27.01.2025
A Tribute to the Victims – A Performed Reading. Commemorating International Holocaust Remembrance Day
On January 27, 2025, the projection hall of the Museum and Memorial Site in Bełżec hosted a unique artistic event as part of the International Holocaust Remembrance Day observances. The organizers – the Museum in Bełżec and the Bełżec Municipality – invited participants to reflect and honor the memory of Holocaust victims.
The centerpiece of the ceremony was a performed reading of excerpts from the book "The Bełżec Death Camp in Selected Testimonies of Survivors and Statements of Polish Witnesses." Through the interpretations of young actresses Alicja Stankiewicz and Martyna Chałas, the texts took on a deeply emotional resonance, enhanced by the musical accompaniment composed by Magdalena Chrabąszcz. The event was prepared by the Banina Foundation from Warsaw and the Zamość Theater Studio, under the direction of Bartłomiej Miernik.
The artistic presentation profoundly moved the audience, offering them an opportunity to engage with the harrowing testimonies of survivors, providing an invaluable history lesson. Attendees were also able to participate in a discussion with the creators – the actresses and the director.
During the ceremony, participants visited the museum's exhibition and the grounds of the Memorial Site in Bełżec.
The events were attended by students and teachers from the School and Preschool Complex in Bełżec, the J. Zamoyski High School No. 1 in Zamość, and the Gen. Władysław Sikorski High School No. 2 in Tomaszów Lubelski.
To conclude the commemoration, students and representatives of local authorities joined together to lay flowers and light candles in the Ohel Niche, paying tribute to the millions of Holocaust victims.
International Holocaust Remembrance Day, established by the United Nations General Assembly in 2005, serves as a reminder of the need for education and reflection on the tragic events of World War II. Like Majdanek and Sobibór, Bełżec is a site marked by the tragedy of the Holocaust. At the camp, approximately 450,000 Jews were murdered by the Nazis. Remembering these events is our shared responsibility.
