On June 29, 2026, the Taube Center for Jewish Life & Learning, together with the Galicia Jewish Museum and the Institute of Jewish Studies at Jagiellonian University, hosted the conference “Pomiędzy ochroną a komercjalizacją: Dziedzictwo żydowskie na Kazimierzu” (Bridging Stewardship and Commercialization: Jewish Heritage in Kazimierz) at the Galicia Jewish Museum in Kraków.
The conference brought together scholars, educators, conservation specialists, cultural practitioners, representatives of Jewish organizations, and local stakeholders to discuss the future of Jewish heritage in Kazimierz – a historic district shaped by memory, contemporary Jewish life, and the challenges of increasing tourism and commercialization.
The idea for the conference grew out of a discussion organized by the Taube Center during the 2025 Jewish Culture Festival in Kraków. Continuing that conversation, POMIĘDZY created a dedicated space for deeper reflection on how Jewish heritage can be protected, researched, interpreted, and shared responsibly.
The day opened with remarks by Ruth Ellen Gruber, an author and journalist who has written extensively on Jewish heritage, revival, and culture in Europe. Discussions continued through three thematic panels exploring the protection and conservation of tangible heritage, the role of education and narratives, and models of heritage management and cooperation among institutions and communities.
The conference concluded with a roundtable session focused on identifying shared challenges and exploring opportunities for future collaboration among organizations working with Jewish heritage in Kraków and beyond.
We are grateful to all speakers, partners, and participants who contributed to creating a space for meaningful exchange. The questions, reflections, and conversations that continued throughout the day showed how important and needed this dialogue remains.
We hope that POMIĘDZY will mark the beginning of further cooperation and continued discussions on how to protect, promote, and educate about Jewish heritage with care, responsibility, and respect.
Co-organizers: Galicia Jewish Museum and the Institute of Jewish Studies at Jagiellonian University
Partners: FestivALT, JCC Krakow, European Association for the Preservation and Promotion of Jewish Culture and Heritage (AEPJ), Jewish Culture Festival in Kraków.
The event was organized as part of the project Rescue Memory – Activism, Arts, and Public Remembrance (ReActMem), funded by the European Union through the Citizens, Equality, Rights and Values (CERV) programme.
Photos: Ada Kopeć-Pawlikowska
