Otwarcie nowego oddziału Muzeum Historycznego Miasta Krakowa oraz wystawy stałej Kraków – czas okupacji 1939–1945. Podsumowanie i wnioski z realizacji projektu

Abstrakt

OSKAR SCHINDLER’S ENAMEL FACTORY – THE OPENING OF A NEW BRANCH OF THE HISTORICAL MUSEUM OF THE CITY OF KRAKOW AND A PERMANENT EXHIBITION

The article recapitulates on the works connected with the launch of the new branch of the Historical Museum of the City of Krakow called Oskar Schindler’s Enamel Factory and the permanent exhibition Kraków under Nazi Occupation 1939– 1945. Acting as the curator and project managers during the preparatory works in the years 2007–2010, the authors have analyzed the prearrangements in terms of both the contents and the management of the said project. The article elaborates on the particular stages of preparing the exhibition and provides information about the methods, the funding schemes, and the approach to the subject adopted by the Museum. The exhibition Kraków under Nazi Occupation 1939– 1945 opened on 10 June 2010. The display was long-anticipated by local inhabitants of Krakow and – probably above all – by visitors from all over the world and the circles centred around the people rescued by Oskar Schindler and the survivors themselves, whose interest in the project was mainly determined by the exhibition site itself – the former Enamelware Factory run by Oskar Schindler which won worldwide acclaim through Steven Spielberg’s Schindler’s List. According to the majority of visitors – and museum professionals – the exhibition offers an attractive and unconventional insight into the history of Krakow during World War II. In 2011 the display won the Sybilla 2010, the most important museum award in Poland, for the best historical exhibition.