displaying the contemporary works of three artists examining what the institute building means to them.
The guide I had was fantatic and took her time to explain the importance of the museum and the exhibits. Highly recommended!
The guide I had was fantatic and took her time to explain the importance of the museum and the exhibits. Highly recommended!
Written February 22, 2018
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
John G
United Kingdom656 contributions
Apr 2017 • Couples
A good small museum in an attractive building on the site of the Old Synangogue. The visit starts with a moving video explaining the Warsaw Ghetto uprising. (Note that the Uprising museum mentions very little about this). Upstairs are emporaary exhibitions- currently showing works of art from the Hirszenberg brothers. A shame that few tourists make it here.
Written April 7, 2017
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Patrik_Kim
Bangkok, Thailand43 contributions
Mar 2017 • Family
No visit to Warsaw can be completed without a visit in the museum of thousand years of Jewish history in Poland. Jews settled in Poland after the horrible holocaust. The institute of Jewish history located in ul. Anielewicza 6, is the state of the art of architecture and multimedia. The museum is divided into periodical section and you walk through them with a wireless personal audio narrator. You can experience, by using and trying many artefacts, the historical events and crafts. You should let at least 3 hours in this unique place.
Written March 19, 2017
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Antonio8069
Los Angeles, CA185 contributions
Jun 2016 • Solo
The institute's steps & foyer were damaged in 1943 when the Nazis fire bombed the old synagogue on Tlomackie Street. This makes the institute visit worthwhile. The exhibit is one 3 floors:
- main floor has an excellent bookstore & coffee shop;
- 2nd has a small theatre (where you can see a 45 min video on "912 Days of the Warsaw Ghetto" and an exhibit on the Hebrew & Yiddish printing press based in Amsterdam;
- 3rd has a large collection of original art (impressionist/post) by Jewish artists - many of whom died in Treblinka.
The JHI is well worth visiting for its historical significance.
- main floor has an excellent bookstore & coffee shop;
- 2nd has a small theatre (where you can see a 45 min video on "912 Days of the Warsaw Ghetto" and an exhibit on the Hebrew & Yiddish printing press based in Amsterdam;
- 3rd has a large collection of original art (impressionist/post) by Jewish artists - many of whom died in Treblinka.
The JHI is well worth visiting for its historical significance.
Written June 5, 2016
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
dzien dobry czy ksiaszka Ruta Vanagaite Nasi jest przetlumaczona na POLSKI ANGIELSKI HEBRAJSKI?
Written April 13, 2016
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