O Ś WIĘ CIM ISSN 1899-4407 PEOPLE CULTURE HISTORY SAVING AUTHENTICITY —COMMON RESPONSIBILITY 66TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE LIBERATION OF AUSCHWITZ no. 26 February 2011 Oś—Oświęcim, People, History, Culture magazine, no. 26, February 2011 EDITORIAL BOARD: Oś—Oświęcim, People, History, Culture magazine EDITORIAL The February issue of Oś is domi- We handed over two pages of the families to the Auschwitz Memorial Site. nated by the events of January 27, monthly to participants of the project en- The exhibition can be viewed at the Mu- the 66th anniversary of the lib- titled Memory and Commemoration in the seum, and also on the website: www. eration of the former Nazi German Era of Web 2.0. In the January seminar, auschwitz.org.pl. Concentration and Extermination organized by Maximilian Kolbe Werk, Presently, we also invite you for the Camp of Auschwitz. In this issue you young people from several countries March review of fi lms on Jewish top- Editor: can read an account of the ceremony took part. The articles in Oś are the fi rst ics at the Jewish Center. At the Monday Paweł Sawicki and the most important words that were effects of the group’s work in the press. screenings, as many as 14 fi lms will be Editorial secretary: uttered during the event—speeches by We would like to draw your attention to shown from the International Film Festi- Agnieszka Juskowiak-Sawicka former prisoners as well as Presidents: an interview with one of the participants val Jewish Motifs. The monthly Oś is one Editorial board: of the Republic of Poland, Bronisław of the project, Mustafa Yakupov from of the media patrons of the event. Bartosz Bartyzel Komorowski, and the Federal Republic Macedonia, as well as the photo essay. Wiktor Boberek of Germany, Christian Wulff. We also In addition to that, in this volume you Paweł Sawicki Jarek Mensfelt write about the visit by the presidents to can also read about an exhibit of items Editor-in-chief Olga Onyszkiewicz the International Youth Meeting Center. donated by former prisoners and their [email protected] Jadwiga Pinderska-Lech Artur Szyndler Columnist: Mirosław Ganobis Design and layout: Agnieszka Matuła, Grafi kon A GALLERY OF THE 20TH CENTURY Translations: David R. Kennedy Proofreading: Within the confi nes of the The second episode oc- “kołchoźnik” headquarters cisely: the life and activities Beata Kłos history of a given city, you curred in the vicinity of the was in the post offi ce build- of respective [Communist] Cover: can take on one of its individ- fi rst. Back then, within the ing on Jagiełły Street. For party cells within the city’s Paweł Sawicki ual parts—squares, streets, system of state radio broad- some time, the local radio workplaces. But this ended Photographer: Paweł Sawicki and give them particular at- casts, there was a system of system broadcast its city in- quickly! The “Polish thaw” tention. so-called cable radio: speak- formation programs. They came in October of 1956, And here, where we live, ers connected by cable to were prepared by a “crazed with Comrade “Wiesław” such an initiative has taken a local headquarters that reporter”—a young man, at its fore. The “crazed re- PUBLISHER: shape—the detailed descrip- transmitted a single chan- who always wore an un- porter,” together with his tion of one of our streets: nel of Polish Radio. These done red tie, whose image program disappeared from Auschwitz-Birkenau Jagiełły Street, divided into were commonly known as was refl ected in the window the broadcasts, entering State Museum its pre-War, Wartime, and a “kołchoźnik” [a kolkhoz when looking from the street the… history of the city and www.auschwitz.org.pl post-War history. Because worker], and I am not sure as he constantly rushed and the street! And cable radio this used to be “my street,” if this was because of a for- ran! The effect of his “edito- did rather well for a good here are two small peeks into eign word affi liation, or rial liveliness” was a weekly number of years! PARTNERS: its early post-War years. because of “the high qual- program, lasting more than In the 1950s, the villa of Kul- ity and professional stand- a dozen minutes, dedicated Andrzej Winogrodzki Jewish czycki family, neighboring ard.” Where we lived, the to life in the city, more pre- Center the “small palace,” and the two tenement buildings next www.ajcf.pl door were taken over by the most important government department of that period: Center for Dialogue the Department of Security and Prayer [Urząd Bezpieczeństwa]! Foundation Among the many employ- www.centrum-dialogu.oswiecim.pl ees, who, once the time came, left their place of work on foot—because having a private automobile was out International Youth of the question then—there Meeting Center were two… very pretty girls! www.mdsm.pl Perhaps they were humble secretaries or typists, but maybe they were vitally im- portant assistants of their de- IN COOPERATION manding bosses. Each