O Ś WIĘ CIM ISSN 1899-4407 PEOPLE

CULTURE HISTORY

65TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE LIBERATION OF THE AUSCHWITZ CAMP

no. 14 February 2010 Oś—Oświęcim, People, History, Culture magazine, no. 14, February 2010

EDITORIAL BOARD: Oś—Oświęcim, People, History, Culture magazine EDITORIAL

Most of this issue of Oś is dedicated to as they have the strength, they share youth to IYMC for the workshop Hu- the commemoration of the 65th anni- their experiences with us, as well as man rights begin with rights of children versary of the liberation of Auschwitz. young people with whom they share and the young. Inside, you will fi nd reports of the the truth about Auschwitz. In this Oś you will also fi nd an invita- commemorations, as well as the words In addition, this edition of Oś includes tion to view fi lms dealing with Jewish of former prisoners and politicians a report on the inauguration of the topics at the Jewish Center, which are Editor: that were said during the ceremony Forum Pro Publico Bono “Citizens organized together with the Jewish Paweł Sawicki at the former Auschwitz II-Birkenau for European Solidarity” at the Inter- Motifs Association. In addition, on the Editorial secretary: camp. On the last page there is a pho- national Youth Meeting Center. We pages of the Center for Dialogue and Agnieszka Juskowiak-Sawicka tomontage that includes portraits of also congratulate the Center for the Prayer we recommend an extraordi- Editorial board: former prisoners, the most important Polish-German Youth Prize “Keep narily interesting and moving history Bartosz Bartyzel Wiktor Boberek guests of the annual commemoration. Remembrance”, which is given by the of a missionary Bartholomäa from Jarek Mensfelt We are incredibly thankful to the wit- Polish-German Youth Cooperation for Münster, who has searched her family Olga Onyszkiewicz nesses of history from over 65 years the workshop project Language of the in Poland for many years. Jadwiga Pinderska-Lech ago that even though it was incredibly perpetrators—language of the victims, Paweł Sawicki Artur Szyndler cold they came to the commemoration. which has been written about in pre- Editor-in-chief Columnist: We thank them for the fact that as long vious issues. We invite Oświęcim’s [email protected] Mirosław Ganobis Design and layout: Agnieszka Matuła, Grafi kon Translations: David R. Kennedy A GALLERY OF THE 20TH CENTURY Proofreading: Beata Kłos Cover: ARCHIVAL PHOTOGRAPHS Paweł Sawicki OF THE LIBERATION COMMEMORATIONS Photographer: Paweł Sawicki

PUBLISHER:

Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum www.auschwitz.org.pl

PARTNERS:

Jewish Center Photo: A-BSM Archive Photo: A-BSM Archive www.ajcf.pl 1966 1970

Center for Dialogue and Prayer Foundation www.centrum-dialogu.oswiecim.pl

International Youth Meeting Center www.mdsm.pl

IN COOPERATION Photo: A-BSM Archive Photo: A-BSM Archive WITH: 1960 1965

Kasztelania www.kasztelania.pl

State Higher Vocational School in Oświęcim www.pwsz-oswiecim.pl

Editorial address: „Oś – Oświęcim, Ludzie, Historia, Kultura” Państwowe Muzeum Auschwitz-Birkenau ul. Więźniów Oświęcimia 20 32-603 Oświęcim e-mail: [email protected] Photo: A-BSM Archive Photo: A-BSM Archive 1963 1971

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be aware that the time when In a speech addressed to the the witnesses will be gone is participants in the observanc- 65TH ANNIVERSARY not far off. What remain are es, Russian Federation Presi- the memories that are written dent Dmitry Medvedev wrote down, taught, and spoken. that “We should clearly realize OF THE LIBERATION These memories are needed so that indifference and apathy, that everything is done that the as well as disregard for the les- crimes that were committed at sons of history, ultimately lead n January 27, 2010, 65 years passed since the liberation of the Nazi Birkenau and Auschwitz, and to tragedy and crime, while OGerman Auschwitz Concentration and Extermination Camp. also in Treblinka, Chełmno trust and mutual assistance on the Ner, Majdanek, Maut- help us to withstand the most Early in the morning, staff Prime Minister of Poland, the moral condition of every hausen, and Buchenwald, will dangerous threats.” The mes- members from the Ausch- the Prime Minister of Israel, one of us. Today, each of us never be repeated,” said Polish sage was read out in his name witz Memorial paid tribute government delegations from has access to knowledge about President Lech Kaczyński. by Andrey Fursenko, the min- to the victims and the Soviet more than 40 countries, the the contemporary spread of Prime Minister Donald Tusk ister of education and science soldiers who died fi ghting for President and members of hatred and racism, disdain stressed the need to discover of the Russian Federation. the city and the camp. They the European Parliament, and anti-Semitism, about gen- even a trace of hope in this At the conclusion of the fi rst placed candles and fl ow- members of the Polish Par- ocidal practices and the sen- place so as not to go away part of the ceremonies, Presi- ers at the Death Wall in the liament, a delegation from tencing of innocent people to feeling that humanity, cul- dent Kaczyński awarded dec- courtyard of block 11 at the the Knesset, members of the death in different parts of the ture, and European civiliza- orations to Auschwitz-Birk- Auschwitz I site, at the monu- diplomatic corps, clergy, lo- world. The question is wheth- tion were complete failures. enau State Museum Director ment to the extermination of cal offi cials, invited guests, er we are doing anything with “It is our duty to continue to Dr. Piotr M.A. Cywiński, the Roma in Auschwitz II- and everyone desirous of this knowledge. Can we take return here to give testimony United States Holocaust Me- Birkenau, at the monument to honoring the memory of the the side of the victims? Or do to our memory of this time of morial Museum Director Sara the victims of the Auschwitz victims of Nazi Germany. we rather stand on the side of the deepest despair and the Bloomfi eld, and Yad Vashem III-Monowitz camp, at the Former Auschwitz prisoners all these who knew, but did utmost lawlessness, to give Institute Director Avner Sha- grave in the Oświęcim cem- August Kowalczyk, who also nothing to help?” he asked. testimony to our emphatic lev. They were decorated for etery that holds the remains acted as master of ceremonies, Marian Turski said that “If revolt against the organized their “eminent services in ed- of Soviet soldiers who died Prof. Władysław Bartoszew- then, in those days, there had hatred that herded millions ucational and museum work liberating the camp, and at the ski, and Marian Turski spoke been more empathy for the of people into gas chambers, commemorating the victims mass grave of approximately fi rst. “The 65th anniversary Jews in the United States, against everything of which of the Nazi German labor 700 prisoners who died in of liberation is now more Great Britain, in occupied Eu- the Auschwitz-Birkenau ex- camps, concentration camps, the fi nal days of the camp. than a mere historical real- rope, in Poland, if there had termination camp has be- and extermination centers, Mass for the intention of the ity. Faithful to memory, we been more empathy among come a symbol,” he said. and for their accomplish- victims and former prison- turn our hearts and minds to those who could decide if Prime Minister Benjamin ments in the development of ers was said at the Oświęcim those who never returned to they bomb the crematoria and Netanyahu of Israel said that the Polish-Jewish dialogue.” church of the Divine Mercy by freedom,” said Kowalczyk. gas chambers, we would not his country would never for- The Director of the Museum local deacon Krzysztof Straub. In his speech, International have avoided the Holocaust get these events or allow them received the Offi cer’s Cross of About 300 people, including Auschwitz Council Chairman but the size of the Holocaust to be forgotten. He felt that the Order of Poland Reborn many former prisoners, at- Władysław Bartoszewski could have been smaller. If we the rebirth of anti-Semitism and the foreign guests were tended. asked how much of the truth want to live in a world with was possible, and should not decorated with the Offi cer’s The anniversary was accom- about the horrible experiences less intense hatred, we must be permitted. He character- Cross of the Order of Merit panied by a conference organ- of totalitarianism we have try to show compassion, un- ized Auschwitz as the great- of the Republic of Poland. ized by the Polish Ministry of managed to convey to the derstanding and empathy.” est tragedy in the history of National Education for min- younger generation. “Plenty, After the former prisoners, it the Jews and the worst case The observances concluded at isters of education from more I believe, but not enough. was time for the politicians to of genocide in the world. He the Monument to the Victims than 30 countries, and by the Knowledge about what is speak. “For me, it is a matter thanked the Polish govern- of the Camp, where the par- opening of the Russian exhi- going on never has, and still of great satisfaction that we ment for its efforts to com- ticipants placed candles com- bition at the Auschwitz I site does not automatically result have more then 30 ministers memorate the tragedy. He memorating the victims of dedicated to the liberation. in a reaction by the world. In of education or representa- also mentioned that every Auschwitz while rabbis and The main ceremonies were the same way, a capacity for tives of ministries of education third person who rescued a clergy of various Christian held at the Auschwitz II-Birk- opposing evil does not result here because, even though we Jew was Polish, and that these delegations joined in reading enau site, attended by former from knowledge about the ex- hope everyone lives to be a rescuers risked their own lives the Forty-Second Psalm. prisoners, the President and istence of evil, but rather from hundred and twenty, we must and the lives of their families. Paweł Sawicki

