Warsaw's old Jewish quarter is a must-see on any trip to the capital. The district became a derelict ghetto during the Second World War but has since proudly reclaimed its Jewish heritage with a synagogue, memorial, institute and theatre.
Located just north-west of the city centre, the Jewish quarter was completely destroyed during the Second World War, reducing the area's population by thousands. Nowadays, the district is an interesting historical site and has been made even more famous as the setting for Roman Polanski's triple Oscar-winning film, The Pianist.
The Nozyk Synagogue (ul Twarda) was at the heart of the wartime ghetto and the only synagogue to survive the war (then only because the Nazis used it as their stables). It is still used by Warsaw's Jewish community today.
The Jewish Historical Institute (3/5 ul Tlomocka) houses an impressive collection of Jewish documents, many of which were rescued from the ghetto. Over half of its 70,000-strong book collection is written in Hebrew and Yiddish. Also worth seeing in the area are the last remnants of the 11-mile wall built by Nazis to surround the ghetto. This section of the wall, (ul Zlota), is 10ft high and on it there is a map showing the old ghetto.
If your Polish or Yiddish is up to scratch, you may want to see a play at the Jewish National Theatre (12/16 Plac Grzybowski). The theatre's repertoire has included works ranging from Dybuk by Szymon An-ski to Joseph Stein, Jerry Bock and Sheldon Harnick's musical adaptations of Sholom Aleichem's stories, Fiddler on the Roof, as well as new plays and children's stories.
A symbol of the way Poles are finally coming to terms with the events during the Second World War, with a renewed interest in rediscovering Jewish culture and traditions, is the forthcoming Museum of the History of Polish Jews. With fund-raising and official recognition on track, the project is to be built on the park where Nathan Rappaport's imposing Memorial of the Heroes of the Warsaw Ghetto has stood since 19 April 1948, on the site of one of the main bunkers of the Jewish Combat Organisation instrumental in the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising of 1943. When construction is finished in 2011, it will be the first multimedia museum in Poland to chronicle 1000 years of Jewish life and culture.
Related Information
Website: Jewish National Theatre Website
Website: Jewish Historical Institute Website