On 29th and 30th of January 2020, Treblinka Museum employees took part in the 10th Remembrance days – Civic Commemorations of international Holocaust Remembrance Day of the Victims of the Holocaust in Łódź.
Official opening of the 10th Remembrance Days started on January 29 (Wednesday) in the Stefan Jaracz Theatre in Łódź. The event was attended by organizers and representatives of Social and Cultural Association of Jews in Poland, Managements of the Stefan Jaracz Theatre in Łódź, Marshal’s Office of the Łódź Region, the Regional Government of Łódź, Łódź Voivodeship Office, The Representatives of The City Hall in Łódź, Marek Edelman Dialogue Center in Łódź and others guests gathered in large numbers. The event started with performance of local children’s choir in Łódź, which performed Yiddish songs. After that, the debate concerning remembrance of the victims of the Second World War and the Holocaust started. The Event ended with “Yiddish Tango” concert performed by Olga Avigail and The Tango Attack Orchestra. Artists performed prewar tangoes in Yiddish and Polish languages.
On January 30, Treblinka Museum employees took part in a panel discussion entitled “Remembrance of the Holocaust – approach in Poland, the World and Israel”. The discussion was participated by Dr Halina Postek from the Warsaw Ghetto Museum, John Armstrong from The United States Embassy and Michał Sobelman from The Embassy of Israel. The discussion was lead by Magda Majsterkiewicz and Artur Hofman. The event included film screening during which an animated film – “Execution of memory” directed by Gabi Bani was displayed.
During the trip Treblinka Museum’s staff had a chance to visit the Radegast Station – Independence Traditions Museum and participate in workshops in the Radogoszcz Prison – former prison administrated by German order police and gestapo destined for inhabitants from The Reichsgau Wartheland (Polish territory annexed to Third Reich in 1939).
The annexation of Łódź to the Third Reich took place in November 1939. Then the Germans changed the city’s name into Litzmannstadt. In 1940 Litzmannstadt ghetto was created and became one of the biggest ghettos in the occupied Poland (only Warsaw ghetto was bigger). Deported Jews from Austria, The Czech Republic, Luxembourg, Third Reich and others liquidated ghettos from Reichsgau Wartheland were transported to the Litzmannstadt ghetto. The liquidation of the Litzmannstadt ghetto started on 23th of June 1944 and lasted till 29th of August 1944. Jews from that ghetto were transported to the Kulmhof am Ner and Auschwitz-Birkenau extermination camps.