ried out were free—for sure. ADDRESS BY AUGUST KOWALCZYK, That criminal lie, intended as cam- oufl age for genocide and the Holo- FORMER AUSCHWITZ PRISONER, CAMP NO. 6804 caust, was supposed to protect its au- thors against the judgment of those It was as wintry a day as today—De- A young soldier in a fi eld uniform who managed to leave the camp in cember 4, 1940. The thermometer on came out of the Blockführerstube the other direction, towards life and the Blockführerstube read minus 19. I and headed for the men. If one can freedom, to bear witness. was standing right outside the main say that a man is lovely, then that The 65th anniversary of liberation is camp gate in a group of 80 inmates young SS man was lovely. He went now more than a mere historical real- from the Tarnów prison. Rookies. A up to the fi rst box. He pointed at the ity. Faithful to memory, we turn our Zugang. My fi ghting for Poland was lid of the box and said “Weg!” They hearts and minds to those who never over, for the moment. followed the order and removed the returned to freedom. In this place, The human ant colony fi lling the camp planks. Inside the box, head and feet today, there is no way to avoid men- streets revealed to me a state of dan- in opposite directions, lay the naked, tioning a December night in 2009. A ger I had previously been unaware emaciated bodies of two dead pris- profanation, a crime, dictated by the of, which grew more clearly palpable oners. The numbers written on their misguided sense of “having,” has by the minute. A group of about 50 naked chests with a carpenter’s pen- become a new warning: 65 years af- prisoners came running up the street cil were their only proof of identity. ter the liberation of Auschwitz, there from the depths of the camp, like run- The lovely young man leaned over are no “black holes” in human his- Photo: A-BSM ners trying to warm up, in a pathetic, and drew a half-meter spike from the tory to swallow up evil forever. The ineffective attempt at the regulation top of his boot. He pushed it into one Arbeit macht frei inscription was sto- niversary. Laufschritt—the prisoners did every- of those chests—that one was dead len from the camp gate. In the place The unanimous reaction of world thing on the run. They were carrying for sure. He pushed it into the next where even the stones have become opinion has proved that the price of wooden boxes on their shoulders. heart—another one checked. They relics, and the earth soaked with blood and martyrdom possesses the What were they delivering? Sand? could continue on their fi nal journey blood has turned gray with the ashes extraordinary power that makes it Stones? Eight men to a box. They set to the crematorium. The corpse-car- of the Holocaust. possible, after 65 years, to transform them down with diffi culty. The wood rier’s kommando passed through the Pain, incredulity, and rage have ac- the gigantic Nazi lie into a relic of the clunked against the snowy camp gate above which, with diffi culty, we companied us over the last weeks memory of nations. street with a hollow sound. read “Arbeit macht frei.” The men car- preceding today’s solemn 65th an-

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of the United Nations on December automatically result in a reaction by ADDRESS BY WŁADYSŁAW BARTOSZEWSKI, 10, 1942, urging “the necessity not the world. In the same way, a capac- FORMER AUSCHWITZ PRISONER, only of condemning the crimes com- ity for opposing evil does not result mitted by the Germans and punish- from knowledge about the existence CAMP NO. 4427 ing the criminals, but also of fi nding of evil, but rather from the moral means offering the hope that Germa- condition of every one of us. Today, ny might be effectively restrained each of us has access to knowledge from continuing to apply her meth- about the contemporary spread of ods of mass extermination.” No effi - hatred and racism, disdain and anti- cient means were found, and in fact Semitism, about genocidal prac- nobody tried to look for them. And tices and the sentencing of innocent yet, at that time, more than every people to death in different parts of second future victim was still alive. the world. The question is whether Actually, the only result of the Polish we are doing anything with this initiative was the short declaration by knowledge. Can we take the side of the twelve Allied States concerning the victims? Or do we rather stand responsibility for the crimes against on the side of all these who knew, Jews, announced simultaneously in but did nothing to help? London, Moscow, and Washington Today, Auschwitz Birkenau is vis- on 17th December 1942. In that dec- ited by many people from all over laration, which does not mention the world. They look here for his- Auschwitz-Birkenau by name, the tory, and they also seek here the governments of ten occupied coun- truth about man. The truth about tries of Europe, together with the themselves. Most of them are stu- governments of the United States dents; more than 1,300,000 people

Photo: A-BSM and the United Kingdom, warn that last year. Here among us are a few they know about the horrible fate of dozen people responsible for edu- When in September 1940, as an 18- have imagined that this was “only” a the Jews “in Poland, which has been cation in more than thirty countries. year-old Pole, I went through the gate criminal test, a criminal preparation made the principal Nazi slaughter- The young people whose education under the words Arbeit macht frei for for industrial methods of genocide. house,” and vow to punish those re- is in your hands need this place of the fi rst time, and I was standing in Yet this is what was to happen in the sponsible for that crime. remembrance that speaks so ex- the roll-call place of camp Auschwitz memorable years 1942 – 1943 – 1944. Today, 65 years after the liberation of tremely meaningfully with its au- I, now as Schutzhäftling Number The construction of the gas chambers the last inmates of Auschwitz-Birk- thenticity. This consciousness must 4427—among fi ve thousand and fi ve and crematoria, and their effi cient enau, the last prisoners, still present be taken into consideration in de- hundred other Poles—I never imag- functioning, were only technical here today, have the right to believe veloping educational policies. If we ined that I would outlive Hitler and elements in this diabolical project. that their suffering and the deaths want these young people to become survive the Second World War. We In Poland, the homeland of David of their friends and relations made conscious citizens of our countries, never imagined that Auschwitz—as Ben-Gurion and Shimon Peres, but sense for a better future of all people we must let them become immersed Auschwitz-Birkenau and Monow- also of Isaac Bashevis Singer, Artur in Europe, and even in the world, in the signifi cance of Auschwitz. itz—would become the place where Rubinstein, and Menachem Begin, regardless of their ethnic origin and Standing in this place fi ve years the plan for the biological extermina- following the decision from Berlin, religious denomination. We want to ago together with Simone Weil, I tion of the European Jews irrespec- the center for the fi nal destruction of believe that the memory of the fate announced the establishment of tive of their sex or age—the only one the hated Jews was built. The Polish of the prisoners and victims of this the International Center for Edu- of its kind—was put into operation. resistance—civil and military—in- place, diffi cult to encompass with the cation about Auschwitz and the In the fi rst 15 months of the existence formed and alarmed the free world: imagination, will oblige the coming Holocaust. The center is already in of this horrible place, we, the Polish the governments of the United King- generations to live together in respect operation. The need for education inmates, were alone. The free world dom and the United States had been for the dignity of every man, and in about Auschwitz and Holocaust was not interested in our suffering precisely informed about what was active defi ance of incidents of hatred seems greater than ever before. Just and our death, despite tremendous going on in Auschwitz-Birkenau and disdain towards other people, a few weeks ago, we witnessed an efforts by the clandestine resistance by the last quarter of 1942, thanks and especially all forms of xenopho- attack on the most recognizable organization in the camp to pass in- to the mission of the Polish courier, bia and anti-Semitism, even when it sign of this camp – the Arbeit macht formation to the world outside. In the Polish Army reserve offi cer Jan is hypocritically called anti-Zionism. frei sign. At the most basic level, late summer 1941, over 10,000 pris- Karski, and also through other chan- We must ask ourselves and the world this was a criminal act, yet let us not oners of war from the Soviet Army nels. No state in the world, however, how much of the truth about the hor- forget that the role of international were brought to Auschwitz, and it reacted in a manner adequate to the rible experiences of totalitarianism we neo-Nazis has not been explained was on them and on the ailing Polish signifi cance of the problem to the have managed to pass to the younger yet. political prisoners that the poisonous Note from the Minister of Foreign generations. Plenty, I believe, but not This place inspires a particular re- gas Zyklon B was tried out in Septem- Affairs of the Polish Government in enough. Knowledge about what is sponsibility: bearing witness to fu- ber 1941. None of the inmates could Exile in London to the Governments going on never has, and still does not ture generations. Its authenticity is a treasure that must be protected as long as possible. A year ago, we established the Auschwitz-Birk- enau Foundation, whose objective is to fi nance a long-term, coherent plan for the conservation of build- ings and objects. So far, the world’s reactions to our appeal have been very positive, and allow us to be- lieve that, with our joint forces, we shall fulfi ll our obligation. Graves encourage refl ection in eve- ry normal individual. But there are no graves here. Therefore, in the place where this incomprehensible crime was perpetrated, refl ection must be transformed into a spe- cifi c responsibility, into a lasting memory of what happened. Much as I did fi ve years ago, let me fi nish with words from The Book of Job, signifi cant for Jews and Christians alike: “O earth, cover not thou my blood, and let my cry have no place.” Photo: A-BSM

