You and the whole team made an important but risky decision to create an exhibition about something that people will not immediately recognize. You began with the context, which is not really well-known, especially outside Poland, because this journey starts with the story of the town of Oświęcim far away in the past.
The curators were very interested in it and they wanted people to understand that Oświęcim had a past before being known for the Auschwitz camp. Oświęcim also has a present and a future. It’s a beautiful place to go to. It was important to make people understand that it was a Polish town with a vibrant life. And then history turned.
I think people will appreciate it because it may help them to understand the terrible tragedy of the camp in the context of the Second World War and the Holocaust.
You know the exhibition by heart. When you walk through those rooms now, is there a place where you still stop?
There are a few points. There is a shoe with a sock – it’s extremely powerful for many reasons, of course. Each artefact has a unique voice and each of them start a different conversation with each visitor.
For me this object tells that we do not know nothing about this person. It has been erased from history. We do not know the name, the age, the face and yet it tells us so much – also about hope. This child was taken with the family to the undressing room, people were told to leave the things there. It shows us that they did not know and did not believe that another human being is able to do this. This object still affects me. And there are many others, like the Canada section. For me it’s about the dignity of people, what do you punt into your suitcase when you learn that on the next day at 5 am you will be deported. All of the artefacts have this mute warning cry that is so powerful.