The Majdanek State Museum (Polish: Państwowe Muzeum na Majdanku)[3] is a memorial museum and education centre founded in the fall of 1944 on the grounds of the Nazi GermanyMajdanek death camp located in Lublin, Poland. It was the first museum of its kind in the world,[4] devoted entirely to the memory of atrocities committed in the network of concentration, slave-labor, and extermination camps and subcamps of KL Lublin during World War II. The museum performs several tasks including scholarly research into the Holocaust in Poland. It houses a permanent collection of rare artifacts, archival photographs, and testimony.[1][5]
Majdanek State Museum
Państwowe Muzeum na Majdanku
One of the exhibits at the Majdanek Museum
Established
1944, confirmed by an act of the Polish parliament of 2 July 1947.[1]
Original gas chamber with visible Zyklon B blue stain on the back wall, permanently burned into the cement next to the release duct[6]
Overview of the Majdanek Memorial containing the mound of ashes of camp victims
The symbolic Majdanek Pylon on the 64 anniversary of the camp liquidation. The relief, which resembles an abstracted Yiddish sign similar to Lublin (לובלין), is supposed to represent mangled bodies.[7]
After the camp's liberation by the advancing Red Army on 23 July 1944, the site was formally protected.[8] With the war still ongoing, it was preserved as a museum by the autumn of 1944. It remains one the best examples of a Nazideath camp, with largely intact gas chambers and crematoria. The camp became a state monument of martyrology by the 1947 decree of the Polish Parliament (Sejm).[1] In the same year, some 1,300 m3 of surface soil mixed with human ashes and fragments of bones were collected and arranged into a large mound (since turned into a mausoleum).[3] By comparison, the Auschwitz concentration camp liberated a half a year later, on 27 January 1945, was first declared a national monument in April 1946, but handed over to Poland by the Red Army only in 1947. The act of Polish Parliament of 2 July 1947, declared them both as state monuments of martyrology at the same time (Dz.U. 1947 nr 52 poz. 264/265).[9] Majdanek received the status of Poland's national museum in 1965.[3]
The retreating Germans did not have time to destroy the facility. During its 34 months of operation, more than 79,000 people were murdered at Majdanek main camp alone (59,000 of them Polish Jews) and between 95,000 and 130,000 people in the entire Majdanek system of subcamps.[10] 18,400 Jews were killed at Majdanek on 3 November 1943, during the largest single-day, single-camp massacre of the Holocaust,[11][12] named Harvest Festival (totalling 43,000 with two subcamps).[13]
In 1969, on the 25th anniversary of the Majdanek liberation, a stunningly emotional monument dedicated to Holocaust victims was erected on the grounds of the former Nazi extermination camp. It was designed by a Polish sculptor and architect Wiktor Tołkin,[3] who also designed the symbolic tombstone at Stutthof.[14] The monument consists of three parts, the symbolic Pylon (gate, 11 meters tall and 35 meters wide), the road, and the Mausoleum, containing a mound of ashes of the victims.[15] The Museum is also in possession of the archives left behind by the SS after a failed attempt at their destruction by ObersturmführerAnton Thernes, tried at the Majdanek Trials.[10]
Recent historyedit
In 2003, a new obelisk was erected at Majdanek to the memory of Jewish victims of Erntefest. In 2004, a new branch of Majdanek State Museum was inaugurated at the Belzec extermination camp nearby. Belzec was created for implementing the Operation Reinhard during the Holocaust. And finally, in 2005 additional archeological works were conducted, resulting in new items being unearthed at the camp site, buried by Jewish prisoners in 1943.[3]
On 2 September 2009 the Majdanek Museum was awarded the Gold Medal Gloria Artis for outstanding contributions to Polish culture by Deputy State Secretary Minister Tomasz Merta. Two other recipients included the Muzeum Stutthof and the Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum.[16] There was a massive fire at one of the barracks in Majdanek on the night of 9-10 August 2010. Some 7,000 pairs of prisoners' shoes were destroyed, according to the museum administration. The cause of the blaze is unknown.[17] The museum states that bringing children under 13 to Majdanek is not advisable, because noisy behavior is forbidden.[18] Since 1 May 2012 the Museum also serves as the main branch of the nearby Sobibór Museum.[19]
Notes and referencesedit
^ abc. Dz. U. z 1947 r. nr 52, poz. 265. Biuletyn Informacji Publicznej (Bulletin of Public Information, Republic of Poland). 2006. Archived from the original on March 3, 2016. Retrieved April 28, 2013.
