Polish architect makes tribute to Jewish community in Oświęcim

The Auschwitz Jewish Center, which commissioned the pieces, is one of the last vestiges of the Jewish presence in the city.

VISITORS WALK along the railway track at the main gate of the Auschwitz Birkenau concentration camp. (photo credit: REUTERS)
VISITORS WALK along the railway track at the main gate of the Auschwitz Birkenau concentration camp.
(photo credit: REUTERS)
A Polish architect has finished two new projects in memory of the Jewish community in the city of Oświęcim, where the Nazi concentration camp Auschwitz was located during the Second World War, architecture and design magazine Wallpaper reported Saturday.
Commissioned by the Auschwitz Jewish Center, the works made by architect Bartodz Haduch and his Krakow-based firm NArchitekTURA inlclude a sculpture in the memorial park, while the other is the Jewish Centre, which is set to be an education and exhibition facility to tell the story of the Jews who lived there, Wallpaper reported.
According to Haduch, the sculpture is meant to represent "the ruins of the now defunct Great Synagogue (1863-1939) and the paths of life of the multicultural community that were once criss-crossing in this place," Wallpaper reported.
The memorial and education projects also reflect efforts by institutions in the city of Oświęcim to keep the memory of the Holocaust alive, as well as to honor those who were murdered during the Nazi's genocide of the Jewish people. This is reflected by the city's Jewish Museum, which operates on the site of Auschwitz.
The museum, which is part of the Auschwitz Jewish Center, is one of the last vestiges of the Jewish presence in the city.