LOCATION: LEVEL -2
TIME: COMPLETED
The exhibition ‘Between Life and Death...’ tells stories of rescue and salvation from twelve European countries.
The display includes the story of Elżbieta Ficowska, who, as a baby, was smuggled from the Warsaw Ghetto to the Aryan side in a wooden crate hidden in a stack of bricks. The dramatic fate of Jan and Aleksandra Gawrych and their children from the Mazovian village of Wólka Czarnińska is also presented. They hid Jews in their forester's lodge and, due to betrayal, were forced to pay the highest price.
Beyond the gripping individual stories, the exhibition content brings closer the realities in which residents of various occupied countries lived. It also encourages reflection on the complexity of relationships and emotional bonds between survivors and those who saved them.
Since March 24th, visitors to the Museum of the Second World War in Gdańsk (level -2) can view the exhibition ‘Between Life and Death. Stories of Aid During the Holocaust.’ The exhibition presents stories from twelve European countries of individuals who provided assistance to persecuted Jews during World War II, as well as the accounts of the survivors. Giving voice to both rescuers and the rescued, the exhibition guides visitors through a narrative of acts of great courage and extraordinary will to survive. The exhibition will be available for visitors until May 28th, 2023.
From 1939 to 1945, residents of countries occupied by Nazi Germany witnessed the deepening persecution of the Jewish community. Hiding or providing assistance to family members, neighbors, or colleagues of Jewish origin was a crime punishable by beatings, imprisonment, and, in some countries, even death. Some helplessly watched the brutal reality, and there were even cases of taking advantage of the tragic situation of Jews. However, many people spared no effort to help those in need. Among them were representatives of all social groups – factory workers and doctors, seamstresses and aristocrats, farmers and diplomats.
To pay tribute to their courage and sacrifice, the Yad Vashem Institute for Holocaust Remembrance and Heroism in Israel established the title of Righteous Among the Nations in 1963. The majority, nearly 7,000 individuals honored with this title, come from Poland. Among them are also three residents of Bełżec: Julia Pępiak, and Cecylia and Maciej Brogowski, who hid Jewish refugees in their homes until the end of the war.
The exhibition ‘Between Life and Death’ is a joint initiative of the European Network Remembrance and Solidarity, the Museum of the History of Polish Jews POLIN, and the Silent Heroes Memorial Center in Berlin. The exhibition was inaugurated in January 2018 at the European Commission headquarters in Brussels on the occasion of the International Day of Commemoration in Memory of the Victims of the Holocaust. Since then, the exhibition has visited eight European countries and Japan, including Amsterdam, Bratislava, Vilnius, Budapest, Brno, and Dresden. The presentation of the exhibition is co-financed by the European Union.
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