'AUSCHWITZ. NOT LONG AGO.
NOT FAR AWAY'
EXHIBITION IN BOSTON
USA
Paweł Sawicki
‘The tragedy of Auschwitz that is told through this carefully curated exhibition and all the authentic objects it presents to visitors, from the smallest button or a child’s shoe that belonged to victims, through prisoners bunkbed to the commandant desk, forces us all to confront ourselves with the horrifying chapter of human history and challenges us to build a future that is shaped by remembrance. Future free from antisemitism, racism, and other ideologies of hatred and dehumanization,’ said Dr. Piotr M. A. Cywiński, director of the Museum.
‘Auschwitz, on a more universal and symbolic level, serves as a key point in shaping the post-war identity of the world. This history certainly transcends mere historical knowledge—a simple set of facts, dates, and numbers. The belief that we can prevent another Auschwitz as humanity was a cornerstone of the post-war political changes. It should be in our hearts and minds as we approach the 80th anniversary of the liberation of the camp,’ he added.
The exhibition "Auschwitz. Not long ago. Not far away." was created in collaboration between Musealia and the Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum. The curators of this unique exhibition are international experts: Dr. Robert Jan van Pelt, Dr. Michael Berenbaum, and Dr. Paul Salmons, who worked closely with historians and curators from the Auschwitz Museum Research Center headed by Dr. Piotr Setkiewicz.
It depicts the successive stages of the development of Nazi ideology and describes the transformation of Oświęcim, an ordinary Polish town where Nazi Germany established the largest concentration camp and extermination center during the occupation, where approximately one million Jews and tens of thousands of people of other nationalities were murdered.
The victims of Auschwitz also included Poles, Roma and Sinti, Soviet prisoners of war and other groups persecuted by Nazi ideology, such as people with disabilities, asocials, Jehovah's Witnesses, and homosexuals. Furthermore, the exhibition includes objects portraying the world of the perpetrators - the SS men who created and managed this largest German Nazi concentration and extermination camp.
The visitors at The Castle at Park Plaza in Boston will see several hundred items, mainly from the Auschwitz Memorial Collection. These include personal items belonging to the victims, such as suitcases, glasses and shoes. The exhibition will also include concrete posts forming part of the Auschwitz camp fence; fragments of the original barrack for prisoners in Auschwitz III-Monowitz; a desk and other items belonging to Rudolf Höss, the first and longest-serving commandant of Auschwitz; a gas mask used by the SS; and a lithograph depicting a prisoner's face by Pablo Picasso.
Additionally, the exhibition features individual objects on loan from more than 20 institutions, museums, and private collections worldwide, including Yad Vashem, the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, the Wiener Library, and the Buchenwald Mauthausen and Sachsenhausen and Westerbork memorial sites.
‘An exhibition this substantial and comprehensive on Auschwitz is unprecedented and is unlikely to ever be assembled again. Lending institutions all over the world have come together to make this exhibition possible,” said Luis Ferreiro, Director of Musealia.
‘It is also a moral urgency to remember those who lost their lives at Auschwitz. Listening to their stories and understanding how these events could happen is the best action we, as citizens of the world, can take against the reoccurrence of such a horrific event,’ added Luis Ferreiro
The presentation of the exhibition in Reagan Library was possible thanks to cooperation with World Heritage. Almost 50,000 tickets were bought in pre-sale.
‘Within the echoes of history's shadows, lies a vital truth: to remember, to learn, and to honor. The exhibition stands as an eternal testament, a beacon urging us to confront our past. In Boston, it will stand not just as an exhibition but as an emotional pilgrimage, inviting souls from far and wide to witness the poignant relics and hear the haunting tales. This showcase isn't merely a display; it's an unspoken promise to ensure the pasts darkest chapter resonates forever, etching an indelible mark upon our hearts,’ said WHE President John Norman.
More information on the exhibition and tickets are available on theauschwitzexhibition.com
Previously, the exhibition "Auschwitz. Not long ago. Not far away." could be seen in Madrid and Malmö in Europe and in New York, Kansas City, and Los Angeles in the United States. In total, the exhibition has already been seen by more than 1.5 million people since 2017.
The exhibition 'Auschwitz. Not Long Ago. Not Far Away' created by the Museum and the Spanish company Musealia was opened in Boston on 14 March. It will be on display there until 2 September.