News
The Future of Remembrance—second edition of the Memorial monthly magazine
The main article in the second English language edition of "Oś" [Axis] magazine is a lecture by the director of Auschwitz Memorial Dr. Piotr M.A. Cywiński given for students of State Higher Vocational School in Oświęcim. The topic of the lecture was “The Future of Remembrance—A Challenge for the 21st Century”.
We also write about an important initiative taken up to protect all authentic remains of the former German Nazi concentration camp—the Auschwitz-Birkenau Foundation. Its goal is to guarantee resources for the conservation of the Memorial so that future generations visiting the remains of the Auschwitz camp will be able to see, with their own eyes, the authentic sites of the crimes that the Nazis committed during World War II.
In this issue of "Oś" [Axis] one can fi nd an interview with Fay Grajower, whose exhibition Where the Past Meets the Future is currently exhibited at the Jewish Center in Oświęcim. The installation is consists of over 100 mixed media wooden “boxes,” each standing alone as an individual painting of a story, place, object or stone of memory, and together forming a mosaic wall showing a revived world steeped in its past and looking towards its future.
We also recommend reading an article about Polish-German youth exchange project at the International Youth Meeting House. The theme of the seminar was “Human Rights Yesterday and Human Rights Today”. In the magazine you will also learn about Days of Reflection at the Center of Dialogue and Prayer.
THE FIRST ISSUE OF THE MEMORIAL MONTHLY MAGAZINE
The editor-in-chief of ”Oś” Paweł Sawicki from the Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum explained the idea of the magazine in the editorial:
It is not easy to explain what ”Oś” really is. The literal translation should be “axis,” but it does not show the obvious connection with the name of the town “Oświęcim.” That is we decided to keep the Polish word. The rest is although clear: Oświęcim, people, history and culture. Generally speaking it is a project intended to present the activities undertaken to protect the Auschwitz Memorial – the real axis of cooperation. The monthly newspaper has been published in Polish language since May 2008. Now it is time for the English version.
The Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum is the publisher of “Oś” but this is in fact a joint project with the International Youth Meeting House, the Jewish Center, and the Center for Dialogue and Prayer. Each of the institutions sees the Auschwitz Memorial in a different way, but these perspectives are mutually complementary. The Museum protects the sites of the former camp, the IYMH promotes the idea of international dialogue between young people through various activities; the Jewish Center look after the heritage of Jewish citizens of Oświęcim that created its history and the Center of Dialogue and Prayer concentrates on the sphere of sacrum and spirituality in history.
“Axis” is the symbol of collective co-operation that must be present at such place to fully use this difference of perspectives. Auschwitz is a global symbol and it remains the most eloquent place for forming the consciences of people who take responsibility for the future. That is why we decided to create the English edition of the magazine.
After more than sixty years, people from all over the world continue to visit the sites of the former concentration camp and extermination center. In 2008 the Memorial was visited by more than one million people from around the globe. The message of this place still has its strong meaning and importance and we believe that memory is crucial both to commemorate the victims and to learn our lesson for the future.
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