Jewish Martyrs History Pavilion Opens at Former Auschwitz Site

Rain fell from leaden skies on a crowd numbering in the thousands from 16 countries as a minister of the Polish government cut a ribbon yesterday to officially open the Jewish Pavilion at the site of Auschwitz, the Nazi death camp where at least 2.5 million Jews perished during World War II.

The pavilion is called Jewish Martyrs History. It is a museum, built on the site of former Block 27 of the death camp, containing documents, photographs and audio-visual material tracing the step-by-step extermination of Jews. It represents the first official acknowledgement by the Polish authorities in the 33 years since World War II that the principal victims at Auschwitz were Jews.

Janus Wieczorek, the minister in charge of veterans, resistance and war memorials, officiated at the dedication ceremonies representing the Warsaw government. He sought to identify Poles and Jews as equal victims of the Nazis. Jews and Poles, he said, were the first, the most devoted and most courageous among those fighting the Nazis, and it was they who suffered the greatest casualties. He accused the West of indifference to the plight of Jews before and during the war.

A degree of cynicism prevails in some Jewish circles over the belated gesture by the Polish government which, not too many years ago, during the Gomulka regime, conducted an anti-Jewish campaign of its own. Poland is anxious to improve its image, these circles say. Nevertheless, the Jewish Pavilion at Auschwitz is appreciated as a living reminder of the Holocaust, especially for the generation yet unborn when it occurred.

RECALLS APPEASEMENT OF THE NAZIS

The throngs attending the dedication yesterday included survivors of Auschwitz and other death camps. Many brought their children and grandchildren to witness the scene. Dr. Nahum Goldmann, past president of the World Jewish Congress, who headed one delegation, spoke in Yiddish. His voice was choked with tears as he recalled bitterly the appeasement of the Nazis before World War II which cost the lives of tens of millions of Jews and non-Jews alike. Stefan Grayek, chairman of the World Federation of Jewish Fighters, opened his remarks in Hebrew but switched to Polish, a gesture appreciated by many of the Poles in the crowd, among them children from nearby schools.

A mezuza was affixed to the entrance of the pavilion by Dr. Itzhak Arad, director general of the Yad Vashem Holocaust Memorial in Jerusalem, and Jacob Silberstein, secretary of the Death Camp Survivors Association. Simcha Holzberg, of Israel, also a camp survivor, recited the “Shma Israel” blessing.

The delegates visited the Birkenau section of the Auschwitz complex and placed a wreath on what was known as “death wall,” a spot where Jews were tortured and executed. One complaint was voiced. Gideon Hausner, head of the Yad Vashem, noted that the museum material insufficiently reflected the extent of Jewish resistance to the Nazis. The Polish authorities promised to amend this. In Warsaw today, Yad Vashem leaders Hausner and Arad presented special emblems and scrolls to 22 Poles who aided Jews during the Nazi occupation of Poland.

CLOSER RELATIONS WITH ISRAEL HINTED

Kol Israel Radio reported from Warsaw today that President Henrik Yablonsky of Poland met with the Jewish delegations that attended the opening of the Jewish Pavilion at Auschwitz, Goldmann among them, and conferred for over an hour. Yablonsky spoke at length on Polish-Jewish relations and concluded by saying that a new pattern of relations must be established with Jews “wherever they may be.”

According to Kol Israel that phrase was seen as a hint that Poland desires closer relations with Israel. Such, at least, was the view of foreign correspondents familiar with the nuances of Eastern European leaders when they speak of countries with which they have no formal diplomatic ties, Kol Israel said.