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As part of the International Day in Memory of the Victims of the Holocaust commemorations, the temporary exhibition Piekło Zagłady, siła życia will be presented at the Opole seat of the Museum. The presented there sculptures are part of another exhibition Obraz Treblinki w oczach Samuela Willenberga, prepared by the Institute of National Remembrance.

Samuel Willenberg (1923-2016), born in Częstochowa, was a volunteer in the Polish Army who fought against the Red Army in 1939, was sent to the Opatów ghetto in 1942 and then to the extermination camp in Treblinka. The atrocities he suffered each day there, the death of some 800,000 prisoners, including his sisters, made him join the camp conspirators. Their actions led to the outbreak of a revolt on 2 August 1943 and a mass escape of prisoners, among whom was also Willenberg. Later, the artist participated in the Warsaw Uprising, and after the war, in 1950, he left for Israel, where he devoted much attention to his great passion: art.

A very well known output of his artistic activity are the bronze sculptures depicting the extermination of Jews in Treblinka, and which make up part of the exposition Obraz Treblinki w oczach Samuela Willenberga. Three of the sculptures are possible to be seen at the Museum in Opole. The display of sculptures will be accompanied by a screening of the documentary film Ostatni świadek z Treblinki [The Last Witness from Treblinka].

To the opening, which will be attended by the guest of honour – the artist's widow Ada Krystyna Willenberg – you are invited by the President of the Institute of National Remembrance Dr. Karol Nawrocki, and the Museum's director Dr. Violetta Rezler-Wasielewska. The event, scheduled for  January 27 (1 p.m.), will be broadcast on the Museum's Facebook profile.

You are welcome to attend the event at the Museum (number of places is limited due to sanitary restrictions) or online.

Title photo: Sławomir Kasper, IPN