After the official ceremonies commemorating the 79th anniversary of the revolt of the prisoners of the Treblinka II Extermination Camp on August 2nd, the cornerstone was unveiled in front of the square where the new exhibition and educational facility of the Treblinka Museum will be built. The need to erect a new museum building results, among others, from the lack of adequate facility and conditions to meet the expectations of modern visitors. The facility will allow for a significant modernization of the exhibition and information systems. The act of solemn unveiling was performed by Ada Krystyna Willenberg, widow of the Treblinka II Extermination Camp prisoner – Samuel Willenberg. The unveiling was assisted by the Director of the Treblinka Museum, Dr. Edward Kopówka and Monika Krawczyk, the Director of the Emanuel Ringelblum Jewish Historical Institute.
The director of the Treblinka Museum, Dr. Edward Kopówka, recalled that the efforts to create the new exhibition and educational building had been going on for many years. The cornerstone was unveiled for the first time on August 2, 2013, during the celebration of the 70th anniversary of the revolt of the prisoners of the Treblinka II Extermination Camp. The last living participant of the revolt in Treblinka, Samuel Willenberg, unveiled the cornerstone on that day. His idea of construction of the Center for Education about the Holocaust is finally being realized.
After the unveiling of the cornerstone, Ada Krystyna Willenberg signed an agreement with the Treblinka Museum. The Nazi German Extermination and Forced Labour Camp (1941-1944) regarding donation of the sculptures of Samuel Willenberg that depict everyday life in the camp, the daring revolt of prisoners of August 2, 1943, and the victims who sank deep into the artist’s memory. The sculptures will become an integral part of the exhibition in the newly erected building of the Treblinka Museum.
The project of the new educational and exhibition facility on the site of the Treblinka Museum was also presented at the meeting. Details of the project were presented by Piotr Bujnowski from the architectural company Bujnowski Architekci sp. z o.o., which won the first prize in the single-stage architectural contest for developing an architectural and urban concept for the task titled “Construction of the exhibition and educational facility” on the premises of the Treblinka Museum. The Nazi German Extermination and Forced Labour Camp (1941-1944). The presentation aroused great interest and sparked lively discussions among the participants.