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“Remembrance Trail” in Brzeszcze
Commemorating the tragic story of the prisoners of the Auschwitz-Birkenau sub-camp in Brzeszcze.
The commune of Brzeszcze has received 15,228 euros, the maximum allowable grant, from the European Commission for the “Remembrance Trail” project, under the “Europe for Citizens: Promotion of Active European Citizenship” program.
“The main goal of the project is to illustrate and permanently commemorate the tragic history of the prisoners of the Auschwitz-Birkenau sub-camp in Brzeszcze and the local residents who heroically aided the prisoners and engaged in a wide range of clandestine activity,” said Arkadiusz Laszczyk of the Department of Promotion and Development at the Brzeszcze Commune Office.
The project includes the erection of 4 commemorative plaques at the places of suffering. A folder will be prepared and distributed containing information about the most important places in Brzeszcze connected with the Auschwitz camp, help for prisoners with profiles and stories of the most notable people involved in the aid effort, and the assistance given to escapees. The project also includes the translation and publication of the book Jawischowitz, annexe d'Auschwitz, a French account of the history of the sub-camp. Another part of the plans calls for the recording and presentation of a film reportage on the history of the sub-camps that operated in Brzeszcze during World War II (the present remains of the camps, information on underground activity by local residents, and the most interesting stories and profiles of local residents with commentaries by their relatives). The project will have a website, and a two-day conference will mark its conclusion.
“This project is a continuation of the efforts that the commune of Brzeszcze has made in recent years to commemorate the story of the sub-camp,” says Laszczyk. “The camp bathhouse and a lantern have been restored. A Memorial Room has been set up in the building that housed the Penal Company, and a museum room has been established in the coalmine management villa, where mementoes from the wartime history of our community are exhibited. The culmination of the project will be this ‘Remembrance Trail,’ showing the history of the sub-camps.”
