"They Risked Their Lives" Exhibition in Berlin

Klara Jackl 4 February 2017
Our Exhibition "They Risked Their Lives - Poles Who Rescued Jews During the Holocaust" has opened in Berlin at the Konrad Adenauer Foundation. The Exhibition has been created by the POLIN Museum in partnership with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. This is the tenth time that the Exhibition has been displayed in Germany.

The showing of the Exhibition has been organised by the Konrad Adenauer Foundation in conjunction with the Polish Institute in Berlin. Those who took part in the Opening, which occurred on 17th January 2017, included the Director of the Konrad Adenauer Foundation Academy Andreas Kleine-Kraneburg, the Polish Ambassador to Germany Andrzej Przyłębski and Dorota Keller-Zalewska, Deputy Director of the POLIN Museum.

The Exhibition "They Risked Their Lives - Poles Who Rescued Jews During the Holocaust” presents the stories of Poles who, at the risk of their own lives and the lives of their families, aided persecuted Jews. The exhibition shows the fate of the rescuers and those rescued in the historical context of occupied Poland. It shows the type and extent of aid provided, and what motivated the Righteous Among the Nations to do what they did. It has been assembled on the basis of an extraordinary collection of testimonies collected on our website "The Polish Righteous - Restoring Memory” (www.sprawiedliwi.org.pl) and has been prepared by the POLIN Museum in partnership with the Ministry of Foriegn Affairs.

Speaking at the Official Opening, Andreas Kleine-Kraneburg said, "It was possible to meet people who helped and saved Jews throughout the whole of Nazi-occupied Europe. They came from all walks of life and were guided by different motivations, with differing political viewpoints".

Dorota Keller-Zalewska pointed to the different motivations of people who extended help. She said, "Many Poles helped their Jewish acquaintances, regarding it as the obvious response to persecution. Others, above all the clergy and nuns, were guided by their religious values. And there were others whose motivation was simply fighting the Germans." 

To date, the Exhibition has been translated into seven languages and been shown in many countries around the world. This is the tenth time it has been displayed in Germany, having already been shown in, among other cities, Hamburg, Munich and Dresden. It will remain on display at the Konrad Adenauer Foundation until 15th February 2017. 

 

Opracowano na podstawie materiałów własnych oraz PAP.