Warsaw Jews and Polish History Museum Bury Hatchet
Graphic by Angelie Zaslavsky
(JTA) — Warsaw’s Jewish community and Poland’s main Jewish museum resolved their legal dispute over copyright in a bid to promote better relations based on unity between two of Poland’s most prominent Jewish institutions, the groups said in a joint statement.
The joint statement last week follows a lawsuit filed last year by the community against the Polin museum, which opened in Warsaw in 2014, remove fragments of translations of historical texts from the museum’s website, pay the Warsaw Jewish community $7,500 and issue a written apology.
The lawsuit concerns translations by Anna Cialowicz and Aleksandra Geller of four fragments of historical Yiddish articles published on the community’s website, which were then posted on the website of the museum.
“The museum appreciates the community’s many efforts to preserve the Jewish material heritage and the community has welcomed the museum’s success as a leading institution for Jewish history in Europe,” the statement reads. “Our common goal is not only the education but also building secure and hospitable environment where Jewish life in Warsaw can flourish again.”
The community dropped its lawsuit last month and currently has no outstanding legal disputes with the museum, Rabbi Michael Schudrich, the chief rabbi of Poland, told JTA.
The lawsuit concerned translations by Anna Cialowicz and Aleksandra Geller of four fragments of historical Yiddish articles published on the community’s website, which were then posted on the website of the museum.
Poland has some 20,000 Jews, according to Schudrich. Their fractious community has seen many fights, including in court, over budgets, titles and honors.
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