Every year in Poland, the Polish Government chooses key people to celebrate, known as The Year Of … This year, at the museum, we are showcasing ‘The Year of Irena Sendler’, whose life was made famous in the film Life in a Jar.
Irena was a selfless nurse who saved Jewish children from the Warsaw ghetto in World War 2.
Display running till the end of 2018
Every year in Poland, the Polish Government chooses key people to celebrate, known as The Year Of …
Because this is a significant year, museum staff have chosen a second exhibition featuring a famous poet, ‘The Year of Zbigniew Herbert’.
He is well known for his words ‘No time to grieve for roses when the forests are burning’. A winner of over twenty literary awards, from the late 1960s, Herbert was one of the most serious contenders for the Nobel Prize for Literature.
His books have been translated into 38 languages.
Display running till the end of 2018
‘Our Lady of Czestochowa’, is a religious film showing the history of the monastery and sanctuary of Jasna Gora in Czestochowa, Poland. The film takes you on a tour of Poland’s greatest religious shrine, including those places which are not accessible to ordinary visitors. This film helps to understand the unique phenomenon of the Jasna Gora sanctuary
The Black Madonna Icon is a 122 x 82cm painting on a wooden panel which is shrouded by richly ornamented jeweled robes, legends and miracles.It is believed that Poland is under protection of The Black Madonna painting. A famous Catholic icon celebrated by Polish people on 15th August each year.
Story about a Pilgrimage to Czestochowa, Poland
The tradition of pilgrimages to Czestochowa, a famous Marian sanctuary (also commonly known by the name of Jasna Gora, or the Bright Mountain) is a long and diverse in Poland.
The most characteristic form of devotion is the summer walking pilgrimages to the sanctuary, when people from all over the country set off to walk in organized groups to this very special place. The experience involves hours or days of walking but there’s much more to do than just walk. The friars organize lectures on the way, focusing on various aspects of Catholic spirituality.
Perhaps the most striking feature of such an experience, it is the attitudes of people you inevitably meet on the way. From sharing drinking water or carrying your backpack for a while, to just being there to listen when you need it – but also inhabitants of local villages that pilgrimage passes through offer vast assistance, provide meals and places to stay overnight. Thus the way to the sanctuary becomes at least equally important to finally reaching it – another nice parable to the Christian way of life.
The experience is open to anyone who would like to participate in the pilgrim each August. There are some foreign guests – from the US, France, Finland, Philippines. Just bring yourself a pair of comfortable shoes – and you can start walking. Text by Kamila (Warsaw, Poland)
A 10 year Karol Wojtyla in the 1930’s in Poland, has dreams, many dreams. One by one they are shattered. First, by the loss of his mother and brother. Then by the outbreak of war and the death-fleeing exodus that ensued. And finally by the first sign of Jewish persecution.
These events will mark Karol’s long journey from worker, to poet and to teacher. A journey full of encounters that eventually leads him to become the man we all knew. A man who has marked an era. A man who has made history.
Karol Wojtyla, whose tireless fight for humanity and basic fundamental rights begins with the German invasion of his native Poland in 1939.
Appalled at the brutal treatment afforded his Jewish friends, Karol turns to his religion as a means of making a difference in the world, and with the help of several other like-minded individuals mounts a non-violent, but extremely effective, anti-Nazi resistance.
Ordained as a priest at war’s end, Karol finds himself fighting another form of Godless totalitarianism, this one from the Communists who have overtaken his country.
Ultimately, Father Karol Wojtyla’s noble mission culminates in his being elected as Pope John Paul II in 1978 and it was surely no coincidence that Poland’s liberation was now but a matter of time.
Polish Museum, 125 Elliot St, Howick phone 09 533 3530.
Entry by cash donation or internet banking
Stay for a few minutes or the whole 2 hours for a meditative reflection.
This film is an intimate portrayal of the everyday lives of Carthusian monks of the Grande Chartreuse, a monastery high in the French Alps (Chartreuse Mountains).
It is a transcendent meditation on the human pursuit of meaning, on man as a religious and social creature; on the form and function of symbols and ritual and tradition; on the rhythm of work and prayer, day and night, winter and spring.
