The Majdanek museum, a former Nazi concentration camp in eastern Poland, opened up its invaluable archives on Saturday as it marks its 80th anniversary.
Visitors had a rare opportunity to explore documents and memorabilia that are typically not accessible to the public, offering a poignant glimpse into the lives of those who suffered and perished at the site on the outskirts of Lublin.
The museum, which is the oldest institution in Europe dedicated to commemorating the victims of WWII, received hundreds of new artefacts in recent months, after it launched an appeal to coincide with the landmark anniversary.
These include secret messages and covertly taken photographs, donated mostly by relatives of former prisoners.
Established by the German occupiers in October 1941, Majdanek was one of the largest and, due to the harsh living conditions, one of the most brutal camps set up by the Third Reich.
About 135,000 people, mainly Jews, Poles and Belarusian were imprisoned there.
Initially intended for forced labor rather than extermination, during Operation Reinhard—the Nazis’ plan to exterminate Poland’s Jews—the camp was used to murder people on an industrial scale.
By the time it was liberated by Soviet soldiers in July 1944, an estimated 80,000 had been killed by gassing, hanging or execution.
The site was turned into a museum in November 1944 after being liberated by Soviet soldiers.
The museum, which is the oldest institution in Europe dedicated to commemorating the victims of WWII, received hundreds of new artefacts in recent months, after it launched an appeal to coincide with the landmark anniversary.
These include secret messages and covertly taken photographs, donated mostly by relatives of former prisoners.
80,000 killed
Established by the German occupiers in October 1941, Majdanek was one of the largest and, due to the harsh living conditions, one of the most brutal camps set up by the Third Reich.
About 135,000 people, mainly Jews, Poles and Belarusian were imprisoned there.
Initially intended for forced labor rather than extermination, during Operation Reinhard—the Nazis’ plan to exterminate Poland’s Jews—the camp was used to murder people on an industrial scale.
By the time it was liberated by Soviet soldiers in July 1944, an estimated 80,000 had been killed by gassing, hanging or execution.
The site was turned into a museum in November 1944 after being liberated by Soviet soldiers.
Film premiered on Saturday
The museum’s archives contain over 25,000 camp records, 2,000 letters, 800 private photographs, and 2,000 other documents belonging to former prisoners.
On Saturday, visitors had the rare chance to get a closer look at these collections in a special event, which featured the premiere screening of a film detailing the history of the archive.
Guests were also invited to attend meetings with archivists and participate in lectures about various collections of documents.
Special focus was placed on photographs taken at Majdanek immediately after its liquidation in the summer of 1944, as well as collections of oral history.
The museum attracts around 200,000 visitors annually and has welcomed approximately 12 million people since it was founded.
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