Exhibition opening in Bayreuth
On the occasion of the 80th anniversary of the liberation of the concentration and extermination camp Auschwitz, on 24 January 2025 we presented the exhibition ‘And so you became my only friend... The Salwik family in the literary work and correspondence of Zofia Posmysz’ in the Old Castle in Bayreuth. The Bayreuth Zamichoir with the Zamirsternchen provided the musical setting for the opening.
The exhibition was organised by the Bayreuth German-Polish Society e.V. in co-operation with the IYMC, while the curator of the exhibition is Leszek Szuster, the long-time director of the IYMC in Oświęcim. The exhibition can be seen at the Old Castle in Bayreuth until 15 February 2025.
The exhibition documents the story of the friendship between Zofia Posmysz and Marta Sawicka, which was born in Auschwitz. It is also dedicated to the fate of the Salwik family from Radom, most of whose members were deported to Auschwitz-Birkenau between 1941 and 1942. It is a story of family drama, but also of a deep, true friendship which was born between the two young women in dramatic circumstances and which lasted throughout their lives.
The exhibition was prepared on the basis of Zofia Posmysz's private archive - memorabilia, documents, manuscripts, photographs and personal correspondence, which she donated to the Witness Documentation Centre of the International Youth Meeting Centre in Oświęcim.
The Foundation for Polish-German Cooperation is a partner of the project.