Polish Jews is a modern website dedicated to the history and cultural heritage of Jews. It is a digital space in which the past intertwines with the present dialoging about the current events. Hundreds of old photographs bring back the forgotten people. The photos that survived show the Jewish families who tell their stories. The big collection presents the 19th and 20th century photograms owned by the Shalom Foundation and published as the album “And I Still See Their Faces.”

Nevertheless, this website is not just a family album or a historic chronicle. It hasn’t got and will not have the last page. The open formula of the Internet offers the opportunity to expand the collection. Everyone can post on www.zydzipolscy.pl their memories of their relatives, archive letters, diaries or photographs. As a result, the recipients of the website create the final version of the digital message. Continuously updated material keeps portraying the Jewish world. The website is a living panorama of the Jewish community in Poland. It shows the everyday lives of the craftsmen and sellers, streets, buildings, mills, stores. It touches upon religious sphere and the rituals by documenting the faithful and the rabbis, weddings and funerals, kadish and the Jewish cemeteries. Each photo is the trace of the past life which, with the its help, can be returned.

We welcome you to publish materials and comments on the project’s website. The website “Polish Jews” is open for everyone, history lovers and witnesses, scientists and research centers, who would like to join the Shalom Foundation in an effort to recreate the world of Polish Jews.