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because the prisoners’ bladders can’t me—a man who’s lived through eve- ADDRESS BY MARIAN TURSKI, hold out and they leak... Or—on the rything— FORMER AUSCHWITZ PRISONER, other hand—if an SS man or kapo de- – WHAT DID YOU LEARN FROM clares a sudden roll call, it’s hard to YOUR EXPERIENCE? CAMP NO. B-9408 climb down from the top bunk and – WHAT WOULD YOU LIKE TO the kapo will batter you... And so, the TELL OTHER PEOPLE ALIVE TO- so-called “living conditions”? No! DAY? That wasn’t the worst thing either. So Among all the words and lessons I maybe the cold? That was unbearable! would choose one above all: Especially over the winter of 1944 to EMPATHY! 1945. When I covertly cut an “under- The outstanding Polish poet Bolesław shirt” out of a cement sack and con- Taborski recently wrote a brief poem cealed it under my uniform, a German under precisely that title. supervisor noticed. “Du hast deutsches Permit me, my friends, to quote it: Vermögen gestohlen”—you have stolen COMPASSION German property—and he gave me a The most important thing is compassion savage beating... For everything on earth. But the cold—that wasn’t the worst. People, animals, the plants too. Maybe the lice?.... I don’t remember The rocks, seas, and – again I say – people. them in Auschwitz or Buchenwald It makes life bearable. itself. But there were thousands on the And its absence dehumanizes. kommandos where the water and sani- Take the perpetrators of the Holocaust, tary facilities had been bombed, or The devil’s servants on his earth. during the Death Marches... The lice They pretended to be humans, actually infected me in the last days Nay, superhumans. of the March and I had typhus when They were nothing, Photo: A-BSM the war ended... Was there anything They knew not what compassion is. My name is Marian Turski. They expect me to answer: the hun- worse than that? My Dear Friends! In Auschwitz I had no name. I had a ger! Hunger really is something that THE HUMILIATION! If the call “NEVER AGAIN AUSCH- number, B-9408, tattooed on… the well fed cannot comprehend. The The fact that you weren’t treated like a WITZ” is to be more than a mere slo- I was in Auschwitz almost until the specter of a potato, the specter of a human being—especially if you were gan or empty phrase, we must learn last day. On January 18, 1945, they spoonful of soup or a bite of bread will a Jew, and precisely because you were to understand other people who are sent us on the march to Buchenwald. always be with you. a Jew, you were treated as something DIFFERENT FROM ME, DIFFER- I was in Buchenwald almost until the Always! even less than an animal. You were an ENT FROM US! last day, as well, because they ordered And yet—hunger wasn’t the worst! insect—a louse, a chigger, a bedbug, a We must show them compassion another “evacuation” three days be- So perhaps it was the “living condi- cockroach that, in the normal, decent, and understanding! We must try to fore liberation; that was my second tions”? Dreadful! A thousand or more and accepted way of things should be grasp and accept people different Death March. To Theresienstadt… people in a barracks. Five or six people suffocated, stepped on, crushed, an- from us, who think differently and People, especially young people, ask jammed on the straw in a bunk. You nihilated... have different motives for action—if me: What was the worst thing in the think: where is it better, in the bottom And that’s why, when people today, we want to live in a world without camp? bunk or the top bunk? Maybe up top, and especially young people, ask hatred!

broom and swept that human ably killed in 1944. Together with ADDRESS BY EDWARD PACZKOWSKI, blood into the gutter. I’m sorry, I the other Roma. FORMER AUSCHWITZ PRISONER, can’t go on. * * And when liberation came, I woke CAMP NO. 66 485 I remember that. Now I remember. up in the middle of the night. For The window opened, and I was a year, I woke up in the middle It was summer. There was a storage The bread was taken away from standing there and talking to him, of the night. And I shouted: „No! place for bread in block 25. me, and the SS man drew his pis- to my brother. My brother, they No! No!” In Polish and in German, Shortly before evening roll call, tol and ordered me to dance. He took him to the gas chamber in I shouted: „No! No! Don’t hit me! when the prisoners were com- fi red between my feet. I remem- 1944. 1944—yes, I remember now. Don’t hit me!” I shouted: „Nicht ing back to camp, other prisoners ber—word of honor. They gassed my brother. The Na- schlagen! Nicht schlagen!.” tossed bread through the window He shot me in the toe. I cried be- zis. Dear Jesus... For a year, I woke up in the middle and shouted, “Hundert! Hundert!.” cause it really hurt. The wound My three sisters, my mama, and of the night. I remember that. I re- They missed the window once and took a month to heal. I had to go my papa were deported from To- member. I woke up in the middle the bread fell to the ground. to work on that lame leg. The La- maszów Mazowiecki to Ausch- of the night. And when I woke up, I grabbed that loaf and ran away. gerkapo assigned me to sweep the witz, to Birkenau. They were prob- I sometimes burst out crying... One of the prisoners came after me. streets. He gave me a wheelbar- He chased me. He caught me and row and a big broom. wanted to lead me to an SS man. I One day, in front of block 11, the As the Association of Roma in Poland informed, Edward Pacz- kissed his hands so he’d let me go, gate opened and an armored car kowski could not attend the anniversary commemoration due to but he didn’t. He said he was afraid drove in. A little later, I heard health related issues. The text of his speech was, however, given to because the SS man saw him catch shots. I looked, and blood was all the guests invited to the ceremony. We wish Mr. Paczkowski a me. In the end, he led me to the SS fl owing. They were shooting pris- quick return to good health. man. oners—a terrible sight. I took the

talented writers. People [did this year, when there were many more ADDRESS SPEECH BY THE PRESIDENT to] people… but some considered prisoners, as Minister Bartosze- OF THE REPUBLIC OF POLAND themselves super-human, while wski said, several thousand pris- they considered some subhuman oners of war from the Red Army LECH KACZYŃSKI —as Mr. Turski had just mentioned were brought here—600 of them —in fact not human. and 250 Poles became victims of an Mister Prime Ministers, you, and your colleagues who died I know that, generally, you know experiment, about which the Min- Mister Presidents, then or did not live to see today, the facts, but I have to reiterate ister also said a moment ago. Their Mister President of the European this is a memorial day. some of them. 14 June 1940, the murder lasted two days. Exactly Parliament, However, this day also has differ- fi rst 728 prisoners were brought two days. but above all, those ladies and gen- ent meanings. here. As it happened, that very day More or less at the same time, in tlemen who were here in differ- People did this to people—this Nazi Germany, more specifi cally another location in Poland, near ent circumstances 65 years earlier, is a quote from the book that ap- their armies, took Paris. The fi rst Łódź, in Chełmno on the Ner Riv- when on 27 January 1945 the camp peared just after the war by Zofi a prisoners were Poles and a certain er, a different method was tried— was fi nally liberated. This is for Nałkowska, one of Poland’s most group of Polish Jews. The next suffocating using exhaust fumes.

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Zyklon B turned out to be more Many others also died, also be- effective, and it was used for kill- cause they were Poles or Russians, ing, most probably, over a million Ukrainians or Byelorussians, but in Jews. Estimates are various—from this case a death sentence was not around 1,000,000 to 130,000,000. pronounced on the entire nation, But in this camp occurred the mur- at least, as far as we know. It can der of 75 thousand Poles, 20 thou- be said that the post-war decades sand Roma, whose fate was to be in the history of Europe suggested similar to that of the Jewish nation, that the insane ideologies had end- around 14 thousand Soviet POWs, ed their history. However, as one mainly Russians, and several former prisoner of this camp said, thousand individuals from other author of several books, Primo nations—the French, Belgians, Levi, if this happened, it can hap- Byelorussians, and many others. pen again. I repeat once again: Eu- How did this arise? It arose from a rope has overcome these tenden- crime that was planned and carried cies, but has the world overcome out by the German Third Reich. these tendencies? It can be said First French and Slovak Jews were plainly: no. This is why remem- brought here at the beginning of brance is needed. 1942. We know that during the fi rst It gives me great satisfaction that we half of 1942 the fi rst mass murders have here today over 30 ministers took place in gas chambers. At the of education as well as representa- same time, the liquidation of the tives of ministries of education, but largest ghettos in Europe began while wishing everyone 120 years

—the Warsaw Ghetto. This was the of life, we must be aware that the Photo: A-BSM middle of the war, but the murders time for the witnesses to history to continued. pass on is approaching. What is left some of those who are powerful rial Day is a day to remember the In May of 1944 the fate of the war is memory that is written, taught, and infl uential in the world today. victims of this concentration and was long decided, the Third Reich and spoken. This memory is need- That which has happened here is death camp, but it is also for all defeated, but here, in this place a ed so that everything is done that not a series of criminal acts—it is those who were shot, hanged, and new railroad siding was opened the crimes that were committed at something organized by a country, starved—because Commandant so that people could be brought Birkenau, as in Auschwitz—but, of by the German nation of the past: Höss also used this method, and directly to the crematoria. For me, course, not only here, also in Tre- the Third Reich. And it must be here the most well known victim this moment in history is a sign of blinka, Chełmno on the Ner, Maj- remembered, that the one who is was a Catholic priest, today a Saint, the insanity of the perpetrator, a danek, in Mauthausen, and Buch- stronger is not always the one who Maximilian Kolbe—here and in all criminal insanity that was based enwald—will never be repeated. is right. the other concentration camps that on a sick hatred. Indeed, Jews were We must teach the truth—the real Ladies and Gentlemen! existed then as well as later. murdered because they were Jews. truth—which may not sit well with We acknowledge that this Memo- Thank you very much.

