Poland Moves to Embrace Its Jewish Past

Thousands of Jewish students arrive in Poland each year for brief pilgrimages to Auschwitz and other sites associated with the Holocaust. In an attempt to break down the stereotype of Poland and its anti-Semitism, the government, alongside the tiny remnant community of Polish Jews, is planning to build a $63m museum of the history of Polish Jews in Warsaw, scheduled to open by 2008. The museum is part of a wider trend in Poland of nostalgia towards the Jewish presence, coupled with a decline in anti-Semitism and anti-Semitic incidents.

Poland Moves to Embrace Its Jewish Past