The deadline for submitting stories of encounters with Jewish culture to the “Stories of Polin” project, created by POLIN Museum of the History of Polish Jews and MillionYou, is December 15, 2014.

We are looking for stories that are touching, entertaining, and which give hope – including family photographs, anecdotes passed down from generation to generation, and information about projects related to Jewish culture created by ordinary people. “Stories of Polin” is an extraordinary initiative; it creates an authentic picture of an intercultural meeting – a meeting in which we can all take part.

Almost everyone has had such a meeting – with a person, a monument, or a story in the family – says Dariusz Stola, director of POLIN Museum.

The project is very moving in that it shows people’s personal stories about Jewish culture. One of the users shares the story of her 95-year-old grandmother, who recalls Jewish life in pre-war Poland:

“She starts to lose herself in reality, but when you spend some time with her she gladly speaks about the past (…) This time, too, as if not intentionally (…) she was singing in Yiddish. When we were young (…) before bedtime, we asked her to tell us about Jews. These were our bedtime stories.”

Not everyone taking part in the project has Jewish roots. The platform showcases stories from people whose encounter with Jewish culture was completely unexpected:

“Between middle school and high school I landed in Cracow during the Jewish Culture Festival. I attended only one concert, but it was enough to start an avalanche of questions in my head. I don’t have Jewish ancestry, and no one in my family talked much about history – no one really cared – so everything I encountered was new and surprising.”

Submissions in any form (stories, photos, audio, and video) can be uploaded to the platform storiesofpolin.com until December 15, 2014. The jury will then award the best works. The second phase of the project will focus on the creativity of users, who will reinterpret the submitted stories. The best of these reinterpretations will be exhibited at POLIN Museum in 2015.

Share the story of your encounter with Jewish culture. Explore the stories of others!