mans, turn out to be indifferent to the and to give testimony about the ADDRESS BY THE PRIME MINISTER crime being committed here? Holocaust. This is all the more evi- OF THE REPUBLIC OF POLAND What can we do with this knowl- dent to us Poles, since every Polish edge about man that Auschwitz family suffered enormous losses DONALD TUSK has given us? Will our memory be during the war—also in this camp. able to hold on to every one of over We know the importance of pre- million faces that went through serving this place of memory intact this camp? as a cemetery, a monument, a sum- What can we say to the survi- mons to memory and evidence of vors who stand next to us today? the crime, which few want to deny. To those who have possessed the We must stop the process of decay most painful truth about what man of its buildings, which is happen- is capable of. ing with time. This is why we have Or perhaps only helpless silence— created the Auschwitz-Birkenau in hope that man will never again Foundation. Its goal of saving this be forced to wear a striped camp place has been recognized in many uniform, be reduced to a number countries. I trust that more coun- and be cruelly tortured until his tries will join in its efforts. last breath— is truthful here. The challenges are enormous. Has In this place I am searching for it ever happened that preserva- even a trace of hope, so that I don’t tion was needed on such a scale, to walk away from here with a sense save human hair, eyeglasses, den- of the downfall of humanity and tures and even toys—as evidence collapse of European culture and of genocide? civilization. It is our duty to contin- We want to conserve every single ue to return here to give testimony object, for each one is a trace of our to our memory of this time of the brothers. deepest despair and the utmost Finally, I also want to remember lawlessness, to give testimony to the soldiers of the Red Army who our emphatic revolt against the liberated the camp. For the hand- organized hatred that herded mil- ful of survivors on 27 January 1945, lions of people into gas chambers, they became a sign that their camp against everything of which the ordeal was over. Photo: A-BSM Auschwitz-Birkenau extermina- Ladies and Gentlemen, as I thank We stand in a place where it is dif- the Polish lands: the Holocaust was tion camp has become a symbol. you for coming to this place, your fi cult to fi nd the right words to a time when the man made in God’s This little Polish town, Oświęcim, presence here today, let me express speak… image and after his likeness was shat- which lies at a crossroads of Eu- the hope that the crime that took This is a place where it may only tered. ropean railways, became the place here will never be repeated, be possible to speak with the words This is a place that entitles us to ask place where a German concentra- that our memory of those who used by Jan Karski, a courier of the painful questions: Why was the tion camp was established, then were murdered here—and in the Polish Underground State, a man world silent? Why did the world al- transformed into an extermina- other extermination, concentration who tried, in vain, to move the low it to happen? tion camp. This place represents a and labor camps and prisons of world’s conscience by bringing it in- Why did alliances, strategies, policies special obligation for all of us, for the Second World War—will serve formation about the extermination and diplomacy—the whole mecha- Europe and the whole world, our man as a suffi cient reminder for of the European Jewry underway in nism of the civilized world—and hu- special obligation to remember the future.

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 Oś—Oświęcim, People, History, Culture magazine, no. 14, February 2010 Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum

ADDRESS BY THE PRIME MINISTER OF THE STATE OF ISRAEL, BENJAMIN NETANJAHU

Mr. President, Mr. Prime Minis- catastrophy that has touched our ter, Polish government ministers, people, the biggest crime perpe- ministers of education, representa- trated against humanity. tives of the Russian Federation and We meet here, Poles and Jews at many other countries. Education the crossroads of tragedy. Our long Minister of Israel, Gideon Saar, Mr. common history includes great cul- Deputy Minister Yaakov Litzman, tural triumphs and human experi- Knesset members and members of ences. We are currently sitting in a the European Parliament, Mr. Pres- warm tent and remembering those ident of the European Parliament who shivered from the cold, and if and members of national parlia- they didn’t freeze to death they were ments in Europe. sent to the gas and burned. And we Dear guests, including you sir, also remember that one third of former Chief Rabbi of Israel Meir the Righteous Among the Nations, Lau and Mr. Avner Shalev of Yad those who risked their lives, more- Vashem. And above all, all of you over, risked the lives of their own who survived the Holocaust and children and families, to help others, are with us here today, and who the Poles, we remember. spoke in such a moving manner We stand here together, to remem- about your agony and suffering. ber the past. We help build the fu- I would like to thank the Polish ture of the rule of law, truth and government for this historical ef- hope for all peoples and all nations, fort which it has taken upon it- whose representatives are here and Photo: A-BSM self to commemorate the greatest for all of humanity.

Birkenau concentration camp: out of the Nazis’ accomplices. Such ADDRESS BY THE MINISTER OF EDUCATION “Dear friends! attempts to revise history are unac- The day of January 27 is annually ceptable. We must join our efforts OF THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION, commemorated throughout the in the fi ght against them. ANDREY FURSENKO world as International Holocaust We should clearly realize that in- Remembrance Day. It is the day difference and apathy, as well as when Auschwitz-Birkenau con- disregard for the lessons of his- centration camp was liberated in tory, ultimately lead to tragedy 1945. and crime, while trust and mutual Anatoly Shapiro, a major in the So- assistance help us to withstand the viet Army, was one of those who most dangerous threats. opened the gates of the death camp So it happened in the life of a and devoted the rest of his life to woman named Miep Gies who fi ghting against racism and geno- was helping a Jewish family in the cide. These are his words: ‘I want Netherlands to hide from the Na- to appeal to all human beings liv- zis during World War II. She then ing in this world: join your efforts, preserved Anne Frank’s diary for prevent the evil that we had to the world—the diary of a young face! People, protect life on Earth!’ girl that became unique evidence Generations who have not wit- of fascist atrocities. nessed the scourge of war must be It happened also in the life of two made aware of it. It is essential for prisoners of the Buchenwald con- all of us to realize the scale of the centration camp: Fedor Michay- tremendous price that mankind lichenko, a Russian soldier, and paid for tolerating xenophobia and Israel Lau, a Jewish boy. The chauvinism. It is equally important child managed to survive in this to remember that six million peo- hell only thanks to the help of a ple were executed because of their stranger who became the dearest ethnicity, solely because of the fact person in his life at the time. When that they were Jews. he grew up, he became the Chief 65 years have already passed since Rabbi of Israel.

Photo: A-BSM the vanquishing of fascism. Never- Today, the tragedy of World War II theless, one can still hear the voices is a painful warning. It is only we Dear Mr. President of the Republic I have the honor to be delegated of those who endeavor to justify who can secure peace and liberty of Poland, Dear Mr. Chairman of the by the President of the Russian Nazi crimes, as well as to treat on our planet. It is we, all of us, Council of Ministers of the Republic Federation to deliver his message the victims and perpetrators, the who are responsible for this to the of Poland, Dear Mr. Prime Minister to the participants in the ceremony liberators and the invaders, on an present and future generations.” of the State of Israel, Distinguished commemorating the 65th anniver- equal footing. Some countries go guests, Ladies and Gentlemen, sary of the liberation of Auschwitz- even further—they make heroes Dmitry Medvedev

portunity within the educational tragedy of the Victims of Ausch- LEARNING TO REMEMBER system for direct contact with this witz-Birkenau, but also for memory place on which history has left its to spur the younger generation, in If there is one place in the world Today, we know how fragile our awful mark. particular, to take bold responsibil- that should arouse our conscienc- world is. Sixty-fi ve years after the The world cannot build a future with- ity for the fate of the world. es, that place is Auschwitz-Birk- liberation of Auschwitz, the crime out remembering the terrible past. enau—the preserved space of the of genocide continues to be com- Knowledge about the Holocaust Katarzyna Hall former Nazi German concentra- mitted in various places around the and the Teaching of Memory, in- Minister of National Education, tion and extermination camp. De- world, as if humanity had learned cluding the diffi cult and painful Republic of Poland Prof. Władysław Bartoszewski spite the passage of the years, it nothing from the tragic lessons memories, are therefore necessary Chairman, International Auschwitz Council speaks profoundly to each sensi- of World War II. For this reason, within the educational process not Dr. Piotr M. A. Cywiński tive mind. young people should have an op- only to remind the world about the Director, Auschwitz-Birkenau Museum

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AN ADDRESS BY THE DIRECTOR OF THE AUSCHWITZ-BIRKENAU MUSEUM, PIOTR CYWIŃSKI

