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14.12.2017

The exhibition "Samaritans from Markowa" opened in Kolkata (India) - December 12, 2017

The exhibition entitled "Samaritans from Markowa. Ulmas - Poles murdered by the Germans for helping Jews " was opened in one of the most famous and prestigious places in Kolkata – the Victoria Memorial Hall. The exhibition presents photos and documents illustrating the life of a heroic family as well as the Polish and Jewish communities in Markowa, the reality of German occupation in Poland, during which anyone who helped Jews was subject to the death penalty.

Victoria Memorial is a monument in honor of Queen Victoria, built after her death on the initiative of the then Governor General and Viceroy of India George Curzon. It has the form of a large marble building, surrounded by English style gardens, and is currently a museum, which is visited by about 3 million people  yearly. The very opening of the exhibition aroused interest, which was later reflected in press publications by the Times of Kolkata and Telegraph Kolkata appearing in millions of copies daily.

The opening of the exhibition was preceded by lectures by Dr Mateusz Szpytma - Deputy President of the Institute of National Remembrance and at the same time the author of the exhibition and Jakub Pawłowski from the  Ulma Family Museum of Poles Saving Jews in World War II in Markowa. During his speech, Dr Mateusz Szpytma described the hiding of Jews by the Ulma family. He draw attention to the fact that despite the different realities in which the Ulmas and Mother Teresa were active, the former became - like Mother Teresa - symbols of mercy for the needy.

The exhibition was shown upon the initiative of the Polish Institute in New Delhi and the Victoria Memorial Hall, under the auspices of the Ministry of Culture of India.

The opening of the exhibition was attended by Tomasz Gerlach - Director of the Polish Institute in New Delhi, Dr. Jayanta Sengupta - Director of the Victoria Memorial Hall, Kajari Biswas - Director at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of India.

In its present shape, the exhibition was created in 2016, in connection with the opening of The Ulma Family Museum of Poles Saving Jews in World War II in Markowa. It is a joint work of the Krakow Office of the Institute of National Remembrance and the Marshal's Office of the Podkarpackie Voivodeship. Thanks to the cooperation with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the exhibition has more than a dozen language versions, which have been shown in numerous locations on six continents, including in Berlin, Brasilia, Canberra, Chicago, New York, Paris, Tel Aviv, Moscow and Bangkok.

 


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