FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
October 28, 2014
CONTACT:
Samantha Friedman, West End Strategy Team
Samantha@westendstrategy.com
San Francisco Distinguished Benefactor Tad Taube Reflects on Grand Opening of POLIN Museum of History of Polish Jews
Taube Philanthropies Chairman in Warsaw to Celebrate His Native Poland’s Jewish Past, Present and Future
WARSAW -‐-‐ POLIN Museum of the History of Polish Jews in Warsaw opened to the world today. Museum major benefactor Tad Taube returned to Warsaw this week to participate in the Grand Opening events, including today’s ceremony led by Polish President Bronislaw Komorowski, accompanied by Israeli President Reuven Rivlin. Taube, who was born in Krakow in 1931 and escaped with his family to the United States in 1939, has worked to revitalize Jewish life in Poland in his role as Chairman of Taube Philanthropies and President of the Koret Foundation (both based in the Bay Area), and as Honorary Consul for the Republic of Poland in San Francisco.
Taube said today after participating in a special tour of the Core Exhibition with fellow distinguished benefactors, President Komorowski and President Reuven Rivlin:
“Only a few decades ago, the opening of a museum devoted to the past, present and future of Jewish history in Poland would have been impossible,” said Tad Taube, Chairman of Taube Philanthropies and President of the Koret Foundation (both based in the Bay Area), and Honorary Consul for the Republic of Poland in San Francisco. “But today, I returned to my native
Poland alongside Polish President Komorowski and Israeli President Reuven Rivlin as Poland made a powerful statement on truth and religious tolerance.
“The POLIN Museum of the History of Polish Jews is an unprecedented institution that explores a millennium of Poland’s Jewish heritage as Poland today is experiencing a revitalization of Jewish culture which I have been proud to be a part of. In a moment when other parts of Europe are seeing a rise in anti-‐Semitism, Poland is on a very different path, and the integration of this museum amidst the city and country that surround it creates a unique experience unlike that at any other Jewish museum in the world.”
Additional background information on the museum and Taube’s involvement in it is available here.
The museum's partnership with Google Cultural Institute is NOW LIVE! Check out the virtual tour of the Core Exhibition, the museum building and select components of the temporary exhibition, “How to Make a Museum,” all launched today to coincide with today's Grand Opening. Thanks to this interactive, online collaboration, people around the world can visit the museum. Today’s Google Europe blog discusses this unique partnership.
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ABOUT TAUBE PHILANTHROPIES
Taube Philanthropies was established in 1981 by its founder and chairman, Tad Taube. Based in the San Francisco Bay Area and with an office in Warsaw, the Foundation makes philanthropic investments primarily in the Bay Area and Poland, in scholarship, heritage preservation, arts and culture, education, and institution-‐building.
Taube Philanthropies is committed to collaborative giving for greatest charitable impact and actively partners with individual donors and
other foundations. For additional information, please visit www.taubephilanthropies.org.
