Auschwitz Jewish Center and Google Arts & Culture Announce New Online Exhibition on Jewish Life in the Town Next to Auschwitz Before WWII

OŚWIĘCIM, Poland and NEW YORK, Jan. 26, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- On January 27, marking both International Holocaust Remembrance Day and the 72nd anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz and Birkenau, the Auschwitz Jewish Center will unveil its first project with Google Arts & Culture - the online exhibition OSHPITZIN: THE TOWN KNOWN AS AUSCHWITZ.

The new exhibition will be made available on Google Arts & Culture platform. Through vivid photographs, compelling personal documents, and curatorial insights, the exhibition tells the 400-year history of Oświęcim's (Yiddish: Oshpitzin) Jewish community. The exhibition can be viewed at this link: www.ajcf.pl/online-exhibition.

Tomasz Kuncewicz, Director of the Auschwitz Jewish Center, said that, "This new exhibit is an important milestone in reaching out to new audiences with the local Jewish history so much overshadowed by the tragedy of Auschwitz and the Holocaust. We are proud that Google joined us in our mission to preserve the memory of Jews who lived in the Polish town of Oświęcim, before it became Auschwitz."

The Auschwitz Jewish Center is a subsidiary of the Museum of Jewish Heritage—A Living Memorial to the Holocaust, from the Museum's New York City campus. It is the only Jewish presence in the vicinity of Auschwitz. The Center's educational programs include immersive study programs on the Holocaust, pre-war Jewish life, and Polish-Jewish relations. The Center opened its doors in 2000 and joined with the Museum in 2006. Located just three kilometers from the Auschwitz–Birkenau death camps, the Center provides a place for individuals and groups from around the world to pray, study, and learn about the vibrancy of Jewish culture before the war, and memorialize victims of the Holocaust. 

Google Arts & Culture is a new, immersive way to experience art, history, culture and world wonders from over a thousand organizations worldwide. Google Arts & Culture was created by the Google Cultural Institute and it is available for free for everyone on the web, on iOS, and Android.

About The Auschwitz Jewish Center
The Auschwitz Jewish Center, an affiliate of the Museum of Jewish Heritage since 2006, is located two miles from Auschwitz-Birkenau in Oświęcim, Poland. Nearly 30,000 visitors from all over the world visit the Center each year for prayer in the last synagogue in Oświęcim, innovative lectures and workshops, immersive education programs, and exhibitions on the Jewish history of Oświęcim. In addition to its programs for American military cadets, the Center hosts German, Austrian, Polish, and Ukrainian student interns at the Center each year, and thousands of young Americans and Israelis visit each spring during the March of the Living. Polish students, teachers, and police officers are served by specialized education programs, which teach about the local pre-war Jewish community and its devastation during the Holocaust, as well as anti-Semitism and xenophobia today. For more information, visit www.ajcf.pl.

About the Museum of Jewish Heritage
The Museum of Jewish Heritage – A Living Memorial to the Holocaust has thrived for nearly two decades along the waterfront of New York Harbor, and was created as a living memorial to those who perished, as well as those who survived, 75 years ago. Established as a place of learning and reflection, a repository for artifacts and information, and a catalyst for dialogue across all age groups about vital lessons of Jewish history, the Museum serves both local and global communities and creates opportunities for diverse audiences to engage with history and to consider its relevance to the present. For more information, visit www.mjhnyc.org.

SOURCE The Museum of Jewish Heritage - A Living Memorial to the Holocaust

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http://www.mjhnyc.org