Jewish Heritage Initiative in Poland

A Peoplehood Program established by the Taube Foundation for Jewish Life & Culture

Founded in 2003, the JHIP nurtures the revival of Jewish life in Poland, furthers awareness of this resurgence among Jews and non-Jews, and fosters positive interest in Poland and Polish Jews among Jews worldwide.

With thanks to your ongoing involvement, the JHIP has become a major force in the revitalization of Jewish life in Poland, supporting more than 70 programs and five new educational initiatives in the arenas of scholarship, genealogy and publishing; community building; the arts; educational tourism; and heritage restoration.

This has been a banner year, with our newest initiatives – the Taube Jewish Heritage Tour Program and the Jewish Genealogy & Family Heritage Center – exceeding our target goals to ably serve Jewish youth and adults worldwide wishing to explore their Polish roots and celebrate the Jewish renewal in today's democratic Poland. By linking living heritage to the Polish past, JHIP programs bring history forward for future generations in critical ways that inform identity and peoplehood. In so doing, the JHIP deepens the Jewish world's understanding of peoplehood as viewed through the historical role of Polish Jews in the life and culture of Jewish people everywhere.

Of special note, the Museum of the History of Polish Jews will open its doors to the world in April 2013 on the 70th anniversary of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising. A beacon of Jewish awakening in the New Poland, the Museum's exhibition content and educational philosophy have already earned endorsements from Israel's Yad Vashem and other leading Jewish institutions.

The enormous success of the Jewish Culture Festival in Kraków is evidenced by a record-breaking 25,000 participants, of all ages and backgrounds, who reveled in eight days and nights of concerts, lectures, language workshops, dances, exhibits, and more. This remarkable fluorescence of Jewish culture speaks to the power of Jewish music and storytelling to bring people from around the world together in celebration of Jewish life.

For the JHIP there is much to celebrate. Our Taube grantees shine in the public spotlight, garnering national and international acclaim. Among these is Mary Skinner's award-winning film of Irena Sendler, a Righteous Among the Nations. Through one life, the many are illuminated. This inspirational lesson is told no better than through the Taube Foundation's annual Irena Sendler Memorial Award, which we and US Ambassador Lee Feinstein bestowed last summer upon anti-Nazi partisan Magda Grodzka-Gużkowska in a heartfelt ceremony in Warsaw.

This award, together with our foundation's ongoing support of the Jewish Culture Festival, were commended by the President of Poland, Bronisław Komorowski. Moments such as these highlight the many ways that the Taube Foundation finds connection and ongoing dedication to revitalize Jewish life and culture through the aims and initiatives of the JHIP.

We continue our groundbreaking work with the Jewish Genealogy & Family Heritage Center, the Taube Jewish Heritage Tour Program, and the Taube Center for the Renewal of Jewish Life. The Genealogy Center is creating a user-friendly interactive website, enabling research and real-time Internet consultation. For those seeking to visit the sites of their family histories, the Taube Tour Program works closely with the Genealogy Center to craft tailor-made trips for individuals, families and groups.

Looking ahead, we can already see the possibilities for the next generation through JHIP support of the new Warsaw and Kraków JCCs, young adult groups such as ZOOM and Czulent, and JHIP-sponsored teen tours, student exchanges and field research stipends. As this report can attest, the reach and results of the JHIP continue to flourish, strengthening Poland's Jewish community and linking American Jews to their Ashkenazi heritage through scholarly and cultural exchange, traveling exhibits, scholarships and tours.