Bulletin July-December 1999
Memorial and Museum of Auschwitz - Birkenau at Oswiecim Brzezinka Contents:
VISITORSIn 1999, 441,769 people visited the Museum. Of this number, 216,773 came from abroad. This is over 100,000 fewer visitors than in the previous year. The fall in the number of visitors from abroad was due mostly to the outbreak of hostilities in Kosovo. Many groups, especially from the USA and Western Europe, cancelled planned trips. Visitors came from 98 countries. Commemorations and Rallies were held in 1999 to mark:
Politicians who visited the Museum included:
Members of the Museum staff gave 144 lectures and readings. 76 film and television crews, of which 10 came from Poland and 66 from abroad, worked on the Museum grounds. THE ARCHIVESBetween June and December 1999, the Archives of the Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum acquired such valuable items as original camp documents (letters from camp and notices about the deaths of prisoners), copies of documents (including a copy of a notebook containing the names of approximately 1,000 young prisoners sent to the Auschwitz concentration camp bricklaying school - Maurerschule), accounts by former prisoners, scholarly studies, questionnaires filled in by former prisoners, and 786 photographs (including 39 aerial survey photographs depicting land use in the area around the Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum, taken by Wojciech Gorgolewski in November 1996; and 56 crime-scene photographs taken during the visit of the Court from Frankfurt am Main to the Auschwitz-Birkenau site on December 14-16, 1964, and donated by the Fritz Bauer Institute in Frankfurt; 25 aerial photographs of Auschwitz I, II, and III from the United States National Archives and Records Administration; 48 photographs of Auschwitz prisoners from the collections of the Military-Medical Museum in Saint Petersburg, Russia; and 39 photographs by Piotr Janik, mounted on posters in the 1970s for the exhibition titled "Nie" (No); as well as 92 photographs made available for reproduction by former prisoners and their families). In the second half of 1999, 15,837 microfilm fiches were made of various documents in the archives, as well as 818 35-mm. negatives, 2,677 6x9 cm negatives, 13,490 photographic prints (including approximately 400 camp photographs of prisoners, for a Memorial Book dedicated to the prisoners in the transports from Warsaw), and 5,143 photocopies of documents. Work has begun on processing the photocopies made in 1998 and 1999 from microfilms of documents preserved in the archives in Moscow (comprising a total of approximately 130,000 pages). The copies are being classified according to the divisions of the camp administration in which they were created, or according to the appropriate construction projects of the Waffen SS and Police Construction Board. In the second half of 1999, 16,000 such copies were categorized. This documentation is being used to create a computerized database of German firms (the names of 1,062 firms are listed so far) and forced laborers. Thirty-seven feature and documentary films connected with the history of Auschwitz concentration camp were added to the Film Collection in the Archives. THE COLLECTIONSFrom June to December 1999, the Museum acquired 114 exhibits for its collections. The acquisitions include 59 artistic works (paintings, graphics, drawings, coins, stamps, medals, and posters) and 55 historical exhibits (textiles, camp equipment, and terror equipment). The most valuable acquisitions include:
1,103 exhibits were transferred, of which 212 were loaned for exhibition to:
PRESERVATIONIn the second half of 1999, the pace and energy of preservation work maintained the level established in previous years. Work financed by the Polish Ministry of Culture and National Heritage continued, as did projects underwritten by the Auschwitz-Birkenau Death Camp Victims Memorial Fund in Oswiecim and by subsidies from the Federated German Länder, the Government of the Kingdom of Belgium, and the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg. More than 340,000 zloty from Polish government appropriations and from the Museum's own income was earmarked in 1999 for maintenance and preservation work. For example, caring for the grassy areas at Birkenau alone cost approximately 100,000 zloty. The following projects, connected with the high-priority work on the Birkenau "Sauna," were completed or continued with funding from the German Federal Länder in the second half of 1999:
