Pola Negri was the star of German and Hollywood cinema in the silent era – she was the symbol of sex of the 1920s. The Film Museum in Lodz holds a rich collection of souvenirs of this famous actress.

Barbara Apolonia Chałupiec was born on 3rd of January, 1897. She played her first role in 1914 in Polish film Slave of Sin (aka Love and Passion). In November 1916 under the name of Pola Negri she left for Berlin. Her most successful roles were those played in Ernst Lubitsch’s films. She appeared in 23 feature films only to leave for the United States of America in 1923. In Hollywood she acted in over 20 different films such as:  Forbidden Paradise, Lily of the Dust, East of Suez, Flower of Night, A Woman of the World.

The Film Museum in Lodz is in possession of posters and programmes of films that Pola Negri participated in, as well as many portraits and postcards with her film images, film frames, sheet music and front covers of records with songs recorded by her. There are few unique objects such as the vinyl record from 1929, the book written by Pola Negri or her monograph issued in Moscow with a garbled Polish surname.

The museum’s exhibition based on the collection was presented many times in Poland as well as in Bratislava, Nuremberg or Düsseldorf.