^"Statystyki". Frekwencja zwiedzających. Państwowe Muzeum na Majdanku. 2011. Retrieved 2013-04-28.
^ abcde. Powstanie Państwowego Muzeum (Creation of the Museum). Państwowe Muzeum na Majdanku. Archived from the original on 2011-02-13. Retrieved 2013-04-09.
^"Majdanek State Museum". Lublin Sights. Lonely Planet. 2013. Retrieved 2013-04-29.
^Weiner, Miriam; Ukrainian State Archives (in cooperation with); Moldovan State Archives (in cooperation with) (1999). "Chapter Six: Concentration Camp Archives" Jewish Roots in Ukraine and Moldova: Pages from the Past and Archival Inventories . Secaucus, NJ: Miriam Weiner Routes to Roots Foundation. ISBY 978-0-96-565081-6. OCLC 607423469.
^"Crematorium at Majdanek". Jewish Virtual Library. 2013. Retrieved 2013-04-15.
^Danuta Olesiuk, Krzysztof Kokowicz. . Państwowe Muzeum na Majdanku (Majdanek State Museum). Archived from the original on 2014-10-23. Retrieved 2013-04-29.
^(PDF). Majdanek concentration camp. Yad Vashem. 2007. Archived from the original (PDF) on November 27, 2007. Retrieved 2013-04-14.
^Dziennik Ustaw (2013). "Ustawa z dnia 2 lipca 1947 r." Internetowy System Aktow Prawnych. Kancelaria Sejmu RP. Retrieved 2013-04-28.
^ abPaweł Reszka (Dec 23, 2005). . Gazeta Wyborcza. Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum. Archived from the original (Internet Archive) on November 6, 2011. Retrieved April 29, 2013.
^USHMM (May 11, 2012). "Soviet forces liberate Majdanek". Lublin/Majdanek: Chronology. United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, Washington, D.C. Retrieved 2013-04-13.
^Kazimierz S. Ożóg (June 7, 2006). . Pomniki Lublina (The Monuments of Lublin). Archived from the original (WebCite) on June 1, 2019. Retrieved April 29, 2013.
^"Złote medale Zasłużony Kulturze Gloria Artis dla Muzeum Stutthof w Sztutowie, Państwowego Muzeum Auschwitz-Birkenau oraz Państwowego Muzeum na Majdanku". MKiDN.Gov.pl. 2 September 2009. Retrieved April 28, 2013.
^GPL (10 August 2010). (in Polish). Gazeta.pl Lublin. Archived from the original on 2015-06-10. Retrieved 2013-04-27.
^. General Rules and Regulations. The State Museum at Majdanek. 2006. Archived from the original on 10 June 2015. Retrieved 16 November 2013.
^MBOZS (2013). . The State Museum at Majdanek. Archived from the original on January 13, 2015. Retrieved June 8, 2013.
External linksedit
Państwowe Muzeum na Majdanku (The Majdanek State Museum) official website.
(in Polish)
Towarzystwo Opieki nad Majdankiem – Oddział w Białymstoku 2016-10-07 at the Wayback Machine (The Society for the Preservation of Majdanek) official website.