Overall, the project titled "Technical equipment of the [Sauna] building" cost 1,177,000 zloty in 1999. A subsidy from the Government of the Kingdom of Belgium was used for the continuation in the second half of the year of preservation work on the Blockführerstube and "New Laundry" buildings at the site of Auschwitz I. The Museum also signed a contract with the Ronald S. Lauder Foundation (USA) on financing the adaptation of a part of the building known as the Aufnahmegebäude (which now contains the Visitor Reception Center) as a preservation workshop. The project, which will cost a total of $2,700,000, began with the updating of the 1995 technical plans. Adaptation work is scheduled to begin in early 2000. The overall cost of preservation work done at the Museum in 1999, including maintenance, documentation, and research, exceeded 3,500,000 zloty. RESEARCH ACTIVITYWork continued through 1999 on a major forthcoming scholarly publication, "Ksiegi Pamieci. Transporty Polakow z Warszawy do KL Auschwitz" (A Memorial Book: Poles Transported from Warsaw to Auschwitz Concentration Camp). The book will include a list of more than 26,000 people deported from Warsaw to Auschwitz concentration camp. A scholarly study of the Bobrek sub-camp of Auschwitz concentration camp was completed and sent to the printers'. Fifteen reportages, interviews, and historical articles on the history of Auschwitz concentration camp were published, mostly in the Pro Memoria bulletin, but also in the general press: "Polityka," "Trybuna," and "Nowa Trybuna Polska." Subjects covered included the denial of Nazi crimes by historical revisionists, the exploitation of prisoner labor by German industry, the responsibility of industrial firms for the tragic fate of the prisoners, and the story of Gypsy children in Auschwitz concentration camp. Consultations Members of the Museum staff offered consultation at the Museum to representatives of similar institutions, historians, journalists, film crews, and others interested in the history of Auschwitz concentration camp. Subjects covered in these consultations included:
The staff of the Section for Former Prisoners' Affairs collected information on Auschwitz concentration camp prisoners and members of the resistance movement. The section entered personal data on 1,670 people into its filing system, which is based on questionnaires. Surveys of former prisoners continued to be carried out. Documents obtained and added to the archives included seven original letters and camp cards, as well as secret messages from prisoners. Over 3,700 prisoners' files and a subject index to fourteen volumes of the Statements Collection were entered in the computer data base. Several dozen accounts by former Auschwitz concentration camp prisoners were transcribed. The Office for Information on Prisoners researched and sent answers to 2,374 inquiries (1,391 of which came from outside Poland) about the time spent in Auschwitz by prisoners, and their subsequent fates. Information was also offered in person to 3,202 inquiries made on the spot at the Archives (1,520 of these inquiries came from persons living outside Poland). Statistics indicate that the greatest number of answers to inquiries are made to the families of Jewish victims of Auschwitz concentration camp, and to living former Jewish prisoners. PUBLICATIONS The Museum published a range of new titles and reprints of books that had exhausted their previous print runs. "Auschwitz 1940-1945. Central Issues in the History of the Camp" - the German version of the five-volume collective effort; Halina Birenbaum, "Wolanie o pamiec" (Crying Out for Memory) and "Nadzieja umiera ostatnia" (Hope Dies Last) in English (a reprint of the previous edition, which sold out completely); "Auschwitz. A History in Photographs" (in English); "Auschwitz. Glosy z otchlani" (Voices from the Ground, in Italian and English); "Antologia poezji oswiecimskiej" (An Anthology of Auschwitz Poetry, in English); Rudolf Reder, "Belzec"; Three types of posters: "Gwiazda Dawida" (Star of David), "Swieca" (The Candle), and "Buty" (Shoes)- reprints of the most popular posters, whose print runs sold out completely during the season. The Publishing Department of the Museum was present at three international book fairs in 1999: in Leipzig on March 25-28, in Jerusalem on June 20-25, and in Frankfurt on October 13-18. EXHIBITIONSWork continued in the second half of the year on the permanent exhibition in the "Sauna." Final revisions were made to the artistic design and bids were accepted for specific parts of the work. EDUCATIONThe postgraduate course. October marked the beginning of a new cycle in the postgraduate course on "Totalitarianism, Nazism, and the Holocaust," organized jointly by the Museum and the Pedagogical Academy in Cracow. As in the previous year, the course is included for humanities teachers who wish to broaden their knowledge. The course aims at offering insights into the history of Nazism and the concentration camps, and the persecution of the Jews in the Third Reich. The students also learn about the history of the Jews of Poland and the relations between the Poles and the Jews. There are essays in sociology covering the process by which prejudice and stereotypes arise and are formed, and on the issues in the dialogue between Judaism and Christianity. Seminars and conferences organized for teachers in the second half of 1999 included:
Educational activities between September and December 1999 included:
Sociology Dr. Marek Kucia of the Jagiellonian University concluded sociological research for the "Auschwitz 1999 Project," which included young people visiting the Museum, their teachers, and Museum guides. He submitted a report on the details of the research, including surveys, in-depth interviews and group discussions with the guides, and surveys and group interviews with pupils and their teachers before and after visits using the "old" and "new" tour routes. The aims of the research included:
CHRONICLEJuly A Meeting on the plans to establish an International Educational Center in Oswiecim A visit by President Robert Kocharian of Armenia. An official visit by Netherlands ambassador J.J. de Visser (who has been in Poland since January) and Netherlands consul W.M. Zipser. A private visit by French prime minister Lionel Jospin. Museum staff members attended the Washington summer workshops organized by the Holocaust Museum - Center for Advanced Holocaust Studies. Henryk Swiebocki delivered a lecture titled "How Poles Reacted to the Extermination of Auschwitz Concentration Camp Prisoners" and Piotr Setkiewicz delivered a lecture titled "The Nazi Extermination Policy towards the Polish People during the Second World War." Patrick Grisel, who set out for Auschwitz from Brittany by bicycle on June 14 and traveled 2,200 km., presented the Museum with a work by the renowned Bretagne artist Roland Wieder, titled "6 Million" (22 of 23 relatives of the artist never returned from Auschwitz). The recently retired car salesman set himself two goals: demonstrating the possibilities (for an active life) open to retirees, and raising the awareness of his neighbors about the history of the Holocaust and its meaning. His journey was covered en route by a local Bretagne newspaper and by his sponsor. An exhibition opened in Neustadt-Glewe of works by former Auschwitz prisoner Halina Olomucka. There was also a presentation of an album of her works, titled "Krzyk" (The Scream), published by the Museum. Halina Olomucka has previously shown her work in Asia, Europe, and North and South America. This was her first exhibition in Germany. August The 55th anniversary of the liquidation of the Gypsy camp. Museum and local government officials were joined at the commemoration by the speaker of the Polish government (sejm), Alicja Grzeskowiak, the president of the Polish Roma Association, Roman Kwiatkowski, the chairman of the Central Council of German Roma, Romani Rose, and the ambassador of Israel, Ygal Antebi. September Work connected with going on the World Wide Web enters the decisive phase as the obtains a dedicated connection to the Internet. Work continues on the WWW site, which will include a brief history of the concentration camp and a look at how the Memorial and Museum functions. The law passed in May on the protection of the sites of Nazi death camps clarifies the issue of the areas around the camps, by defining authoritatively the grounds of the Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum and the surrounding buffer zone. The law and accompanying executive regulations from the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Administration make it possible to evict Kazimierz Switon from the gravel-pit, along with all religious symbols except for the so-called papal cross. The regulations also cover in detail the sort of signs to be posted at the memorial and in the buffer zone. Dr. Marek Kucia of the Jagiellonian University completed a sociological study titled "The Auschwitz Project 1999" (see the 'Education' section) October Romano Prodi, head of the new European Commission, began his international travels with a symbolic visit to the Auschwitz-Birkenau camp. The Chairman wished to signal his interest in human rights and the protection of human life at the outset of his term. According to Prodi, there is no more "clear and eloquent symbol than a visit to Auschwitz." He wrote in the guest book: "I am here today, at the beginning of my mandate as Chairman of the European Commission, to listen, to ask questions, and to remember. "The Shoah took place before and during the war, and it was the result of baseness and injustice for which the countries and peoples of Europe bear differing degrees of responsibility, and for which we Europeans must beg forgiveness. "The new Europe should become a Europe of acknowledged and respected rights; a Europe of free people in solidarity; a Europe that ensures that rights and justice are respected." The media have taken an interest in the Lederfabrik affair. During the war there was a tannery there, and the building was also used to store the hair of the victims of the gas chambers. Now it is to be turned into a discotheque. The Foundation for the Youth Meeting House, which stands nearby, protested against these plans. The starosta of Oswiecim has upheld his original approval. The mayor disagrees, arguing that it runs counter to the city's zoning plan (For the Museum's view, see below). An international conference titled "The Memory of the Holocaust in the 21st Century. The Challenge for Education," was held. Participants included Museum Deputy