Thank you, Mr. President for appreciating our daily labor and the burden of responsibility given us to bear. The truth is that the understanding of the greatest drama of the 20th century by future generations depends and will depend on our work and our cooperation. We are aware of this, and we live and work with it day by day. The Memorial, as well as the form of memory itself were created by all of you who survived the Holocaust and the hell of the concentration camps. It is you who told us of your worst experiences and you who taught us how to listen to that experience. You could have remained silent, but you spoke. I am speaking to you, Dear Friends! I cannot tell you that the world has for certain heard, understood, and grown wise. I share your fears. Much remains to be done. Man has a long way to go. Yet one thing seems certain to me. Regardless of everything, everything notwithstanding, the vic- tims’ voice shall not fall silent and the earth shall not cover their cry. What was before shall never return, but the time after the Holocaust will never again be a time of sweet innocence. This place, as the conscience of Europe and the World, can never again be

passed by, silenced, erased. This land bears within itself the cry of the vic- Photo: A-BSM tims. And it shall not cover it up. Of this I am sure. Thank you for being with us. Many will say that we came here to you. But I Memory is inseparably connected with this Place. And the fate of this know well that you have come here to us, not for the fi rst and not—I hope— Place depends on us. I would like to thank the Prime Minister of the for the last time. Just as you have been here all these 65 years. Government of the Polish Republic for his personal involvement in cre- Among us there are people from so many countries, from so many inter- ating the Perpetual Fund for preserving the authenticity of this Place. national and state institutions as well as volunteer organizations. Today it I would like to thank Germany for promising support in the amount seems so easy to think that we know and understand more. The world of of €60 million. That is half the needed sum. I believe that other states today and the world to be made tomorrow depend on all of us, in a direct whose governments and citizens are conscious of the fundamental im- way. port of this Place for our history and civilization will help complete the In the meantime, how often we ourselves are passive towards evil. Yet today creation of this Fund. We owe this to the Victims of Auschwitz and all there is no war in our country. We are free. And today we need more of the the Victims of the Shoah, but we also owe it to our children. And to our Righteous! children’s children. Photo: A-BSM

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 Oś—Oświęcim, People, History, Culture magazine, no. 14, February 2010 International Youth Meeting Center

EUROPEAN FORUM “PRO PUBLICO BONO” AT THE IYMC

n 27 January at the IYMC the fi rst part of the two-day Oświęcim Academy Symposium “Human rights in a civilization of solidarity” took place. On this symbolic day, the anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz- OBirkenau, the President of the European Parliament Jerzy Buzek, along with former prisoners of the death camp: among them, Zofi a Posmysz, August Kowalczyk, and Kazimierz Albin, inaugurated the European Forum Pro Publico Bono “Citizen’s for European Solidarity.” The idea behind the forum is to integrate efforts to build and strengthen the culture of human rights in Europe. Photo: IYMC A debate on the issue of European solidarity

The European Forum “Pro the International Auschwitz Auschwitz as a symbol has sor Jerzy Kłoczowski noted: peal for solidarity of activity. Publico Bono” is the initia- Council, and Professor Jerzy not ended: “At Auschwitz, “Europeans should remem- Already today let us start tive of the President of the Kłoczowski—historian. the declaration ‘never again’ ber about human rights and looking for ways for further European Parliament, Pro- The participants of the meet- has been made many times, humanitarianism, but also development.” fessor Jerzy Buzek. Invited to ing included, among others, but of course there have been about their own sins. Our The IYMC, as an institution take part were former Presi- the Rector of the Jagiellonian many crimes against human- common Europe will suc- that for many years in prac- dent of the European Parlia- University Professor Karol ity” he added. Recalling the ceed if we will have a com- tice deals with issues of hu- ment, because it is within the Musioł, Professor Andrzej situations in Cambodia, mon memory.” man rights as part of its edu- Parliament, as an institution, Zoll, Professor Grażyna Rwanda and Chechnya, he In Stefan Wilkanowicz’s cational activities, declares that the shape of modern Eu- Skąpska, president of the argued that we still need to opinion the Forum “Pro Pub- its cooperation in the Forum rope is debated. Pro Publico Bono Walde- fi ght indifference. lico Bono” is an iniciative that Pro Publico Bono “Citizens The Forum harks back to mar Rataj, Janina Cunnelly “A uniting Europe should be is exceptionally important for European Solidarity.” the memory of Auschwitz. of the Oświęcim Institute for in solidarity when thinking for Europe and the world. In Prof. Jerzy Buzek’s visit to Therefore, the Academy of Human Rights, MEPs and about human rights” stated his memorandum he stated: the IYMC was the second in Oświęcim points to human representatives of regional, the President of the EP. In “I am convinced that it is recent years. On September rights as the cornerstone of county, city, and municipal the declaration read out dur- necessary to transform our 18 of last year along with civilization, the development authorities. ing the Forum, Jerzy Buzek civilization, especially in a former EP President Hans- of Europe based equally on Before the declaration of the stated: “Today we know culture of peace and culture Gert Pöttering, editor Mar- the memory of the totalitar- Forum, Professor Jerzy Buzek that even the most legitimate of activity. A transforma- ian Turski, a former inmate ian past and the guarantees led the debate on the issues human rights can not be re- tion so profound that it can of Auschwitz-Birkenau, and for the dignity and rights of of European solidarity with duced to a single system of seem as if it is a utopia. But Christoph Heubner—Vice- the human being. Because the participation of Professor legal norms and the next set this utopia is not a dream, President of the Internation- of this, guests of the inau- André Glucksmann, editor of rules governing social and but a display of the direction al Auschwitz Committee, he gural Forum were laureates Stefan Wilkanowicz and Pro- international life.” He also of change and this is what participated in a panel dis- of the Oświęcim Human fessor Jerzy Kłoczowski. expressed his faith in the is most important.” At the cussion Europe lost. Europe Rights Prize, in honor of “When it comes to human possibility of development of conclusion of the discussion, Reborn, organized under the John Paul II: Professor An- rights, I think about particular European civilization based Wilkanowicz said: “Out of project 1939/1989. Time of dré Glucksmann—French people, such as Marek Edel- on human rights. Auschwitz-Birkenau comes guilt and a time of hope. writer and philosopher, edi- man, Anna Politkovskaya,” Regarding the problem of an appeal to the citizens of tor Stefan Wilkanowicz from said André Glucksmann. He relating to the role of human Europe and the world, to all Cracow—Vice-President of also expressed his belief that rights in Europe, Profes- people of good will—an ap- Olga Onyszkiewicz

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PRESIDENT OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT PROFESSOR JERZY BUZEK’S DECLARATION MADE IN OŚWIĘCIM AT THE 65TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE LIBERATION OF AUSCHWITZ-BIRKENAU

Four years after the liberation of be determined in terms of Euro- Auschwitz concentration camp, pean history that is symbolized whose victims we honor today, by what Auschwitz is and always the Universal Declaration of Hu- will be. man Rights was proclaimed. To- Firstly, I regard it as our commit- day, we know that even the most ment to solidarity with the victims legitimate human rights cannot be of the crimes of the Holocaust and reduced to a single system of le- all the crimes of genocide com- gal norms and the next set of rules mitted in the history of Europe, governing social life and interna- which have a permanent place in tional law. The civilization of hu- our memory. Secondly, we must man rights needs to be supported do so with a sense of solidarity by the culture created in respect with those whose memory is and for human dignity, the innate will always remain the cause of freedom and in public spaces— pain, personal suffering, but also national and international—with a source of genuine anxiety about the respect for the principle of their and their children’s future. solidarity. And thirdly, fi nally, we must, as In which direction will Europe de- well as those who will enjoy the Photo: IYMC velop and what role in this strat- benefi ts in future, take action egy will human rights play? I am now. Union. Solidarity is the value that declare open the Forum Pro Bono referring specifi cally to the legacy My hope for the possible devel- continues through time and is still Publico “Citizens for European of Auschwitz, the remembrance opment of European civilization an important milestone in our Solidarity.” of the crimes of the Holocaust, to based on human rights derive thinking about human rights. To cooperate in creating the Fo- the tragic experience of totalitari- from the fact that I am co-creator So given the fact that the recogni- rum I invite, fi rstly, all of my anisms of the twentieth century and participant in the events of tion and realization of fundamen- predecessors from the position of —Nazism and Communism—and history, which launched “Solidar- tal human rights are still not wide- Presidents of the European Parlia- all the crimes of genocide, which ity” movement in 1980, and which, spread everywhere in the modern ment. Participants of the Forum are an open wound in Europe’s by the peaceful revolutions by the world, that human rights are not will bring together representa- heritage. I am convinced that any peoples of Central and Eastern only something to be declared, it tives of organizations and citizen’s action aimed at searching for new, Europe in 1989-1991, led, as a con- must be in their spirit and in them groups, which are acting in differ- ambitious targets for the develop- sequence, to the reunifi cation of that we educate, a uniting Eu- ent EU member states and contrib- ment of our community—its cul- Europe, setting the new horizon rope should be in solidarity when ute to the promotion of the culture ture and civilization—must fi rst of development of the European thinking about human rights, I of solidarity.

