Jewish Warsaw - 12 Jewish sites you have to visit in Warsaw
Warsaw’s history can sometimes be quite complicated and difficult, and nowhere is that more apparent than when it comes to the history of the Jews in Warsaw. Both accepted and shunned, the Jews were one of the largest minorities both in Warsaw and in Poland before the outbreak of WWII and they left their mark on the capital.
Unfortunately, WWII destroyed many Jewish sites, but thankfully some still remain today and are open to visitors. Here are some of the most important places you need to see to learn more about Jewish Warsaw.
Synagoga Nożyków
The Nożyk Synagogue is a must-see since it’s the only surviving Jewish place of prayer (out of more than 400 that existed) from before WWII. During WWII it survived the initial German bombardment of Warsaw, served as a stable for German forces, and survived both the liquidation of the Warsaw Ghetto and fighting during the Warsaw Uprising.
It’s more than 100 years old and now houses the Warsaw Jewish Commune and functions as a house of prayer.
Muzeum Historii Żydów Polskich Polin
The Museum of the History of Polish Jews is a vast museum that covers the 1000-year history of Jews in Poland from the very first Jews to modern times. There are eight galleries divided into different aspects of Jewish history and culture, full of traditional as well as interactive displays. POLIN is by far the most comprehensive Jewish history museum you will find in all of Poland and a total must-see for anyone interested in Jewish history or culture.
You can see the museum yourself, with an audio guide, or with a tour guide. The museum also has a Jewish restaurant where you can try traditional Jewish dishes.
Make sure to check the museum’s website to see what temporary exhibitions they have on offer. The museum is very large so make sure to book an appropriate amount of time to see everything.
Interested in seeing POLIN with a guide? Book a tour with us!
Mury Getta (Sienna 55)
The remains of the Warsaw Ghetto wall are a haunting reminder of the horror that was the Holocaust. You can go over to Sienna Street 55 and find part of the authentic, three-meter-high, brick wall that once enclosed the Warsaw Ghetto. Two bricks were taken from this wall in 1989 and sent to the Holocaust Museum in Washington where a replica of this wall fragment was created.
Pomniki Granic Getta
Commemorative plaques are set up throughout the city where the boundaries of the Warsaw Ghetto once were. If you take a look beneath your feet, you’ll also see a boundary perimeter marker running down the length of the street in the place where the Warsaw Ghetto walls used to be.
There are 22 locations with these plaques, all detailing different sites, and complete with a map of the Warsaw Ghetto. Walking along the boundary marker will give you a very realistic feel for the small space that 450,000 Jews were corralled into.
Pomnik Bohaterów Getta
The beautiful and moving Monument to the Ghetto Heroes is located outside the POLIN museum and at the spot where the first armed fight of the Ghetto Uprising took place. It has two sides: the western side has a bronze sculpture that commemorates the Jews that fought the uneven fight against the Nazi Germans. The eastern side is made of stone and is dedicated to the women, children, and elderly who were led to their deaths by Nazi German soldiers.
The monument was so well received by the public and Jewish community that it became the focal point for many foreign visits and events connected with Jewish history.
Umschlagplatz
Umschlagplatz is German for reloading point and it was the place where German soldiers collected Jews and herded them into cattle cars to be transported to the Treblinka death camp. It’s estimated that more than 300,000 Jews were transported out of Warsaw through Umschlagplatz.
Today, visitors are reminded of this tragic history by a white monument that has a black stripe, similar to the colors of traditional Jewish religious dress. The area surrounded by the wall symbolizes the confines of a cattle car. The inside of the walls is covered in 400 of the most popular Polish and Jewish names from before WWII—each name stands in remembrance of victims of the Warsaw Ghetto.
Bunkier Anielewicza
Anielewicz’s Bunker is the site of a destroyed bunker. It is a testament to a heartbreaking story of when 80 young Jewish insurgents decide to commit mass suicide rather than be captured by Nazi German soldiers on May 8, 1943.
In honor of these brave Jews, today you can see an earth mound that is crowned with a stone pillar and a plaque written in Polish, English, and Yiddish.
Kładka Pamięci na Chłodnej
The Warsaw Ghetto footbridge commemoration is an artistic tribute to the wooden footbridge that connected two parts of the Warsaw Ghetto. Every day, Jews would travel along the footbridge over the heads of those walking along “Aryan” Chłodna Street. Though it only functioned for about 6 months, it quickly became a symbol of a divided city and the horrors of the Holocaust. What you see there now is an artistic interpretation of that bridge made from fiber optic cables hung 27 meters above the street, so it’s really worth seeing especially at night.
If you visit the POLIN museum, you will walk across a representation of this bridge while in the “Holocaust” gallery.
Kościół Św. Augustyna
The Church of St. Augustine might not seem like a typical choice when thinking of Jewish sites you have to see in Warsaw. This church, however, was on the grounds of the Warsaw Ghetto and was both witness and victim to many of the war’s atrocities against the Jewish population. Built in 1896, during WWII it functioned as a German warehouse for stolen Jewish property and later as a stable. Several of its Catholic priests were also murdered or sent to concentration camps for helping Jews.
It was the tallest and one of very few buildings to have survived the war within the Warsaw Ghetto. You might have seen a famous photo of this church being surrounded by nothing but ruins after the war. The church was renovated right after the war and has been in the process of regaining its previous splendor over the years.
Pomnik Ucieczki z Getta
Unveiled in 2010, the Memorial to the Evacuation of the Warsaw Ghetto Fighters is a simple yet powerful monument. It commemorates May 10, 1943, when around 50 Jewish fighters escaped the city by climbing out of the sewers and fleeing by truck, evading German patrols along the way. Most later went on to fight in the Warsaw Uprising in 1944. The monument imitates a sewer entry tunnel and is closed off with a star of David and beside it are the names of the Jewish fighters who escaped.
Ulica Próżna
Próżna Street is a small, 160-meter-long street in the city center, which also happens to be the only street that survived within the Warsaw Ghetto intact (though the facades have been recently renovated). Take a walk down this street to get a feel for what Warsaw used to look like all the way back in the 19th century, when it was inhabited by a large Jewish population. Make sure to spot the different street signs on the corner, each one coming from a different era in the city’s history.
Pomnik Willy’ego Brandta
You can find this monument on Willy Brandt’s Square, not far from the POLIN museum. It’s dedicated to the historic event when the German Chancellor Willy Brandt visited the Monument to the Ghetto Heroes in 1970 and kneeled in front of it. This was interpreted as Germany’s guilt and regret for the misery that had befallen the Jews during WWII. You can see that very moment on the relief of the monument.
Whether you want to learn something about Jewish history in Warsaw or you want to dive a lot more deeply into the history and culture of the Jews, seeing these Jewish sites in Warsaw is absolutely worth your time. If you want to discover Jewish Warsaw with me, book your Jewish Warsaw walking tour now. Have you been to any of these Jewish monuments in Warsaw? What was your experience? Let us know in the comments.