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Majdanek Museum

@majdanekmuseum.bsky.social

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The world’s first museum related to World War II and the Holocaust. We document the history of the German Majdanek concentration camp in Lublin and the extermination camps in Bełżec and Sobibór. www.majdanek.eu https://www.instagram.com/majdanek.memorial

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Majdanek Museum @majdanekmuseum.bsky.social · Nov 18

In 1944 the State Museum at Majdanek was created on the former grounds of the German concentration camp in Lublin. Today we also run two braches on the former death camps grounds: Museums and Memorials in Bełżec and Sobibór. We are the world's first Holocaust memorial. We are a Triad of Remembrance.

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Majdanek Museum @majdanekmuseum.bsky.social · 12h

21.10.1942| #Holocaust: Around 4,000 Jews were deported from Zbaraż (Zbarazh) and Skałat (Skálat) in the Galicia District to the German Nazi extermination camp SS-Sonderkommando #Belzec and murdered upon arrival.

Rusty metal letters on a concrete background, spelling the town name of Skałat in Polish and Yiddish. It is surrounded by ashen stone field. The photo evokes a sombre tone of the memorial.

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Majdanek Museum @majdanekmuseum.bsky.social · 7d

14.10.1942|Polish woman Maria Adamiec and her husband were arrested by the Germans at their home in Janowice. They were helping escaped Soviet POWs hiding in a nearby forest. Maria was deported to #Majdanek and registered as prisoner no. 38. She survived. Her husband perished in #Auschwitz.

A black-and-white 1943 portrait of Maria Adamiec, a woman with short hair, wearing a textured blouse and necklace. Her expression is serious and contemplative, conveying a timeless elegance.

Majdanek Museum @majdanekmuseum.bsky.social · 7d

That day during the roll-call, Pechersky addressed the inmates with the words: “Those of you who survive, should bear witness to this. Let the world know what happened here.” They are the motto of the Museum and Memorial in #Sobibór that we've created on the former camp grounds.

Concrete wall with the words of Alexander Pechersky engraved. The caption reads: “Those of you who survive, should bear witness to this. Let the world know what happened here.”

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Majdanek Museum @majdanekmuseum.bsky.social · 7d

Many prisoners were shot and died on the minefield surrounding the camp. Around 300 escaped into the woods, but most were caught in a full-manhunt held by numerous German units. Only around 60 Jews deported to #Sobibór survived the #Holocaust. Most of them thanks to the revolt.

A vintage black and white photo of a group of Holocaust survivors, some standing, some seated. They are dressed in formal attire, with mixed expressions, creating a solemn mood.

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Majdanek Museum @majdanekmuseum.bsky.social · 7d

14.10.1943| Prisoner uprising in the German Nazi extermination camp SS-Sonderkommando #Sobibor Thanks to the plan developed by Lejba Felhendler and Alexander Pechersky, the inmates secretly killed 9 SS-men and 2 guards. Then they breached the camp’s barbed wire fences and ran.

Black-and-white portrait of Alexander Pechersky wearing a military outfit: high-collared shirt with buttons. He has short, dark hair and gazes off to the side, evoking a solemn expression.

A vintage black-and-white portrait of Lejba Felhendler, wearing a suit and tie, with short hair, looking slightly to the right. The mood is formal and serene.

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Majdanek Museum @majdanekmuseum.bsky.social · 11d

10.10.1942|Germans arrested the Polish man Franciszek Wiórkiewicz. He was taken to #Majdanek, registered as prisoner no. 17249 and worked at the sewer system construction. Franciszek was released from the camp in December but was later deported to #Auschwitz as a forced labourer. He survived.

Black and white portrait of a young man with short hair, wearing a suit jacket over a collared shirt. The photo is slightly worn and scratched, conveying a vintage feel.

Majdanek Museum @majdanekmuseum.bsky.social · 11d

10.10.1942|The Germans held mass arrests in the Dziesiąta village located near Lublin. Several hundred Poles were rounded-up and detained at #Majdanek as well as in the labour camp in Lublin's Krochmalna Street. Among them there were Alina Zaborek and Jerzy Rajkewicz (Majdanek prisoner. no 17259).

