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On the International Day in Memory of the Victims of the Holocaust, at the Opole seat of the Museum was opened the temporary exhibition Piekło Zagłady, siła życia. It features sculptures by Samuel Willenberg (1923-2016), a former prisoner, participant in the revolt and mass escape from the German death camp in Treblinka.

The exposition „Obraz Treblinki w oczach Samuela Willenberga” by the IPN, presented in Opole, is accompanied by the artist’s thought I was meant to die. And I am not only alive, but I have a loving family, hobby and  job. It was I who won. To these words referred Dr. Renata Kobylarz-Buła, deputy director of the Museum, and Dr. Ewelina Klimczak from the Department of Education and Exhibitions who presented Samuel Willenberg's profile at the opening.

After welcoming the guests and introducing the topic, the floor was taken by Ada Krystyna Willenberg, the guest of honour and Samuel's wife. In her extensive reminiscences about her husband, she mentioned the most important events from his war years, i.e. Samuel's participation in battles, including those in 1939 and 1944, as well as the most tragic period – 10 months in the German extermination camp in Treblinka. Nevertheless, even in those worst circumstances – as Ada Willenberg emphasised – he did not give up the fight and participated in the camp conspiracy, which subsequently ended with the outbreak of the revolt on 2 August 1943 and a mass escape of prisoners. After the war, his courageous resistance to evil and defence of his homeland won him recognition from, among others, the Polish authorities, from whom he received the Order of Virtuti Militari. When asked about her personal message resulting from the experience of war, Ada Willenberg referred to a well-known maxim: Live and let others live, the implementation of which allows people to coexist in peace.

The opening ended with thanks expressed, among others, by the Deputy Voivode Tomasz Witkowski to Ada Willenberg, and the screening of the documentary film The Last Witness from Treblinka, which will accompany the exhibition until the end of its presentation at the Opole seat of the Museum, i.e. March 31.

Let us remind you that the temporary exhibition Piekło Zagłady, siła życia consists of three sculptures by Samuel Willenberg: „Bunt więźniów” [‘Prisoners' Revolt’], „Ucieczka w czasie buntu” [‘Escape during the Revolt’]  i „Głowa autora” [‘The Author's Head’]. The other sculptures that make up the IPN exhibition Obraz Treblinki w oczach Samuela Willenberga, are presently on display at the "History Stop" in the Janusz Kurtyka Educational Centre at 21/25 Marszałkowska Street in Warsaw.

A report from the opening can be viewed on the Facebook page of our Museum.