Director Krystyna Oleksy and Alicja Bialecka, who conducted a workshop on various aspects of education work at memorial sites. The launch of Halina Birenbaum's book "Wolanie o pamiec" (Crying Out for Memory). Representatives of the first Latin American Holocaust Museum, in Buenos Aires, visited the Museum and signed an official agreement on borrowing some exhibits. An unofficial visit by Reuma Weizmann, the wife of the president of Israel. The Grand Circle Foundation of Boston, MA, USA, presented a check for $73,000 to the Museum director's office. The money is intended for the renovation of premises for the Museum Education Center. The film auditorium, seminar room, and several guest rooms for students, researchers, and seminar participants, are to be modernized. Inauguration of the second postgraduate course for teachers on Totalitarianism, Nazism, and the Holocaust (see 'Education' above). November The inauguration ceremony for renovation work on the Lomdei Mishnaiot synagogue building in Oswiecim. Daniel Eisenstadt, executive director of the Auschwitz Jewish Center Foundation (www.ajcf.org), stated at the ceremony that "This is a breakthrough event for us, the embodiment of our efforts over the last few years and proof that the idea of the Foundation has the acceptance and support of the Polish public." The Museum and the Yad Vashem Memorial Institute organized a seminar on Jewish history and the Holocaust, for humanities teachers, in Jerusalem. The Malopolska Regional Assembly expressed its support for the Museum's efforts to preserve the completeness of its collections by refusing to return to Dina Gottlieb the watercolors that she painted in the camp on Dr. Mengele's orders. Academics from Israel, Europe, and the United States attended a conference and workshop organized by Clark University. The occasion was the opening of Lasry House, a new building housing the Holocaust Research Center, which has been functioning at the university for three years. One participant in the conference was Teresa Swiebocka, senior curator and director of the Museum's Department of Publishing and Information. She delivered a lecture titled, "The Many-Layered Symbolism of Auschwitz and its Effect on the Work of the Museum and Its Plans for the Future." There were press reports about the reaching of a cooperation agreement on the use of the site of the Auschwitz concentration camp and the surrounding areas. The draft agreement, worked out between the Polish government and Jewish organizations from the USA, Israel, and Europe, will leave the "papal cross" in place at the Auschwitz gravel-pit. December The Museum commissioned a specialist firm from Cracow to carry out the removal from a wall in a building at the old cement factory in Goleszow of five art works done in charcoal. There was an Auschwitz concentration sub-camp there during the Second World War. The artist is a French Jew, Jean Bartichand, who was deported to Auschwitz from Drancy. After restoration work, the pictures will be kept in the Museum Collections Department. The regional court in Opole dismissed the case against Dr. Dariusz Ratajczak of Opole University, who was accused of "the Auschwitz Lie," or of denying, in his book "Dangerous Subjects," that genocide was committed in the death camps. Mieczyslaw Janosz, president of the War Victims' Association, which leases the Auschwitz gravel pit, has filed an appeal in Oswiecim regional court against the ruling that the pit should be turned over to the state treasury. THE LEDERFABRIK - MUSEUM'S STATEMENTIn connection with questions about why permission was granted for a discotheque on the site of the camp, near the gas chambers, the Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum would like to explain that the approval of a discotheque by the local authorities refers to a building located more than one kilometer from the former main camp and more than four kilometers from the former Auschwitz II-Birkenau camp, and outside the buffer zone of the former camp. This is a building that housed a pre-war tannery. During the existence of Auschwitz concentration camp, it held some camp workshops (a cobbler's, a leather-goods workshop, a smithy, a machine shop, etc.). Suitcases confiscated from Jews deported to Auschwitz were also stored, sorted, and shipped from there. Shoes of the victims were also sorted there, and victims' hair was stored there at times. There were other places, both within the grounds of the camp and elsewhere, in which hair, suitcases, and other articles were stored. Since there are many buildings associated with the functioning of the camp, and because many of them are some distance — several, or even several dozen kilometers - from the Museum, decisions on their use or adaptation must be left to the local authorities. The Museum feels that such decisions should be made after a thorough study of the history of such buildings and with due attention to the social sensitivities of both the local and international communities.
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