We are pleased to announce that the catalog of the core exhibition „These are the last days of our lives, so we are making ourselves known. Kulmhof – the beginning of the Holocaust” by the curator of the exhibition, Andrzej Grzegorczyk, curator of the Radegast Station Museum, Branch of the Museum of Independence Traditions in Łódź, in editorial cooperation with Bartłomiej Grzanka, head of the Branch in Chełmno. The publication contains a historical outline of the first German camp for the immediate extermination of Jews in occupied Poland, photographs of selected exhibits presented at the exhibition, archival photographs and copies of documents. The whole is complemented by fragments of eyewitness accounts: escapees from the camp, residents of nearby towns and executioners – officers of the SS-Sonderkommando Kulmhof. The publication can be purchased at the visitor service point of the Museum in Chełmno.
The permanent historical exhibition opened on December 18, 2019 in the new museum pavilion on the former estate in Chełmno. The title of the exhibition refers to the words contained in a message written at the beginning of April 1943 by twelve Jewish craftsmen held in the basement of the Chełmno palace. The exhibition is an attempt to present a monographic history of the camp, highlighting its uniqueness in relation to the policy implemented towards Jews in occupied Poland. The accounts and testimonies of victims play a special role here, primarily Jewish prisoners forced to work in the camp, as well as other eyewitnesses, including Nazi torturers. The role of the presented artifacts – evidence of the earth, obtained during many years of archaeological research – is also unique. These are both small personal items that the victims took with them on their last journey, as well as those that are sent directly to the perpetrators of the crime. The author of the exhibition script is Andrzej Grzegorczyk, the artistic concept and visual setting are Wawrzyniec Kozicki.