The film has no score, no voiceover and no archival footage. What remains is stunningly elemental: time, space and light as it dissolves the border between screen and audience with total immersion.
This exhibition is part of the Auckland Heritage Festival 2018
View delightful styles of Polish ceramics, from hand-painted Boleslawiec blue dot tableware, famous in Europe for several hundred years, to regional Kashubian plates and a vintage folk-art floral teapot.
The other galleries in the museum will also be open.
Entry by Donation to the museum is suggested $10 – $5
Museum founder and Former Honary Consul, John Roy-Wojciechowski talks about his life and the Centennial of Poland’s Regained Independence.
2018 is a special year in the history of Poland, commemorating 100 years of Poland and its Independence regained.
The rebirth of the Polish Republic in 1918 was the result of the efforts of several generations of Poles – outstanding individuals and their political circles. Discover other key events over the last 100 years in Polish history.
Hear the history of Poland regaining independence at the close of World War 1 and the story of one of the 733 ‘Polish children of Pahiatua’. who was invited to New Zealand for the duration of WWII.
1.7 million Poles were forcibly deported from Poland to Russia during WWII, then exiled to Persia, then came to NZ.
Most of these survivors later became New Zealand citizens.
Stay after the talk, met John and share morning tea with us.
.We have 2 new designs for 2018, marking the 100 years of Poland’s Independence.
Discover new designs and learn the traditional Polish Folk Art paper craft called Wycinanki (cut-outs) in this fun and creative workshop for adults and children 7 years and older.
A short presentation is included. PHTM will share with you the beauty of the Polish traditional cut-outs from 2 regions in Poland, Kurpie and Lowicz and their unique characters within the world of other cultures paper art and craft. At the beginning of the 19thC designs were cut and shaped as simple geometrical patterns of plants, animals or people.
Later when coloured decorative papers became more available, complicated patterns and multi coloured cut-outs made of layers of different colours and shapes emerged. After the workshop, enjoy the displays of wycinanki within the museum.
Thurs 4 Oct, 10am-noon
2018 is a special year in the history of Poland. We mark a Centennial of Poland’s Regained Independence, hence we have this new element into to the talk and full presentation
Hear a brief history of Poland regaining independence at the close of World War 1 and the links to that story to the 733 ‘Polish children of Pahiatua’.
1.7 million Poles were forcibly deported from Poland to Russia during WWII, then exiled to Persia, this small group of children and 102 accompanying adults were invited to New Zealand for the duration of WWII. Most of these survivors later became New Zealand citizens.
‘Poles Apart’ (1 hour) tells this poignant story and background of 733 Polish children and 102 adults who came to live in Pahiatua, New Zealand, 1944.
The programme will start at 10.30am, with a look around the Lower Gallery, and follow with a talk starting at 10.45, then the film Poles Apart starting at 11am. with free time after the film to wander the exhibits again ands visit the Upper Gallery.
We will serve morning tea at approx. 10.45am. Price is $10 cash per person. Morning tea / coffee / biscuits included. Bookings not required.
Museum founder Mr John Roy-Wojceichowski is one of the children,
Artwork by Lindy Fisher
Teacher Only Session for the PHTM
In house lesson: Identity/Migration: Polish children arrive in 1944
You are warmly invited to a Teacher Only Session for the Learning Outside The Classroom, PHTM educational programme called Stefania For Schools based on the book Stefania’s Dancing Slippers by Jennifer Beck and illustrated by Lindy Fisher.
Primary / Intermediate teachers and home educators are invited to visit the Polish Museum for a presentation, in preparation for student visits in 2018 . Experience the ‘Stefania for Schools’ lesson called Identity/Migration: Polish children arrive in 1944 with slideshow, objects and artworks, linked to the NZ school curriculum.
These free sessions are also available on request at times and dates for your school team.
For bookings/enquiries and alternative dates email phtmuseum@outlook.com or phone Lynette, PHTM Education Officer, on 533 3530.
This programmes is age appropriate from Years 3-8, age group 7-13 years old
Museum building