Exhibition at the Jewish Sports Museum, Kfar Maccabiah, Leading Up to International Holocaust Remembrance Day, January 27

An exhibition on the topic "The Jewish Contribution to Sports in Poland, Between the Two World Wars" is being presented at the Jewish Sports Museum in Kfar Maccabiah, Ramat Gan – the world's leading institution in the field of Jewish sports museums. The exhibition, which arrived in Israel in cooperation with the Museum of the History of Polish Jews and the Embassy of Poland in Israel, is being shown to mark International Holocaust Remembrance Day, which is observed on January 27. It will be on display until Sunday, February 1st, and will be open free of charge to the general public.

Between 1918 and 1939, over 400 diverse sports clubs, established by Jewish athletes, operated and flourished in Poland. Sports activity in these clubs was a source of identity, pride, and self-expression. Many Jewish athletes achieved significant success and brought great honor to their country, but their achievements and contributions were brutally severed during the Holocaust. The exhibition emphasizes how sports build identity, resilience, and community, and aims to present the connection between the past and the present.

The exhibition presents the story of Jewish sports life in Poland through 14 panels combining a large variety of photographs, documents, and reviews. Visitors to the exhibition will be exposed to the development of various clubs in the country's major cities, including Warsaw, Krakow, and Łódź, as well as Lviv and Vilnius, which were part of Poland at the time, covering sports such as football (soccer), boxing, swimming, chess, and winter sports.

The exhibition features the stories of some of the most prominent athletes of that period, whose achievements became symbols of courage, identity, and belonging. Among the athletes whose stories receive special mention are: Józef Klotz (JÓZEF KLOTZ), a player for Jutrzenka Kraków and the Polish national football team, who was the first player ever to score a goal for the Polish national team in an international match in 1922 and perished in the Warsaw Ghetto. Also presented is the inspiring story of Maccabi Warsaw boxer, Szapsel Rotholc (SZAPSEL ROTHOLC), one of the greatest boxers in the country in the 1930s and Polish Lightweight Champion, who represented Poland in many international competitions, and who survived the Warsaw Ghetto and the war.

Additionally, visitors will be exposed to the story of swimmer Lejzor Szrajbman (LEJZOR SZRAJBMAN) from the "Bar Kochba Warsaw" club, one of Poland's greatest athletes in the 1930s, who represented the country at the 1936 Berlin Olympics and perished in the Warsaw Ghetto, and the story of chess player Dawid Przepiórka (DAWID PRZEPIÓRKA), who helped his country win the gold medal at the Chess Olympiad in Hamburg, Germany, in 1930 and was murdered in 1940.

Osnat Tzur, Director of the World Jewish Sports Museum in Kfar Maccabiah: "As the only museum in the world focused entirely on Jewish sports heritage, Kfar Maccabiah is the natural venue for this exhibition. The exhibition highlights one of the most important chapters in our sports history. The Jewish sports clubs in Poland and the Jewish athletes who operated in the country until the Holocaust are a central component of the story of Jewish, Polish, and Israeli sports. We have a duty, especially at this museum, to echo their story and bring it to the wider public. We thank the Embassy of Poland in Israel for their partnership in promoting this important exhibition, and we will continue to work to host additional exhibitions on our areas of expertise from around the world."

This special exhibition will be on display until Sunday, February 1st, and will be open free of charge to the general public.