AWARDS FOR WRITERS WORKSHOPS AT THE IYMC ut of the 59 entries to the Polish-German Youth Award “Keep Remembrance” contest, awarded every three years by the Polish-German Youth Cooperation O(PNWM) in the category of the extracurricular exchange, the fi rst prize for Lan- guage of Perpetrators—Langauage of Victims has been bestowed to the International Youth Meeting Center in Oświęcim that worked in cooperation with Artistic Model Memorial Project from Berlin. The award is given to the The result of winning the Ministry for Family Affairs, The international organiza- most interesting Polish- project, which was attended Senior Citizens, Women tion Polish-German Youth German or three-way (with by 7 German and 5 Polish and Youth, Josef Hecken Cooperation (PNWM) was another partner from out- participants, were 28 liter- during the meeting of the created by the Polish and side of Poland or Germany) ary texts written by young Polish-German Youth Com- German governments in project in a given category. people under the guidance mittee on January 28, 2010 1991 and its activities have In 2009, a year of many his- of the German writer Car- in Wrocław. For this occa- been fi nanced by them ever torical anniversaries, the men Winter of Frankfurt am sion the administrators of since. PNWM funds Photo: Agnieszka Juskowiak-Sawicka motto of the contest was Oder and the Polish poet PNWM invited a delegation meetings between “Keep Remembrance.” The Ewa Lewandowska (aka of organizers and represent- young people from winners were decided by Andrzejewska) from Zielona atives of the participants of both countries and or- Polish and German histo- Góra. Teresa Miłoń-Czepiec, the workshops, who, dur- ganizes schoolings, rians, members of the Bun- an educator from the In- ing the gala in the “Old Ex- conferences, and destag and Polish Sejm, rep- ternational Youth Meeting change” in Wroclaw, pre- other educational Polish-German Youth Award resentatives of the Ministry Center in Oświęcim, pro- sented their poems written programs. In 2009, it “Keep Remembrance” for Youth Affairs of both vided educational support in Oświęcim. had a budget of over 9.2 countries, members of the for the project. We are grateful to the million Euros. In the mid- show the constant interest Polish-German Youth Com- The awards were handed PNWM for awarding us dle of last year, it celebrated that young people have for mittee, and members of the out by the Deputy Minis- the top honor as well as the the fact that two million par- meeting their peers from the management of the Polish- ter of Education Krzysztof many years of fi nancial sup- ticipants from both coun- country on the other side of German Youth Cooperation Stanowski and, the Secre- port in our Polish-German tries took part in exchange the Oder River. (PNWM). tary of State in the Federal projects. programs. These numbers Teresa Miłoń-Czepiec

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 Oś—Oświęcim, People, History, Culture magazine, no. 14, February 2010 Jewish Center

JEWISH MOTIFS AGAIN IN OŚWIĘCIM

he Jewish Center and the Jewish Motifs Association extends an invitation to peruse the 2009 Retrospective. From 2 February to 23 March 2010 at the Jewish Center there will be another showing of fi lms on Jewish topics. Below Twe are publishing some of the fi lms we propose. More information can be found on the website of the Jewish Center: www.ajcf.pl. mer cottage belonging to Ire- • 23 February (Tuesday), na Holland, her father’s wife. 5:00 pm She meets friends, who were And Thou Shalt Love, director expelled from Poland in 1968 Chaim Elbaum (Israel 2008, and who now have arrived 28’, K) for holiday from Sweden, Bronze Phoenix 2009 Netherlands, and the USA. Ohad, who is studying in the Dłużek is a magic place for special “Hesder” program for them. In the sixties, a group of orthodox soldiers, experiences friends bought cottages there profound loneliness while he to spend holiday together. conceals from others that he is They went there also in 1968, gay. When he calls a religious when they were already hotline for help, he is advised “not party members, unem- that forty days of fasting and ployed.” The father of the repentance will extinguish his fi lm director, a well-known homosexual tendencies. Ohad journalist Stanisław Brodzki, takes the required steps, and also fell into this category. after the proscribed period is This is a very personal fi lm, convinced that he is “cured.” which tells about people, for Then Ohad’s best friend Nir whom March of 68 became a returns from the army, and personal tragedy. Ohad fi nds he can no longer A frame from the fi lm 03-59, directed by Guy Yoffe evade his feelings and ques- Jerusalem. The East Side Story, tions about himself and his • 2 February (Tuesday), • 9 February (Tuesday), In the course of the last 60 director Mohammed Alatar relationship with God. 5.00 pm 5:00 pm years, the Israeli collective (Palestinian National Au- Radegast, director Borys Volunteers, director Mooly memory has been burned thorities 2008, 57’, D) My Father’s Palestinian Slave, Lankosz (Poland 2008, 60’, D) Landesman (Israel 2008, with several never to be for- The latest phase of history directors Nathanel Goldman Silver Phoenix 2009 54’, D) gotten images. A part of Is- is the Israeli occupation. In Amirav and Uri Appenzeller This is a story that opens in rael 60 events, fi lmmaker 1948, the western part of the (Sweden/Israel 2007, 52’, D) In 1941, over twenty thousand the innocence of youth. It is Dov Gil-Har returns to seven city fell under Israeli control; Bronze Phoenix 2009 West European Jews arrived at a meeting of young people of these images, meets the in 1967, the eastern part fell My Father’s Palestinian Slave is the already overcrowded ghet- from various cultures. A protagonists of the historical under Israeli occupation. a very personal and intimate to in Łódź. For the fi rst time in saga that continues along the moments, and reconstructs Since then, Israel has pur- documentary about the Israe- modern history, two distant path of life of marriage and the images. The earliest was sued a policy of Judifying li—Palestinian confl ict as it communities split not only by children, while at the same taken in 1949; the most recent the city, aiming to achieve lived and experienced in dai- two centuries of civilization time presenting numerous in 1997. “Jewish demographic supe- ly mundane life. The young but also by an emancipation questions relating to one’s riority.” Part of this policy is Jewish fi lmmaker Nathanel which had transformed the sense of being a stranger in • 16 February (Tuesday), to drive Palestinian Muslims has come to stay with his fa- life of the Western Jews faced a foreign land, of belonging, 5:00 pm and Christians out of the city, ther in Jerusalem for a year, to each other. The majority of the of one’s identity and nation- Dłużek Stop, director Irit denying their presence, his- study fi lm at the Hebrew Uni- Polish Jews considered assimi- ality. Shamgar (Poland 2008, 53’, tory, and ties to the land. The versity. His father is an Israeli lation an apostasy, whereas In the sixties Collective Com- D) documentary takes you on professor of Political Science the German Jews considered munes—the kibbutz offered The Israeli journalist Irit a journey exposing Israel’s and a veteran peace activist. their attachment to an ortho- the Promised Land to the Shamgar comes to Poland in policy to gain supremacy and While staying at his father’s dox mysticism and isolation young people of Europe—all summer of 2007 to meet the hegemony over the city and house he meets and befriends from society ignorant. They for a little bit of daily work. people, who knew her father its inhabitants. It also touches Morad, the young illegal even felt an animosity against and to see the places con- on the future of the city: Je- Palestinian laborer from the those coming from the East. Snapshots, directors Dov Gil- nected with him. She spends rusalem is the key to peace; West Bank who works in his And here the two groups were Har and Uri Rozen (Israel summer in the Lake District, without Jerusalem, there is father’s garden. The young forced to meet. 2008, 63’, D) at Dłużek Lake, in the sum- no peace for anyone. fi lmmaker confronts his fa-

A frame from the fi lm Everything fl ows, directed by Edyta Turczanik A frame from the fi lm And Thou Shalt love, directed by Chaim Elbaum