Media related to KZ Majdanek at Wikimedia Commons
January 01, 1970
majdanek, state, museum, polish, państwowe, muzeum, majdanku, memorial, museum, education, centre, founded, fall, 1944, grounds, nazi, germany, majdanek, death, camp, located, lublin, poland, first, museum, kind, world, devoted, entirely, memory, atrocities, c. The Majdanek State Museum Polish Panstwowe Muzeum na Majdanku 3 is a memorial museum and education centre founded in the fall of 1944 on the grounds of the Nazi Germany Majdanek death camp located in Lublin Poland It was the first museum of its kind in the world 4 devoted entirely to the memory of atrocities committed in the network of concentration slave labor and extermination camps and subcamps of KL Lublin during World War II The museum performs several tasks including scholarly research into the Holocaust in Poland It houses a permanent collection of rare artifacts archival photographs and testimony 1 5 Majdanek State MuseumPanstwowe Muzeum na MajdankuOne of the exhibits at the Majdanek MuseumEstablished1944 confirmed by an act of the Polish parliament of 2 July 1947 1 LocationMajdanek PolandCoordinates51 07 54 N 22 21 21 E 51 1318 N 22 35579 E 51 1318 22 35579Visitors121 404 2011 2 DirectorTomasz KranzWebsitewww wbr majdanek wbr eu Contents 1 Site 2 Recent history 3 Notes and references 4 External linksSite edit nbsp The Majdanek State Museum Info Centre display nbsp Majdanek concentration camp 24 June 1944 nbsp Original gas chamber with visible Zyklon B blue stain on the back wall permanently burned into the cement next to the release duct 6 nbsp Overview of the Majdanek Memorial containing the mound of ashes of camp victims nbsp The symbolic Majdanek Pylon on the 64 anniversary of the camp liquidation The relief which resembles an abstracted Yiddish sign similar to Lublin לובלין is supposed to represent mangled bodies 7 After the camp s liberation by the advancing Red Army on 23 July 1944 the site was formally protected 8 With the war still ongoing it was preserved as a museum by the autumn of 1944 It remains one the best examples of a Nazi death camp with largely intact gas chambers and crematoria The camp became a state monument of martyrology by the 1947 decree of the Polish Parliament Sejm 1 In the same year some 1 300 m3 of surface soil mixed with human ashes and fragments of bones were collected and arranged into a large mound since turned into a mausoleum 3 By comparison the Auschwitz concentration camp liberated a half a year later on 27 January 1945 was first declared a national monument in April 1946 but handed over to Poland by the Red Army only in 1947 The act of Polish Parliament of 2 July 1947 declared them both as state monuments of martyrology at the same time Dz U 1947 nr 52 poz 264 265 9 Majdanek received the status of Poland s national museum in 1965 3 The retreating Germans did not have time to destroy the facility During its 34 months of operation more than 79 000 people were murdered at Majdanek main camp alone 59 000 of them Polish Jews and between 95 000 and 130 000 people in the entire Majdanek system of subcamps 10 18 400 Jews were killed at Majdanek on 3 November 1943 during the largest single day single camp massacre of the Holocaust 11 12 named Harvest Festival totalling 43 000 with two subcamps 13 In 1969 on the 25th anniversary of the Majdanek liberation a stunningly emotional monument dedicated to Holocaust victims was erected on the grounds of the former Nazi extermination camp It was designed by a Polish sculptor and architect Wiktor Tolkin 3 who also designed the symbolic tombstone at Stutthof 14 The monument consists of three parts the symbolic Pylon gate 11 meters tall and 35 meters wide the road and the Mausoleum containing a mound of ashes of the victims 15 The Museum is also in possession of the archives left behind by the SS after a failed attempt at their destruction by Obersturmfuhrer Anton Thernes tried at the Majdanek Trials 10 Recent history editIn 2003 a new obelisk was erected at Majdanek to the memory of Jewish victims of Erntefest In 2004 a new branch of Majdanek State Museum was inaugurated at the Belzec extermination camp nearby Belzec was created for implementing the Operation Reinhard during the Holocaust And finally in 2005 additional archeological works were conducted resulting in new