Shoulder to shoulder? Jewish involvement in Poland's aspirations for independence 1794-1918 \ News \ Shoulder to shoulder? Jewish involvement in Poland's aspirations for independence 1794-1918 \ Żydowski Instytut Historyczny

Shoulder to shoulder? Jewish involvement in Poland's aspirations for independence 1794-1918

Written by: Jewish Historical Institute

Numerous circumstances caused few Jews, usually assimilated and attached to Polish identity, took up arms in the Polish uprisings. We try to answer several questions: which processes led to the Jewish involvement in the fight for bringing Poland back on the map of Europe, and which discouraged them from the patriotic outburst? We will tell the story of the Jewish unification with the Polish majority, of the orthodox Jews who remained committed to the traditional Judaism and of the Polish prejudice.

We show 150 objects of the period: relief prints, photographs and paintings. The oldest come from around 1800 and the newest from 1930s. We present the roles of specific personalities in the armed struggle. One of them was Berek Joselewicz who became a symbol of the Polish-Jewish brotherhood and the fight for independence of the common Motherland.

First part of the exhibition covers the timeframe from Grand Sejm to the “Paskiewicz night”. It shows the difficult relationships between Poles and Jews at the end of the period of Old Poland, first shared efforts against Russia during the Kościuszko Uprising, finally, fighting along Napoleon and in the November Uprising. The second part encompasses 1861, when several minor anti-Russian demonstrations were seen as a Polish-Jewish reconciliation, as well as the January Uprising and its consequences. When talking about the 1860s we get to 1918 when Poland regained freedom. Third and last part of the exhibition is the The Funeral of the Five Fallen in 1861 by Aleksander Lesser.

Read more about the exhibition

Tickets: normal ticket – PLN 15, reduced price – PLN 10

Temporary exhibition 13.11.2022-26.03.2023

Exhibition idea: Monika Krawczyk

Curators: Jakub Bendkowski, Paweł Fijałkowski

Texts authors: Jakub Bendkowski, Paweł Fijałkowski, Marek Gałęzowski

Exhibition architecture: Aneta Faner

Realization: Kontra Pracownia Plastyczna Tomasz Marzec

Graphic design and catalogue: Bartosz Tymosiewicz

Editor: Aleksandra Żdan

Conservation supervisor: Violetta Bachur

Communications and program of the accompanying events: Przemysław Batorski and Franciszek Bojańczyk