There are no shortage of museums in Warsaw and I plan to see at least 3 of them today.

First stop is at POLIN, the museum of Jewish history. This museum takes you through the history of the Jewish people in Poland from the beginning. What is different about this museum is even though the holocaust is talked about in detail, it isn’t the sole focus .

Polin in Hebrew means Poland and rest here.

Poland was primarily a pagan land until the Duke Mieszko married a wife that made him switch to Christianity in the 900’s. Now Christianity is the prominent religion.

There were Jewish settlers in Poland as early as 13th century according to coins made by Jewish settlers. According to medieval Christian churches usury was forbidden (lending money) so money lending tended to come from the Jewish communities. This is the early origins of associating Jewish people with banking or money.

I am fascinated by the Danse Macabre (dancing with death) painting. It is all about how death is the equalizer of us all. It is a middle-age allegory.

Early in Polish history Poland was part of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth for a long time. During this time there was a battle that led to a large amount of atrocities against Polish, Jewish people and Roman Catholics. The Cossacks uprising in Ukraine was the first large scale violence in the region.

During the 17th century taverns in Poland were prominently run by the Jewish. There are many reasons but one of which is the assumption that they were not drinkers, thus a logical choice to run these establishments.

There is a very beautiful Lithuanian synagogue reproduction. In the middle is an example of a bema or a platform.

I read many examples of Jewish persecution and stereotypes. At some point they say that Jewish people did human sacrifices in order to justify the prejudice.

Three rulers partitioned Poland and the Polish-Lithuanian commonwealth ceased to exist in the late 1700’s. Under Habsburg, Prussia, and Russian rule polish Jews lost their privileges and freedoms.

I’m reading some additional wall items and the name Betteljuden catches my eye. Betteljuden is a derogatory cartoon caricature of Jewish beggars in the 1700’s. The name and character likeness is very similar to the popular Beetlejuice character. It is almost like the movie character has anti-Semitic undertones. I will never see that movie in the same way again.

I learn about more religious items in the museum.

After war of 1918 Poland was reformed. Also during this time Zionist movement solidified and polish Jews moved to Palestine in 1920-1930. The Bund Jews (Jewish socialist party, mostly secular) opposed Zionism and supported cultural autonomy in Poland, fighting antisemitism at home. I also hear about the origins of Hasidic Judaism.

Between wars there was an explosion of Jewish tourism.

The Last exhibits are on world war two and the holocaust. There is a warning at this section on the sensitive nature in case you want to skip. Warsaw ghetto was the largest of the ghettos of WW2. This museum is in area where the ghetto once was. During the war hundreds of thousand of Jewish residents of Warsaw were sent to a death camp in Treblinka.

I learn a little about the ghetto uprising and the non-response internationally about what was happening in this part of the world around ww2.

There were a few waves of immigration to Palestine. Post war pogrom causes mass exodus to Palestine. Israel formed was 1948 as a result of a desired for a Jewish homeland, the holocaust and other reasons.

There was another Mass immigration out again in 1960. Now the population of Jewish people still remaining in Poland is relatively low.

The museum is vast and took me about three hours but I could have stayed even longer. The audio guide is excellent and I recommend a visit.

For lunch I want to visit a milk bar but everything seems too heavy so I end up at a seafood restaurant where I finally try some potato pancakes with salmon and a side of grilled vegetables. Why do grilled vegetables taste better in other countries???? We make veggies tasteless in the US.

I finally make it to the Maria Skłodowska-Curie Museum. She may have a French sounding last name but she is 100% Polish being from Warsaw. She studied at the Sorbonne and met her husband Pierre Curie thus making her French by marriage. This two time Nobel prize winner discovered the elements radium and polonium (for Poland). She’s also has a resume of much more accomplishments as does the rest of her family. I think their family has the most Nobel prizes of any family. Marie’s husband died of an accident but she died from complications of extended radiation exposure – it was before it was determined how harmful radiation can be. She’s actually buried in the Pantheon in Paris. The tomb is sealed with lead because of her radioactivity.

During WWI she and her daughter put together a mobile xray which cut down on war amputees considerably thus speeding recovery time for injured soldiers.

Finally I visit the Muzeum Życia w PRL. It’s a museum that tells about life under communism in Poland. PRL is translated to Polish People’s Republic. The idea of living under communism is so foreign to me so whenever I see a museum like this one I am drawn to it. Much of it is pop culture things at the time but it also talks about food rations and tickets and how difficult it is to get even simple things under communism.

My favorite part of the museum is watching the propaganda video on the Colorado beetle. I first learned about this beetle in Krakow at another communist era museum. Apparently the Polish puppet government would put out propaganda posters and videos vilifying the USA and one of them was accusing us of unleashing a beetle meant to destroy their potato crops.

After the museum I get a light dinner nearby of wine and cheese.

Before I sign off for the day I’d like to point out the photo of the flying cotton like things that are constantly in the air. I am not 100% sure where they come from but they might be from dandelions.

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