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• 16 March (Tuesday), Avigdor is a tap dancer. In bilateral relations between 5:00 pm 1939 his dancing saved is life. the two nations, including: Sharon, director Dror Moreh Today, he is 88 and lives in a the illegal immigration from (Israel 2008, 90 ‘, D) retirement home. When Av- the shores of France to pre- In December 2003, Prime igdor dances on the parquet state Israel, the 1956 “hon- Minister Ariel Sharon pub- fl oor of his room, he laughs eymoon” phase during the licly announced a plan to until he’s out of breath, and Suez Campaign, the 1967 pull out of Gaza. In the face with the last ounce of his Six-Day-War, the De Gaulle of criticism from members of strength he pushes his tired regime, the 1982 Lebanon his own party, he ordered the feet to do a few more steps. War, deportation of Yasser withdrawal of 21 thousand For Avigdor, dancing isn’t a Arafat from Beirut, premier- Jewish settlers from that hobby and isn’t therapy. It’s ship of Ariel Sharon and the area. Father of settlement the way to survive. 2005 disengagement from movement, the general re- Gaza. The fi lm was pro- sponsible for the massacre in Cejwin, director Larry Frisch, duced at a critical time for Sabra and Shatila, he became (Israel 2008, 11’, K) both countries as they strug- a statesman who devoted Director Larry Frisch discov- gled to defi ne and redesign himself to working for peace ered 1930’s fi lm depicting diplomatic relations amidst in the Middle East —with full activities he experienced as the rise of fundamental Islam awareness and responsibility a child at the Pioneer Jew- in France. The fi lm incorpo- he destroyed his life’s work. ish-Zionist summer camp rates rare visual materials Who was Ariel Sharon? How located in New Jersey, USA. and interviews with people did he come to take this his- As a historic, but very per- who both participated in toric step, which led to the sonal memory, Frisch edited and had historical impact on eviction of settlers from Gaza the material, then wrote and the future of Israel. and Samaria, opening the narrated this moving tribute road to peace? to long ago events. Block of animated fi lms from the Division of Animation Thanks to him we Live, director Happy Jews, director Jonathan Academy of Art and Design A. Marek Drążewski (Poland Rozenbaum (Poland 2008, 6’, Bezalel in Jerusalem (68’): 2008, 46 ‘, D) D) This fi lm presents Wilm Ho- The Jewish Community of Live Life, animation: Jonath- senfeld, a German offi cer and, Warsaw Special Award 2009 an Pasternak (Israel 2007, among others, the administra- March of 1968 signifi es a 5’:30’’). tor of a camp for prisoners of special moment in Poland’s war in Pabianice in the fi rst post-war history. Thousands Matan, animation: Ofeer weeks of the occupation, who of Polish Jews were forced to Hassan and Tomer Gilron in 1944 in Warsaw saved the leave their country of birth (Israel 2007, 5’:15’’). life of the pianist Władysław as a result of an anti-Semitic Szpilman. Wilm Hosenfeld, campaign launched by the Supper Grupper, animation: his attitude and experience Communist authorities. Jonathan Grupper, Andrey during the German occupa- Among them was the fi lm di- Smirnow, Itay Cohen (Israel tion of Pabianice, and post- rector’s father, who, for many 2007, 4’:55’’). war fate can and should be years, was not allowed to go the subject of joint refl ection back. Rozenbaum makes use Half Baked, animation: Nad- by Poles and Germans. The of archival materials and an Pines (Israel 2007, 1’:34’’). common history of remem- tells the story of his family brance of both countries can in a personal as well as per- Moon Seek, animation: Daf- ther on the juxtaposition of Knopp (Poland 2008, 28’, K) be placed here—a real foun- verse and amusing way. The na Cohen and Elad Dabush the personal and the political. The story of Maria Dworzecka, dation for understanding and starting point is a meeting of (Israel 2007, 3’:19’’). He nudges his father to help who was saved from exter- reconciliation. 1968 emigrants in the Israeli Morad. But the political situa- mination by a Polish couple, town of Ashkelon, where Gary and Mildred, anima- tion doesn’t permit anyone to is one of many that may be • 22 March (Monday), the director played with his tion: Rivka Press (Israel 2007, step out their roles as occupier perceived as metaphysical 5:00 pm parents when he was a child 5’:34’’). and occupied. The fi lm deals since, from the rational point Commander Edelman, director and where he had his fi rst with the emotional and moral of view, it should not have Artur Więcek “Baron” (Po- encounter with... alcohol. True Love Hotel, anima- core of the confl ict, but holds happened at all. A series land 2008, 58’, D) The fi lm was made during tion: Alon Gaasz (Israel 2008, a very personal, intimate and of extraordinary events oc- Before the war Marek Edel- the documentary workshops 6’:50’’). down to earth perspective. curred, intreaguing and basic man was a Jewish activist entitled March 1968. Farewells material for the fi lm. How- in the Bund, but in 1943 he and Returns (www.march68. Hardcover & Paperback, • 2 March (Tuesday), ever, what is particularly became one of the leaders of org) organized as part of the animation: Uri Alonim and 5:00 pm interesting for the director is the Warsaw Ghetto uprising, Polish Year in Israel 2008- Mosze Serwatka (Israel 2008, Double Life, director Paulina the post-war life of the hero- a year later he also fought in 2009. 3’). Fiejdasz (Poland 2008, 30’, D) ine, who decided to do some- the Warsaw Uprising. After Izaak Landesdorfer’s name thing extraordinary and give the War, he did not leave Po- Holiday of Lights, director Mi- Kill the Armadillo, anima- could be found on the famous a chance to a defenceless child land —he stayed as a witness haal Danziger (Great Britain tion: Rotem Aharon and Shindler’s list. After the war he and she adopted six-year-old of the Holocaust, but also so 2008, 10’, K) Janiw Ben-Dor, (Israel 2008, changed it into a Polish name Ania from an orphanage. that he could fi ght for human A dramatic story about fam- 2’:13’’). in order to hide his true identi- She adopted a Polish child rights. In 1980, he cofounded ily affairs and values. Holiday ty. Even though 65 years have from an orpahage and gave “Solidarity” and during mar- of Lights is the story of a young Melodica, animation: Jonath- passed since the dissolution of her the opportunity for a bet- tial law he was imprisoned. In Jewish English woman who an Wasserman and Amitaj the Cracow’s ghetto, the man, ter life. the free Poland he did not stop has grown apart from her fa- Lew (Israel 2008, 5’:36’’). who claims he owes his life to fi ghting: he fought for human ther ever since her marriage Oscar Shindler, still does not • 9 March (Tuesday), rights all over the world, tak- to a German non-Jew. It is a Tess has a stain on her dress, want to reveal his true identity 5:00 pm ing part in the NATO inter- story of clashes of identities animation: Eran Flax (Israel so that nobody associates the Gut Szabes Vietnam, direc- vention in Kosovo… The fi lm and values, as they happen 2008, 4’:02’’). published memoirs with him. tor Ido and Yael Zand (Israel Commander Edelman is a docu- within the personal family By chance he meets a girl, the 2008, 52’, D) mentary of Edelman from sphere. Boy, director Dmitry Geller director of the fi lm, her inter- A documentary clash of cul- the inside, in which, from the (Israel 2008, 16’). est in the history of the War tures and the joy of learning perspective of his armchair, • 23 March (Tuesday), awakens a need in Izaak to about the very essence of he sets the limits of decency. 5:00 pm Musical Chairs, directors talk about the hidden truth. serenity. A couple of young While the world around him France-Israel, A Diffi cult Re- Jonni Aroussi and Ben Gen- During the documenting of Jews as Chabad Lubawicz moves faster and faster… lationship, director Gérard islaw (Israel 2007, 4’). history a friendship is formed emissaries, with a one way Benhamou (France/Israel between the old man and the ticket are sent to Vietnam to Rosenzweig—born to dance, 2007, 60’, D) K – Short Film director… create a Jewish community in director Keren Hakak (Israel This is a piercing look at A – Animated Film Maria and Anna, director Jacek the Communist country. 2008, 15’, K) the high and low points of D – Documentary Film

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 Oś—Oświęcim, People, History, Culture magazine, no. 14, February 2010 Center for Dialogue and Prayer Foundation

THE END OF SILENCE

his was the theme of this year’s annual recollections at the Center for Dialogue and Prayer. Silence is a way of dealing with traumatic experiences of past and repressing the memories about these events. How- Tever, silence can also become a burden on future generations and can extend the length the trauma lasts. One individual who ended the silence within her family and sought out the truth is Sister of the Heart of Jesus and missionary Bartholomäa from Münster. For dozens of years she searched for her father.

When Sister Bartholomäa resulted in fi nally fi nd- several questions about Bar- Faustyna was named Maria. Today she is happy that has was 13 years old, she dis- ing them. In the Baptismal tholomäa’s mother, the letter Rediscovering the family found her siblings, even covered that her mother’s records in Jeleśnia the much included photographs of her was impossible, having only though it was necessary to husband was not her father sought-after information father. This is how she saw their German names, which have the help of translators and that her real father was about her father and family him for the very fi rst time. Bartholomäa’s mother gave during the meetings. How- a forced laborer in Ger- was found. At fi rst this was As it happened, the Diocese in order to fi nd them. ever, there exists a language many during the Second disappointing: her father of Tarnów contacted Jeleśnia All the while, Sister Bar- of the heart, which says World War. His post-war died in 1985, however his in connection with the ques- tholomäa had to fi ght the more than words. After fate was unknown. Dur- two sisters were still alive. tions. Thanks to the help of opposition within her family the visit at the Center for ing her search, Sister Bar- During the international the Diocese, this led to the as well as within herself. She Dialogue and Prayer, Sis- tholomäa met much re- missionary congress in May fi rst personal meeting dur- was often haunted by the ter Bartholomäa continued sistance, mainly from her 2006, Sister Bartholomäa met ing which Bartholomäa met thought: who is her father? her trip to her rediscovered own family, who remained the bishop of Tarnów, Wik- her sister Anna and brother Does she have a large fam- family in Jeleśnia. completely silent about this tor Skworc, who promised Tadeusz. Also, several other ily, would she bother those topic. From her uncles she to help in making contact. things became clear. Why she sought? She thought Max Sundermann learned that in the last days Bartholomäa wrote a letter couldn’t the Red Cross fi nd about various options, how- of the war a Pole raped her in which she presented her the sisters? Forced laborers ever she decided to continue Based on interviews by Maria Greń and Izabela Staszczyk mother. However, Bar- entire history. After several had to take German sur- her search and fi nd informa- with Sister Bartholomäa. tholomäa didn’t believe this weeks there came a reply names, if their real names tion about her roots and end story because her mother from Faustyna, one of her sounded too foreign. And the long silence within her Translated (from German) by: never spoke badly of her father’s sisters. Other than this is how, for example, family. Bogumił Owsiany father and knew details of his family. With this infor- mation Sister Bartholomäa turned to the civil registry offi ces in the area, as well as to the Heimatsbund (Home- land Organization) in town, where her father had been held. But, she did not fi nd any assistance there and some of the information she sought was destroyed in attacks during the War. Her search stalled for some time, but her desire to fi nd her father never faded. Several years later, in the 1960s, Bartholomäa read an article about German chil- dren of Wehrmacht soldiers abroad. In the hope of get- ting an answer, she turned to Wehrmacht headquarters from where she was direct- ed to the International Red Cross search agency. How- ever, in 2003 she once again tried to get information and it ended in only getting a document from the Red Cross stating there is a lack of information. That year, Bartholomäa’s mother died. By coincidence, during a lecture in 2004, Sister Bar- tholomäa got into contact with a Polish priest, who has helped her since that time in her search. Together they wrote to dioceses in the vi- cinity of Cracow in the hope of fi nding any sign of her father. While each diocese sent only negative respons- es, these attempts seemed hopeless. However, after several weeks there came another letter from the Dio- cese of Katowice, in which the archivist informed of a second, deeper search for Photo: CDP any sign of this family that Sister Bartholomäa

