A monument will be dedicated next year at the site of the Maidanek extermination camp in Poland, according to Polish press reports reaching here. The unveiling will take place on the 25th anniversary of the camp’s liberation. An Auschwitz survivor, Victor Tolkei, told a Lublin newspaper that his experience in the Hitler death camp had influenced his design of the Maidanek monument. The monument will be a complex of swirling figures and will contain a mausoleum for the ashes of those who perished in the camp. It will contain an inscription in 28 languages — the tongues of Maidanek’s victims.
An inscription will read: “People who lose their memory lose their existence.” This is a quote from the poet P. Penikowski. Also on the monument will be the statement: “Our fate is a warning.” There was no mention whether Yiddish will be one of the 28 languages. Mr. Tolkei said that a special plaque will be placed on the spot where 18,000 Jews were executed by the Nazis on Nov. 3, 1943.
JTA has documented Jewish history in real-time for over a century. Keep our journalism strong by joining us in supporting independent, award-winning reporting.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
