Spaces of the Holocaust: Majdanek, Bełżec, Sobibór

As facilities of immediate extermination of Jews, Majdanek, Bełżec, and Sobibór were the crucial elements of the "Final Solution to the Jewish Question". Although the Holocaust dominates in the exhibition content - as the aspect that connects the three titular sites - its scope goes beyond that fraction of World War II history. The authors also describe the broad and regional context for the persecution of Jews in German-occupied Poland, the role of Lublin in the Nazi terror policies as well as the fates of Poles imprisoned at Majdanek. Each section devoted to a specific camp additionally contains information about their transformation into memorials, which today function under the auspices of the State Museum at Majdanek.

The State Museum at Majdanek was established in 1944, but today it encompasses three memorials: Majdanek, Bełżec, and Sobibór. They are not only formally connected within the institutional structure, but also historically as German extermination camps. Thus, they constitute a unique Triad of Remembrance, which documents the history of Nazi crimes, commemorates their victims, and protects the post-camp grounds - the eponymous Spaces of the Holocaust.

The exhibition has been prepared in the English-German language form, and was presented in the Netherlands, Germany, and Poland. A special educational programme was also created on the basis of its contents, which was applied in cooperation with schools and partner institutions in each country. through this project we wanted to raise awareness about the tragic history of thousand of victims that suffered and perished at Majdanek, Bełżec, and Sobibór - especially among the public outside Poland. We also attempted to encourage the youth to visit the actual memorial sites in the future.