77 years ago, on the March 17th, 1942, Nazi Germany started physical extermination of the Jews living on the territory of the General Government with deportations from Lublin to Lvov. These deportations were the beginning of ‘Aktion Reinhardt’.

The celebrations commemorating the victims of the Bełżec extermination camp began on Monday on the March 18th, at 12.00 a.m. in the screening room of the State Museum at Majdanek with a temporary exhibition entitled ‘Szmul Zygielbojm. I can’t remain silent and I can’t live’. The exibition was prepared by the employees of the Jewish Historical Institute in Warsaw. Its main objective is to remind of the prominent figure of a political activist associated with the Bund socialist party and a member of the National Council of the Polish government-in-exile in London, Szmul Zygielbojm. He informed the world about the tragic fate of Polish Jews under German occupation. He committed suicide in May 1943 as a sign of protest against world’s indifference towards the Extermination.

After familiarizing the guests with the exhibition, a vocal and musical performance prepared by students of the Primary School in Bełżec was presented. The culmination of the ceremony was prayer for the victims of the camp, laying flowers and lighting candles in front of the Ohel Niche at the monument.