Pragmatists and Visionaries - Polish Jews and Their Legacy

"Pragmatists and Visionaries - Polish Jews and Their Legacy" is a series of online meetings aiming to acquaint our audience with the life and work of selected individuals featured in the Legacy gallery. Each meeting will offer an opportunity to learn about the legacy and achievements of the selected figures and to look at them through the prism of present-day challenges. The meetings will encourage our viewers to enter into a dialogue with the new space at POLIN Museum and with its protagonists.

List of episodes:

• Pragmatists and Visionaries - Polish Jews and Their Legacy: Henryk Wars
  
  Henryk Wars was a music arranger and composer, author of such hits as "Już taki jestem zimny drań" (I am rascal), "Umówiłem się z nią na dziewiątą" (I’ve arranged a date with her for 9 o’clock) or "Miłość ci wszystko wybaczy" (Love will forgive you all).
  
  In the course of the meeting, we will reflect on the role of popular culture in pre-WW2 Poland—on its main heroes and heroines, and on how many Jews there were among them. We will ponder over why we recall the pre-war heritage so rarely, and why these melodies—in an up-to-date form—aren’t aired on the radio in the 2020s.
  
  Debate with the participation of Dr Tamara Sztyma, Jan Młynarski, and Prof. Waldemar Kuligowski will be chaired by Kajetan Prochyra.

• Pragmatists and Visionaries - Polish Jews and Their Legacy: Rosa Luxembourg
  
  Rosa Luxembourg – socialist, feminist, revolutionary.
  
  Today, Rosa, her achievements and worldview are regarded as controversial. Why? What was her view on Marxism and on nation states? How does her stand correspond with women’s protests that we experience today—both in the streets and in a public debate?
  
  Debate with the participation of Aneta Górnicka-Boratyńska and Prof. Michał Kozłowski will be chaired by Prof. Magdalena Środa.

• Pragmatists and Visionaries - Polish Jews and Their Legacy: Leopold Kronenberg
  
  Leopold Kronenberg – industrialist, philanthropist, social activist and the most famous Warsaw stock exchange investor.
  
  During the meeting, we will seek answers to the following questions: what was philanthropy like in 19th-century Warsaw? How are business and philanthropic visions interconnected nowadays? We will also reflect upon corporate social responsibility.
  
  Debate with the participation of Anna Korzeniewska, Dorota Szostek-Rustecka and Dr Mariusz Jastrząb will be chaired by Marcin Dobrowolski.

• Pragmatists and Visionaries - Polish Jews and Their Legacy: Henryk Berlewi
  
  Henryk Berlewi – co-founder of the Jewish avant-garde, modern typography and graphic art. We will discuss Berlewi’s achievements and try to assess them through the prism of modern-day challenges. We will also look at the beginnings of avant-garde graphic art in Poland, the concept of mechano-faktura, and the present-day advertising..
  
  We will discuss Berlewi’s achievements and try to assess them through the prism of modern-day challenges. We will also look at the beginnings of avant-garde graphic art in Poland, the concept of mechano-faktura, and the present-day advertising.
  
  Debate with the participation of Magdalena Frankowska and Artur Frankowski will be chaired by Agata Szydłowska.

• Pragmatists and Visionaries - Polish Jews and Their Legacy: Józef Rotblat
  
  Józef Rotblat – eminent Polish physicist of Jewish origin, affiliated with the Manhattan project; pacifist, laureate of the Peace Nobel Prize.
  
  During the meeting, we will take a closer look Rotblat’s experience as part of the Manhattan Project. We will talk about his involvement in the Pugwash movement, and we will also consider why he has fallen into oblivion in today’s Poland.
  
  Debate with the participation of Prof. Joanna Roszak, Marek Górlikowski will be chaired by Agnieszka Lichnerowicz.

Project accompanies the Legacy gallery - a new section of the POLIN core exhibition.

A series of debates Pragmatists and Visionaries - Polish Jews and Their Legacy is financed by the Leopold Kronenberg Citi Handlowy Foundation.