Monument

On 1 June 1967, four organisations: Council for the Protections of Struggle and Martyrdom Sites, Society for the Protection of Majdanek, Union of Polish Visual Artists, and Association of Polish Architects; announced “an open contest for the monument commemorating the victims of Majdanek”. From among the submitted projects, the one created by Wiktor Tołkin and Janusz Dembek was chosen for implementation, even though they won the third prize. The construction took two years, and the unveiling ceremony took place on 21 September 1969.

Tołkin deliberately distorted the shape of the Gate by drastically altering the natural proportions that were usually applied in such architectural forms. Its lintel constitutes the most massive form of the Gate, which greatly surpass its supporting pillars. That reinforces the illusion of an enormous and overwhelming weight of the upper part. That is why the lintel is the most aesthetically striking part of the monument. Raw form applied on a grand scale with its rectangular shape, consists of many large blocks, which overlap and create hollows and open spaces. Uneven, rough surfaces devours light, and the hollows generate additional dark voids, which expressively evoke the aura of terror. The monumental character of the gate is even more emphasised through its placing on a rise with cascading steps leading towards it. The stone frieze on its western side aesthetically alludes to the piled up rocks of the lintel. There are also six stone torches in front of the gate, each engraved with a year between 1939 and 1944 marking the years of the German occupation of the Lublin region. The entrance of the monument area is marked with metal fence with expressively bent edges.

Tołkin placed inscriptions on various parts of the monument, which explain what the form itself cannot. The Mausoleum frieze bears the words “May our fate be your warning” originating from a poem Requiem by Franciszek Fenikowski. The right pillar of the gate bears the signature of Tołkin, who – as an Auschwitz survivor – felt deep connection with sculpture created in the former camps. The left pillar, in turn, has a plaque with the words:

“To the heroes of Majdanek, who died a martyr’s death here while fighting against the Hitlerite genocide for the freedom of all nations and all mankind, defending the ideals of humanity and dignity. The Council of State of the Polish People’s Republic, as an act of remembrance and homage of their fight against fascism, hereby grants the 1^st Class Order of the Cross of Grunwald. Warsaw 1969 20 September.”