Thursday, December 5, 2024, at 7:00 PM
YIVO Institute for Jewish Research
15 West 16th Street, New York, NY 10011
Admission is free, register here.

The screening of the U.S. premiere of the POLIN Museum’s Proof of Identity, directed by Mikołaj Grynberg will be followed by a discussion with the film’s director and Joanna Fikus, Vice President of the Association of the Jewish Historical Institute of Poland, moderated by Columbia University Film Professor Annette Insdorf.

Join us for the premieres of two new works commissioned by the POLIN museum—a documentary film and a concert reviving the art of Jewish mandolin orchestras — which are being presented this month to commemorate museum’s 10th anniversary. These events celebrate the rich history of Polish Jews and the renewal of this heritage for the next generation.

What does it mean to be a Polish Jew today? How do Polish Jews define their own identity at different stages of life? How do they define their identity when they’re religious or atheist? Writer, reporter and photographer Mikołaj Grynberg seeks answers to these and many more questions in his directorial debut, Proof of Identity.

The interviewees of this poignant documentary represent a variety of Jews residing in Poland today. By interviewing the generation that has had no direct contact with the Holocaust survivors in their families, this film encourages viewers to ponder how Holocaust memory has evolved in Poland. The conversations reveal a vast array of attitudes and experiences, as the protagonists come from both big cities and the Polish province. The audience learns not only about each interviewee’s family history, but also about their modern-day encounter with antisemitism in Poland.

The film is the directorial debut of Polish-Jewish writer, photographer, and psychologist Mikołaj Grynberg, who has been shortlisted for Poland’s prestigious Nike Literary Award. The screening of the U.S. premiere of the POLIN Museum’s Proof of Identity, directed by Mikołaj Grynberg will be followed by a discussion with the film’s director and Joanna Fikus, Vice President of the Association of the Jewish Historical Institute of Poland, moderated by Columbia University Film Professor Annette Insdorf.

10th Anniversary Program

POLIN museum has reached a significant milestone, our 10th anniversary. Ten years ago, this fall POLIN had Grand Opening, reclaiming Poland as a place of Jewish life. POLIN Museum stands in what was once the heart of Jewish Warsaw, an area that the Germans turned into a ghetto during World War II. A world-class space for remembrance and reflection, POLIN Museum has welcomed more than five million visitors.

The visitors are from Poland and abroad, and the vast majority are not Jewish. POLIN museum is a crucial tool for cultivating the empathy and the historical awareness needed to ensure that Poland will remain a safe place for Jewish life to thrive.

The film is presented in collaboration with the YIVO Institute for Jewish Research at Center for Jewish History.