POLIN Museum of the History of Polish Jews — Attraction in Warsaw

POLIN Museum of the History of Polish Jews is a museum on the site of the former Warsaw Ghetto. The Hebrew word Polin in the museum's English name means either "Poland" or "rest here" and relates to a legend about the arrival of the first Jews to Poland. The museum's cornerstone was laid in 2007, and the museum opened on 19 April 2013. The core exhibition opened in October 2014 and features a multimedia exhibition about the Jewish community that flourished in Poland for a thousand years up to the World War II Holocaust. The museum experience very interesting and full of interactive and immersive exhibitions. The design and story in this museum are really focused on educating all different audiences from different ages and backgrounds.

The Exhibition is narrated in 8 galleries. “Forest” This gallery tells the tale of how, fleeing from persecution in Western Europe, the Jews came to Poland. Over the next thousand years, the country would become the largest European home for the Jewish community. “First Encounters (10th century-1507)” This gallery is devoted to the first Jewish settlers in Poland. Visitors meet Ibrahim ibn Jakub, a Jewish diplomat from Cordoba, author of famous notes from a trip to Europe. One of the most interesting objects presented in the gallery is the first sentence written in Yiddish in the prayer book of 1272. “Paradisus Iudaeorum (1569-1648)”, “The Jewish Town (1648-1772)”, “Encounters with Modernity (1772-1914)”, “On the Jewish Street (1914-1939)”, “Holocaust (1939-1944)” and “Postwar Years (1944-present)”. It is definitely worth visiting. The building itself is a masterpiece. I highly...

We came on a Thursday when the entry was free. We didn't have a guide / audio guide. We spent about 3.5hrs touring.

The Museum guides you through the history chronologically, with an opportunity for a break about halfway through, where you can take the stairs up to the canteen for lunch. The lunch was fairly basic Jewish food, but quite tasty and very much needed on what was a fairly long tour!

The first part of the tour (before the stairs to go up to the canteen), was very interesting, but honestly not easy to follow. In hindsight, it might have been better to have an audio guide for this bit. Although it was fairly straightforward to see the general theme of each section, there were no pointers to show you which paragraph to read first and in what order. As a result, it took considerable effort to make sense of what one was reading and how it fit into Jewish history, and I found myself going backwards and forwards and re-reading plaques to understand better.

The second part of the tour (after lunch) was way easier to follow and very gripping. There was a clear path to follow and information was displayed in a much more concise and clear manner, but perhaps I found that this was the case, because I knew a few things about this section already (around the Second world war period).

Overall, I would say this is a museum you can keep going back to in order to learn more things, but quite difficult to fully engage with on the...

The POLIN Museum is one of the most impressive museums I’ve ever visited. The core exhibition, “1000 Years of the History of Polish Jews,” is both visually engaging and deeply informative. Walking through its eight galleries gives a comprehensive look at Jewish life in Poland – from the Middle Ages to the present day.

I was especially struck by the reconstruction of the wooden synagogue from Gwoździec and the interactive model of the Jewish quarter in Kraków’s Kazimierz district. The multimedia displays and personal stories truly bring history to life and offer a deeper emotional connection. While the amount of information can feel overwhelming at times, the overall experience is incredibly enriching. I recommend setting aside at least 2–3 hours for your visit.

The museum building itself is a work of art – modern and symbolic, with an interior that reflects the divided and complex history of Polish Jews. The space is accessible and welcoming to visitors of all ages, with special audio guides and interactive features for children.

Overall, visiting the POLIN Museum is a powerful and educational experience I highly recommend to anyone interested in history, culture, and...