A grainy, black and white portrait of a man with short hair, wearing a suit. The image has a vintage feel, conveying a sombre, reflective tone.

A black and white portrait of a young woman with a neutral expression. Her hair is neatly tied back, and she wears a collared outfit. The image has a stamp in the lower part.

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Majdanek Museum @majdanekmuseum.bsky.social · 19d

02.10.1884|Józef Henryk Sandauer was born in Sambor. He graduated from the Jan Kazimierz university in Lwów and became a lawyer. He married Franciszka Czoban and the couple had a son – Feliks. Józef Sandauer was deported to SS-Sonderkommando #Belzec in August 1942. #Holocaust

Majdanek Museum @majdanekmuseum.bsky.social · 19d

02.10.1942|Deportation from Działoszyce and Miechów: ca. 500 Jews were killed on site; up to 3,000 others were deported to the German Nazi extermination camp SS-Sonderkommando #Belzec. Among them there were Elimeloch and Raizla-Bela Klainman with their children Debora, Rut, Mojżesz.

Majdanek Museum @majdanekmuseum.bsky.social · 20d

01.10.1942|The Germans arrested Pole Stanisław Chudziak during a round-up in Lublin’s Wieniawa quarter. At #Majdanek He was registered as prisoner no. 16516, first detained at field I and then at field II. Stanisław was released from the camp in December and survived the war.

Majdanek Museum @majdanekmuseum.bsky.social · 20d

01.10.1922|#Holocaust survivor Samuel Lerer was born in Żółkiewka (Lublin region). He was deported to the German Nazi extermination camp SS-Sonderkommando #Sobibor in May 1942. He was selected for labour and worked at the stables. Samuel escaped during the prisoner uprising on 14 October 1943.

Majdanek Museum @majdanekmuseum.bsky.social · 20d

1.10.1942|Women’s camp (FKL) was established at field V of #Majdanek. Its first prisoners were the Polish residents of Lublin and Goraj, and the Jewish women transferred from the ghettos at Bełżyce and Majdan Tatarski. It functioned until its evacuation to Auschwitz and Ravensbrück in April 1944.

Majdanek Museum @majdanekmuseum.bsky.social · 21d

This photo of the Polish-Jewish Kornfeld family was taken on 30.09.1938. During WWII they lived in Kraków. Josef (left) was murdered in SS-Sonderkommando #Belzec in September 1942. His wife Hana survived. She’s with their little son Ziga (centre-right). He perished in #Auschwitz in May 1944.

Vintage photo of three adults and one child in formal attire on stone steps, with leafy trees in the background. The mood is reminiscent and formal.

Majdanek Museum @majdanekmuseum.bsky.social · 21d

30.09.1876| Dutch Jewish woman Elisabeth Henriette de Hartog was born in Utrecht. She was among the 2397 people deported from the Westerbork transit camp to the SS-Sonderkommando #Sobibor extermination camp in late June 1943. None of them survived the #Holocaust.

Historic photograph of a woman in an ornate hat beside a memorial stone with a plaque in a cemetery setting. The mood is reflective and somber.

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Majdanek Museum @majdanekmuseum.bsky.social · 21d

30.09.1942|Nearly 6000 Jews from Tarnopol and several surrounding settlements in the Galicia District were deported to the German Nazi extermination camp SS-Sonderkommando #Belzec and murdered in the gas chambers. #Holocaust

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Majdanek Museum @majdanekmuseum.bsky.social · 25d

26.09.1942| Around 5,000 Jews from Borszczów (Borshchiv) and several nearby settlements around Tarnopol (Ternopil) in the Galicia district were deported to the German Nazi extermination camp SS-Sonderkommando #Belzec and murdered in the gas chambers. #Holocaust

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Majdanek Museum @majdanekmuseum.bsky.social · 26d

25.09.1923|Tadeusz Gryczan was born. In June 1943 he was caught in a round-up and taken to the Gestapo prison in Białystok. In July he was deported to #Majdanek and registered as prisoner no. 716. He also went through Natzweiler, Dachau, Neuengamme, Sandbostel camps. He survived.