day, WITH: in the company of their uni- formed and civilian clothed Kasztelania colleagues, they walked past www.kasztelania.pl our tenement building. Dur- ing the years of general pov- erty and greyness, they were State Higher something interesting and Vocational Schoolol in Oświęcim attractive. They drew atten- tion to themselves with their www.pwsz-oswiecim.pli i l beauty, their fi gure, and the way they dressed. One day, I noticed them from the bal- Editorial address: aw Ganobis’s Collection „Oś – Oświęcim, Ludzie, cony of our home, and I said ł Historia, Kultura” to my father, who was stand- Państwowe Muzeum ing next to me: “Those girls Auschwitz-Birkenau ul. Więźniów Oświęcimia 20 are pretty!” And all he said 32-603 Oświęcim was: “So, they’re even more e-mail: [email protected] dangerous!” Photo from Miros Jagiełły Street. Photo courtesy of Henryk Dera 151413121110987654321 Oś—Oświęcim, People, History, Culture magazine, no. 26, February 2011 WE ARE FACING THE CHALLENGE OF SAVING THE AUTHENTICITY OF THE AUSCHWITZ MEMORIAL anuary 27, 2011 marks the passage of 66 years since the liberation of the German Nazi Concentration and Exter- mination Camp Auschwitz. During the anniversary observances Professor Władysław Bartoszewski, former Jprisoner and initiator of the Auschwitz-Birkenau Foundation, addressed a special Appeal to the entire world for help in maintaining the authentic original remains of the former camp. “I wish to help preserve this Auschwitz prisoners Eva testimony as a living symbol Umlauf, August Kowalczyk, of genocide and intolerance. and Professor Władysław I do so in remembrance of Bartoszewski were among all the victims who died in those who addressed the Auschwitz-Birkenau and of gathering. those who survived this hell. “By preventing Auschwitz I do so in view of what hap- from decay we give a sig- pened, what is happening nal for resistance against the now, and what could happen Holocaust, which, accord- again,” we read in the Pledge, ing to the plans of the Nazis, which is available to be signed should be so total that no on a special page at the Ausch- trace of the victims would witz Museum website. remain, not even of the ex- Sawicki Taking part in the anni- termination process. For this ł versary of liberation were purpose we established the former Auschwitz prisoners, Foundation Auschwitz-Birk- the presidents of the Repub- enau, which collects money Photo: Pawe lic of Poland and the Fed- for the preservation of the eral Republic of Germany, former camp. We are appeal- only as a great affront to the other, symbolizes the crimes Jerzy Buzek, President of the parliamentarians from the ing to the whole world for conscience, not only as the that the Germans committed European Parliament, sent a Polish Sejm and the German support of this enterprise,” unhealed wound, but also as against millions of human be- special letter to those in at- Bundestag, members of the said Professor Bartoszewski. a place for thinking together ings. “Unlike anything else, tendance at the ceremony. diplomatic corps, clergy, re- “Auschwitz plays an excep- about the future of the world the name «Auschwitz» stands “I call on all countries to gional and local offi cials and tionally important role as a and about the future of hu- for the crimes perpetrated by commit themselves to main- community leaders, invited museum. I am pleased that manity,” said Polish Presi- Germans against millions of taining this special place. By guests, and people wishing we are approaching the mo- dent Bronisław Komorowski. human beings. They fi ll us supporting Auschwitz-Birk- to honor the memory of the ment when we will be able Germany has contributed Germans with disgust and enau fi nancially, we support victims of the German Nazis. to say that, in the fi nancial €60 million in support of the shame. They lay upon us a the testimony of our terrible In their remarks, speakers sense and in the organiza- Auschwitz-Birkenau Foun- historical responsibility that past,” he wrote. “Even in drew attention to the need tional sense, this place will be dation, and the country’s is independent of individual times of crisis, or perhaps es- to preserve the Memorial for permanently secure. It will president stressed that the guilt,” said German President pecially in times of crisis, we future generations. Former function permanently not name “Auschwitz,” like no Christian Wulff. must uphold the memory of will be preserved in its physi- THE ADDRESS BY PROF. WŁADYSŁAW BARTOSZEWSKI cal appearance: the “blocks,” the huts, the ramp and the ruins of gas Ladies and Gentlemen, political prisoners were commit- We, the survivors, have been try- chambers and crematoria, as well ted to this camp, also prisoners ing hard during our whole life to as those thousands of objects sto- It happened seventy years ago, on of war, soldiers of the Red Army fulfi ll our commitment to those len from the murdered—suitcases, Septembe r 21, 1940, in Warsaw.