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Ostrava, Moravia [now in the was helping the prisoners. He Bielsko, where he underwent Czech Republic]. He found a spent a good deal of time in the interrogation for two months. PEOPLE OF GOOD WILL job as a machinists apprentice immediate vicinity of the camp. Next, they transferred him at a factory in Witkowice. He He delivered food and medi- to the investigative prison in had to leave Ostrava after get- cine, and conveyed messages Mysłowice, which was run KAZIMIERZ JĘDRZEJOWSKI ting into a fi ght with fanatical orally to and from the camp. He by the Katowice Gestapo. De- (1924-1944) members of the Hitlerjugend, also served as an intermediary spite being subjected to every and returned on foot to the fam- in the correspondence between imaginable type of torture, he Born into a peasant family in Executive Council in Biała Kra- ily farmstead. He found that prisoners and their families. refused to give them the infor- Osiek near Oświęcim on July kowska. Such agrarian activists his parents had been expelled On more than one occasion, he mation they were after. While 12, 1924, the son of Adam as Wincenty Witos and Józef in the meantime and were liv- received secret messages from he was in the Mysłowice and Anna, nee Wasztyl. He Putek were frequent visitors in ing in Grojec. When he learned prisoners and delivered them prison, he also managed to was raised in very straitened the family home. from his father about the exist- in person to the addresses in- establish contact with the out- circumstances, with the ten- His graduation from elemen- ence of the Peasant Battalions dicated. Aside from his work in side world, sending out secret hectare farm that his father tary school opened the doors (BCh) and their effort to help the Auschwitz relief effort, he messages through clandestine worked being insuffi cient to to further education for Kazi- the prisoners in Auschiwtz, took an active part in other clan- channels. The suggestion arose support a family of ten. Kazi- mierz Jędrzejowski. He en- he joined the organization. He destine work. He was a courier of staging an escape for him, mierz Jędrzejowski began his rolled in the Mechanical School took his membership pledge for the District BCh Headquar- but he refused the opportunity education in the public school in Sułkowice, but the war broke in the presence of the powiat ters in the areas annexed to the because he feared that it could in Osiek Górny, and completed out on the day his fi rst year of commander, Wojciech Jekiełek Reich. He was also entrusted put others at risk. On May 16, it in Osiek Dolny, where he schooling there was supposed (pseudonym “Żmija”) and with the position of chairman 1944, he was transferred from fi nished the seventh grade in to begin, canceling any oppor- his father Adam (“Zawrat”), of the clandestine “Młody Las” Mysłowice to Auschwitz, and 1939. He was a diligent pupil tunity he may have had for fur- a very committed member (Young Forest) youth organiza- imprisoned in block no. 11, the who read widely and liter- ther education. of the peasant underground. tion in the Biała powiat, which “Death Block.” Ten days later, ally “inhaled” books from a During the occupation pe- Kazimierz Jędrzejowski took was a continuation of the Wici the Katowice Gestapo’s sum- wide range of subject areas, as riod, he continued to live with the conspiratorial pseudonym Union of Rural Youth. mary court sentenced him to a result of which he acquired his parents in Osiek and help “Maniek,” but his friends in the On November 12, 1943, he was death. On that same day, May knowledge far transcending on the farm. He used his free movement called him “Kazik.” stopped at random in Malec. 26, he was executed in Ausch- the school curriculum. He time to teach himself German, At fi rst, his main task in the The gendarmes searched him witz II-Birkenau. came into contact with the in which he became fl uent. In underground was distributing thoroughly at their station in After the war, Kazimierz peasant political movement in March 1941, he was taken away the clandestine press. Soon, he Osiek, and found a piece of Jędrzejowski was posthu- childhood, thanks to the fact for conscript labor in Bavaria, became head of communica- paper, with the names of the mously awarded the Order of that his father was active in the but escaped within a week and tion for the BCh Biała Region. members of the “Młody Las” the Cross of Grunwald Third Peasant Party (SL), serving as made his way back to Osiek. In January 1943, he was named organization on it, sewn into Class and the Oświęcim Cross. chairman of the Peasant Circle Fearing that he was under threat commander of the BCh group his collar. This was damn- A monument to his heroic in Osiek and, at the same time, of punishment, his parents sent in the vicinity of the Auschwitz ing evidence. The gendarmes deeds was unveiled in Malec as a member of the SL Powiat him to stay with relatives in camp; the group’s main task took him to the prison in on Peasants’ Day in 1964. VESTIGES OF HISTORY FROM THE COLLECTIONS OF THE AUSCHWITZ MUSEUM

miniature set of furniture for dolls has been, and still is to this day, a present of dreams for children. This present is more ex- Atraordinary, because it is from the time of the Second World War. And it is made more valuable due to the fact that it was given by prison-

ers of Auschwitz out of gratitude for help they received. Photo: A-BSM Collections Department Miniature set of furniture The set of toys consists of a ers could eat in their home most likely leftover from table, cabinets, a bed, and and barn. One of Hermina’s bigger projects, stand out items were made secretly by created with children in two nightstands. These were sons, Tadeusz, was 11 years for their precision and so- those who exposed them- mind by camp prisoners, stir given to Hermina Niedziela old when the war broke out. lidity. Each cupboard is fi n- selves to further humiliation and create questions about of Brzeszcze-Budy. Risking He also helped his mother ished with metal, has four and punishment. the limits of human cruelty the lives of her whole family, get food to prisoners. legs, while the table and bed There are few items dedicat- —because they concern the she and mother Zofi a Bre- The mini furniture was most have been decorated with ed to children that have been most vulnerable victims of cher provided to prisoners certainly created in a camp carvings done by hand. The preserved. So, the more val- all wars. food, medication, and even workshop. Made from vari- attention to detail is amaz- uable they are today. These Agnieszka Sieradzka, organized a place prison- ous types of wood, that was ing, given the fact that these toys, like all other things A-BSM Collections Department FROM GANOBIS’S CABINET

ritten in the history of Oświęcim are the activities of legionnaires, who were raised here and led by school inspector Wacław Zajączkowski. The president of the group Wwas Dr. Antoni Ślosarczyk. The beginning of the crea- with all needed accessories, of Polish Legions. From our fragment of a shell casing that tion of the Gymnastic Society while not sparing his own town and surrounding area, I bought at an antiques shop Sokól dates back to 21 Decem- money. The division met on 649 soldiers fought in the in Bielsko. It is an incredible ber 1912. Part of this soci- the Oświęcim main square legions. 31 August 1914, the piece of memorabilia made ety had a division that raised and held a ceremony on 24 Oświęcim County National by a legionnaire who is not young people in the so-called August 1914 and the next Committee was formed un- known by name. It is a piece “spirit of independce.” When day, 43 young people left for der the leadership of mayor of metal cut from a shell and mobilization was announced, their destination. Many of Roman Mayzel. engraved into the middle of aw Ganobis

ł the “Sokól division” decided the town’s people said fare- Among my memorabilia, I it is an emblem that has an to send the entire team of wells to the sound of music, have much material connect- eagle in the middle of it—the the Polish Legions and equip as they made their way to- ed to that time period. These symbol of the Oświęcim Le- them at their own expense. wards the train station. At are documents, identifi cation gionnaires. Next to that ap-

Photo: Miros The president of Sokól, Dr. later dates, larger divisions cards, articles, letters, and pear the words “Oświęcim Fragment of a shell engraved Ślosarczyk, took it upon him- left Oświęcim and were add- photographs. However, one 1914-1916.” with an eagle self to equip the legionnaires ed to the II and III Regiments of the most valuable to me is a Mirosław Ganobis

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 Oś—Oświęcim, People, History, Culture magazine, no. 14, February 2010 Photographer

PHOTO REPORT n January 27, 2010, sixty-fi ve years have passed since the libera- tion of Auschwitz, the Nazi German Concentration and Death OCamp. The main commemoration took place at the former camp of Auschwitz II-Birkenau. Taking part in the commemoration were former Auschwitz prisoners, the President and Prime Minister of Poland, Prime Minister of Israel, government delegations from over 40 countries, the Chairman and members of the European Parliament, representatives of the Polish Parliament, a delegation from the Knesset, representatives of the diplomatic corps, religious leaders, local social and government lead- ers, invited guests, and all those who wished to honor the memory of the victims of the German Nazis.

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