Background Article A City Inside the City Some disdain it as an enclave of a consumerist, unthinking middle class. Others sing its praises and consider it a one-of-a-kind urban development project. No other urban district in Poland has been written about and discussed as much as the Miasteczko Wilanów. But where do the roots of this discussion lie? What part do literature and other art forms play in the reproduction of those narratives? And what does the reality behind the stereotypes and urbanistic homages actually look like?
Background Article Between Polish Metropolis and Provincial Prussian Town The period of Prussian rule in Warsaw has traditionally received little attention and is usually interpreted as an early climax of Prussian-German expansionism in Poland. Yet it was also a time when, under the influence of the Enlightenment, a number of important educational initiatives developed in the city.
Background Article Capital of the Saxon Garden Baroque on the Vistula River The cartographic drawings of Warsaw from 1730-1762, preserved in the Dresden and Warsaw collections, illustrate the architectural garden city where the artistic ideas of the Saxon Baroque were crystallized. These exceptional documents bear testimony to a golden era where the urban landscape and cultural life of the city grew and flourished, stimulated by the patronage of the Saxon royal court, the great families of the Polish nobility, and the cooperation of Polish and Saxon craftsmen and artists.
Map and text Commemorating Copernicus Since the 19th century, numerous Copernicus monuments have been built around the world. Even today, new sites of remembrance honoring the astronomer emerge, especially in Poland. Each site has a unique agenda, narrative, and background.
Travelling exhibition In the Enemy's Viewfinder – German photo-journalists in occupied Warsaw 1939-1945 During World War II, around 700,000 residents of Warsaw lost their lives. Almost the whole Jewish population was murdered. By 1945, Warsaw had become a ruined and almost deserted city. The photographs on show come from observations through the “Enemy's Viewfinder”, that is, through the lenses of...
Background Article Jewish Postcard Publishers and the Imagery of the Urban In numerous cities across eastern Europe, Jewish publishers enjoyed notable success in the newly established postcard market. This article presents a socio-historical background of this topic and asks whether their social positioning influenced the depictions of the urban world they chose to feature on their postcards.
Background Article Jews in Poland immediately after the Holocaust Self-determination and violence, mourning and new beginnings, reconstruction and emigration – photographs illustrate the ambivalence of Jewish lives in post-war Poland. How were these pictures created and distributed, and what is it that they fail to show us?
Biographical Portrait Samuel Fränkel The Berlin Jew Samuel Fränkel (1773-1833) settled in Warsaw in 1798 as a representative of a large bank. Within a few years and across numerous political breaks, Fränkel rose to become the most important banker in a divided Poland. In doing so, Fränkel always successfully drew on his transnational connections to Jews and non-Jews in Prussia, Austria and Russia.
Background Article The Lehndorff Hunting Lodge This charming wooden building was once the hunting lodge of the Lehndorff counts. Here they would gather after the great hunts to feast and celebrate together. Later, the building was leased to an innkeeper. After 1945 it was used as a storehouse, and for a while it served as a village store. It gradually fell into disrepair until one day it caught the eye of the young businessman Alexander Potocki.
Research project | Publication project Under surveillance This project focuses on the observation of displaced persons' organizations and functionaries by the socialist intelligence services.
Background Article Utopia and Tradition in the Reconstruction of Warsaw after 1945 Even during the Second World War, Warsaw had already become a symbol of a new kind of systematic destruction—both of people and buildings. This article explores how, out of that devastation, a vision for a new city began to emerge.
Travelling exhibition | Online exhibition Warsaw – the last glance The last view of old Warsaw: The aerial photographs presented in this traveling and online exhibition show the Polish capital before it was almost completely destroyed by German troops as a result of the Warsaw Uprising.
