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POLIN - European Museum of the Year

The European Museum of the Year Award (EMYA) was presented on 9 April 2016 at the ceremony held in San Sebastian, Spain. We are proud to announce that this prestigious title was awarded to the POLIN Museum of the History of Polish Jews who was among 49 nominees from 24 countries. Professor Dariusz Stola, Director of the museum received the EMYA trophy, The Egg by Henry Moore, which POLIN Museum will keep for one year.

EMYA award goes to a museum which contributes most directly to attracting audiences and satisfying its visitors with unique atmosphere, imaginative interpretation and presentation, a creative approach to education and social responsibility.

The European Museum of the Year Award (EMYA) was founded in 1977 under the auspices of the Council of Europe, with the aim of recognizing excellence in the European museum scene and encouraging innovative processes in a museum world which still took the more traditional view to focus exclusively on collections rather than on their use for the benefit of society.

EMYA has proved to be the longest running and most prestigious museum award in Europe and is an important occasion for promoting innovative approaches in the museum sector throughout the whole continent.

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"I can't begin to express our gratitude for all that you did for us. You made the trip a dream come true for our daughter. For all of us, it opened our eyes to the sparks that are still burning in Poland. I learned that Poland is not in black and white, and that the people are not blurry! It is a beautiful country and I now understand why the Jews settled and stayed there. Shabbos in Krakow, was an unforgettable event. Our guides were second to none. They were lovely and so knowledgeable! Our trip was beyond our expectations and we thank you from the bottom of our hearts."

The Birnbaum Family, Taube Jewish Heritage Family Tour 2014.

"This trip was one of the most amazing experiences of my life. It was very well organized and all of the guides were very knowledgeable and friendly and fun both those from Hillel and those from Poland. The biggest impact that the trip had on me was to definitively dispel my preconceived notion of Poland being a land of anti-Semites who do not care about Jews. While there still is some anti Semitism, there is also a growing interest in Jewish culture and religion. This realization was definitely one of the best aspects of this trip and I will highly recommend the trip to everyone I know. Thank you again for an amazing experience."

Adam Mayer, participant on the Baltimore Area Hillel Study Tour 2013: Encountering Poland Past and Future. The tour was organized by the Polish Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Taube Center for the Renewal of Jewish Life in Poland

"Our Taube Jewish Heritage tour was an exceptional experience. Thanks to Helise Lieberman for designing the itinerary in both Warsaw and Krakow with great precision and emphasis on historical (ie. the Warsaw Ghetto and Podgorze ghetto) as well as contemporary Jewish Poland (ie. the Krakow JCC). Each of our guides provided a well informed context for our daily excursions and were always willing to go the extra mile to answer our questions and provide a context for our understanding of the Polish Jewish culture then and now. The highlight for me was visiting my grandmother’s shtetl, a place that would have remained a mystery had my driver not called ahead to the Town Hall and found out that some Jewish records were still in existence. Indeed I found my great grandparents death certificates which listed their parents’ names—great great grandparents whose existence was unknown to me. Our trip to Poland, thanks to the Taube Foundation, is a trip that I will treasure for the rest of my life."

Susan Berkon enjoyed a custom-tailored tour in September which included Warsaw and Krakow.