items being unearthed at the camp site buried by Jewish prisoners in 1943 3 On 2 September 2009 the Majdanek Museum was awarded the Gold Medal Gloria Artis for outstanding contributions to Polish culture by Deputy State Secretary Minister Tomasz Merta Two other recipients included the Muzeum Stutthof and the Auschwitz Birkenau State Museum 16 There was a massive fire at one of the barracks in Majdanek on the night of 9 10 August 2010 Some 7 000 pairs of prisoners shoes were destroyed according to the museum administration The cause of the blaze is unknown 17 The museum states that bringing children under 13 to Majdanek is not advisable because noisy behavior is forbidden 18 Since 1 May 2012 the Museum also serves as the main branch of the nearby Sobibor Museum 19 Notes and references edit a b c Regulamin organizacyjny Panstwowego Muzeum na Majdanku Dz U z 1947 r nr 52 poz 265 Biuletyn Informacji Publicznej Bulletin of Public Information Republic of Poland 2006 Archived from the original on March 3 2016 Retrieved April 28 2013 Statystyki Frekwencja zwiedzajacych Panstwowe Muzeum na Majdanku 2011 Retrieved 2013 04 28 a b c d e Kalendarium Powstanie Panstwowego Muzeum Creation of the Museum Panstwowe Muzeum na Majdanku Archived from the original on 2011 02 13 Retrieved 2013 04 09 Majdanek State Museum Lublin Sights Lonely Planet 2013 Retrieved 2013 04 29 Weiner Miriam Ukrainian State Archives in cooperation with Moldovan State Archives in cooperation with 1999 Chapter Six Concentration Camp Archives Jewish Roots in Ukraine and Moldova Pages from the Past and Archival Inventories Secaucus NJ Miriam Weiner Routes to Roots Foundation ISBY 978 0 96 565081 6 OCLC 607423469 Crematorium at Majdanek Jewish Virtual Library 2013 Retrieved 2013 04 15 Danuta Olesiuk Krzysztof Kokowicz Jesli ludzie zamilkna glazy wolac beda Pomnik ku czci ofiar Majdanka Panstwowe Muzeum na Majdanku Majdanek State Museum Archived from the original on 2014 10 23 Retrieved 2013 04 29 Majdanek PDF Majdanek concentration camp Yad Vashem 2007 Archived from the original PDF on November 27 2007 Retrieved 2013 04 14 Dziennik Ustaw 2013 Ustawa z dnia 2 lipca 1947 r Internetowy System Aktow Prawnych Kancelaria Sejmu RP Retrieved 2013 04 28 a b Pawel Reszka Dec 23 2005 Majdanek Victims Enumerated Changes in the history textbooks Gazeta Wyborcza Auschwitz Birkenau State Museum Archived from the original Internet Archive on November 6 2011 Retrieved April 29 2013 USHMM May 11 2012 Soviet forces liberate Majdanek Lublin Majdanek Chronology United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Washington D C Retrieved 2013 04 13 Stone Dan 2023 The Holocaust An Unfinished History 1st ed Pelican Books p 175 ISBN 978 0 241 38871 6 Jennifer Rosenberg Aktion Erntefest 20th Century History About com Education Archived from the original on December 27 2016 Retrieved April 28 2013 PINNEX 2013 Tolkin Wiktor b 1922 Encyklopedia Internautica Interia pl Retrieved 2013 04 28 Kazimierz S Ozog June 7 2006 Pomnik Ofiar Majdanka Majdanek Monument Pomniki Lublina The Monuments of Lublin Archived from the original WebCite on June 1 2019 Retrieved April 29 2013 Zlote medale Zasluzony Kulturze Gloria Artis dla Muzeum Stutthof w Sztutowie Panstwowego Muzeum Auschwitz Birkenau oraz Panstwowego Muzeum na Majdanku MKiDN Gov pl 2 September 2009 Retrieved April 28 2013 GPL 10 August 2010 Pozar na terenie bylego obozu na Majdanku Straty na milion zlotych in Polish Gazeta pl Lublin Archived from the original on 2015 06 10 Retrieved 2013 04 27 Visiting the State Museum at Majdanek General Rules and Regulations The State Museum at Majdanek 2006 Archived from the original on 10 June 2015 Retrieved 16 November 2013 MBOZS 2013 Sobibor extermination camp Commemoration The State Museum at Majdanek Archived from the original on January 13 2015 Retrieved June 8 2013 External links editPanstwowe Muzeum na Majdanku The Majdanek State Museum official website Internet portal KL Lublin in Polish Towarzystwo Opieki nad Majdankiem Oddzial w Bialymstoku Archived 2016 10 07 at the Wayback Machine The Society for the Preservation of Majdanek official website nbsp Media related to KZ Majdanek at Wikimedia Commons Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Majdanek State Museum amp oldid 1218455157, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
