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Camp literature and art, as well as post-camp testimonies of former prisoners of concentration camps, constitute a unique record of the trauma of enslavement and terror during the Second World War. They also testify to the importance of art in the search for healing from an experience that encompassed both physical and psychological suffering—one that is simultaneously individualized and generational, lacking any point of reference, and ultimately impossible to define. The creative works of former prisoners bear witness to years of attempts to capture recurring memories in adequate graphic or verbal forms. The authors undertook this effort out of a sense of responsibility to preserve the memory of the victims of the Nazi system of extermination of the enemies of the Third Reich, to pass it on to future generations, but also out of a deeply personal need to find meaning in their own suffering.
The central theme of the exhibition The Burden of Survival is the literary and artistic record of memories of experiences exceeding the limits of human endurance. The focus here is on narratives of emotional memory— those most deeply embedded in the body and tied to sensory perception. The sensory key guiding the selection of objects is implemented through acoustic, olfactory, visual, and tactile tools derived from the themes of the works.
The first part of the exhibition is dedicated to defining the narrator of the presented works. A distinctive feature of camp literature is its first-person narrative, fragmented into individual episodes dominated by “I,” alongside extensive passages describing the collective protagonist, “we.” This concept is reflected in a space that transitions fluidly from self-portraits and private correspondence from concentration camps to mass collective portraits and “anthill-like” human compositions.
The theme of identity and the loss of intimacy concludes in a space devoted to punitive isolation and the prisoner’s perception of their own body. Subsequent sections explore memories of surrounding sounds and camp music, kinetic sensations related to the body’s contact with tools, everyday objects, and camp infrastructure, as well as individual experiences of hunger, illness, and weather conditions.
At the centre of the exhibition are visual stimuli, frequently appearing in the writings and paintings of former prisoners, including landscapes metaphorically linked to captivity and longing for beauty. Artistic works and literary fragments are complemented by historical objects such as prisoner clothing, soup bowls, extra food coupons, and numbered patches. The material reality of the concentration camp, evident in the content and structure of visual works, resonates strongly in the narrative phenomenon of Józef Szajna, recorded on hundreds of disposable napkins presented in the final part of the exhibition. The artist gathered reflections on fundamental human values and intimate memories in a work of extraordinary fragility, loose structure, and incalculable scope due to the dispersal of its individual elements.
An audio guide accompanies visitors through the exhibition, featuring excerpts from the memoirs of Wiesław Kielar, Marian Kołodziej, Jerzy Adam Brandhuber, Józef Szajna, Bogdan Kolasiński, Viktor Frankl, Maria Zarębińska-Broniewska, Helena Dunicz-Niwińska, and Tadeusz Borowski.
The exhibition script was inspired by previously unpublished private writings of Józef Szajna, a former prisoner of KL Auschwitz-Birkenau and KL Buchenwald-
-Schönebeck I. Letters from the camps and notes written in the later part of his life, alongside his autobiographical work The Bottom and his visual art, allowed for a new interpretation of the material essence of his artistic compositions and scenography, the dynamics of the scenes he directed, and the stylistic codes of his scripts. The core of the exhibition consists of previously unpublished manuscripts and related drawings, collages, and stage designs by Szajna. These works enter into dialogue with similar voices of other former prisoners, including Marian Kołodziej, Jerzy Adam Brandhuber, Mieczysław Kościelniak, Krystyna Żywulska, and Franciszek Stryj.
The exhibition conveys a dual message. In
a reality where direct witnesses of many key historical events have passed away, it becomes increasingly difficult to identify with film, literary, and museum narratives, as well as textbook knowledge. With the passage of time, family stories disappear, and the tradition of transmitting them fades. For this reason, personal writings and autobiographical works of participants in events that deserve to be remembered gain increasing importance for our sense of identity. We hope that approaching the experiences of direct witnesses of traumatic events will also raise awareness among visitors about the consequences of long-term stress and indicate possible paths toward recovery. The sensory nature of the exhibition is intended to help understand both of these issues.
Exhibition details:
Dates: 30 January 2026 – 28 June 2026
Venue: Silesian Museum in Katowice, Dobrowolskiego 1 / Spichlerz
Curator: Magdalena Kędzierska
The exhibition is a practical outcome of the research project “We are all responsible for the fate of the world: Developing a concept for a sensory exhibition based on unpublished source texts and The Bottom by Józef Szajna.” The project was funded by the Ministry of Science and Higher Education under the Implementation Doctorate Program (6th edition), in partnership between the Silesian Museum and the University of Silesia.