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Majdanek Museum @majdanekmuseum.bsky.social · 28d

23.09.1943|2,000 Jews deported from Minsk arrived at #Sobibór. Among them there were around 100 POWs – former Red Army soldiers. It was a turning point in the death camp’s history. One of the deportees, lieutenant Alexander Pechersky, later co-developed the plan of the October prisoner uprising.

Black and white portrait of Alexander Pechersky wearing a high-collared military uniform. He gazes to the side with a serious expression, conveying a sombre tone.

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Majdanek Museum @majdanekmuseum.bsky.social · Sep 20

20.09.1942|The Germans arrested Halina Cetnarowicz in Zakopane. She was sent to the Pawiak prison in Warsaw & then deported to #Majdanek in January 1943. As prisoner no. 4553 she worked as a nurse in infirmary. In April 1944 she was transferred to #Auschwitz. Halina survived.

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Majdanek Museum @majdanekmuseum.bsky.social · Sep 19

19.09.1942|Around 2,800 Jews were deported from Brody and Podkamień (Galicia district) to the German Nazi extermination camp SS-Sonderkommando #Belzec and murdered in the gas chambers. #Holocaust

Rusty metal letters forming the town name of “Brody” spelled in Polish and Hebrew, placed against a concrete memorial surface. The background features a few trees and a landscape of ashen rocks, evoking a sombre tone.

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Majdanek Museum @majdanekmuseum.bsky.social · Sep 19

19.09.1943|Transport of prisoners from the Gestapo Łącki prison in Lviv was sent to #Majdanek. As no documents regarding that group have been preserved it is impossible to determine the exact number of deportees. Survivors testimonies mention several hundred Poles and Ukrainians.

Barbed wire fence lines a gravel path under a bright sun. The sky is partly cloudy, casting light and shadow on the grassy landscape. The mood is sombre.

Majdanek Museum @majdanekmuseum.bsky.social · Sep 18

18.09.1942| #Majdanek camp administration departament sent two chests of money and valuables to the “Einsatz Reinhardt” warehouses in Lublin, where they were stored before being shipped to Germany. Those items had been confiscated from the Polish Jews imprisoned in the camp on 15 September.

A worn, partially torn, sepia-toned document dated 1942 with typewritten German text. It includes a stamp featuring an eagle. The paper appears fragile.

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Majdanek Museum @majdanekmuseum.bsky.social · Sep 7

07.09.1942|Deportation of 4769 Jews from the ghetto in Kołomyja to the German Nazi extermination camp SS-Sonderkommando #Belzec. Around 300 people were killed on site and all deportees were murdered in the gas chambers. Among them were Fryderyka and Maurycy Feuerstein. #Holocaust

Sepia-toned portrait of Fryderyka Feuerstein: an older woman with short hair, wearing a striped blouse with a white collar. She has a serious, thoughtful expression.

Black and white portrait of Maurycy Feuerstein: a man in a suit and tie, looking slightly left. The image has a vintage tone, capturing a serious, contemplative expression.

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Majdanek Museum @majdanekmuseum.bsky.social · Sep 5

05.09.1942|Transport of 6500 Jews from Khodoriv, Rozdil, Zhydachiv and Zhuravne departed from Skole (Galicia district) to the German Nazi extermination camp SS-Sonderkommando #Belzec. Among them there were Fancia Sternberg and her sisters: Matylda Wacht, Klara Herbst, and Rózia Wajler. No survivors.

Sepia-toned vintage portrait of Fancia Sternberg – a woman with short, dark hair, wearing a collared shirt. The image is slightly worn, conveying a nostalgic feel.

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Majdanek Museum @majdanekmuseum.bsky.social · Sep 5

05.09.1942|Norwegian man Alf Knudsen was arrested while tying to cross the Swedish border. He went through several German concentration camps: Sachsenhausen, Majdanek, Auschwitz, Buchenwald, Neuengamme. At #Majdanek from February 1944 as prisoner no. 6529. He survived all those camps and the war.

Black and white passport-style photo of a serious young man with short hair. Purple ink stamp marks are visible in the background.

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