A HOUSE TO LIVE
A PLACE TO LEARN

We are in the town of Oświęcim to remind about Auschwitz. To convince, that we must learn from the past. We show that Oświęcim can be a place of meetings, reconciliation, and understanding. We are in the town of Oświęcim so that Auschwitz will not be repeated.

IYMC's literary café named after Zofia Posmysz

On 23 August, a ceremony was held at the International Youth Meeting Centre in Oświęcim to name the IYMC's literary café after Zofia Posmysz. On that day we also celebrated the 100th anniversary of Zofia Posmysz's birth. After the ribbon-cutting ceremony and the opening of Café Sonia, ceremony guests from Poland and Germany shared their personal memories of Mrs Posmysz. The musical setting of the event was provided by Jacek Hołubowski, Piotr Skupniewicz and Mateusz Pliniewicz.

In the second part of the ceremony, we were invited to watch the film "What a pity that such a distance separates us.", a paradocumentary production made in 2020 by the IYMC in cooperation with the Konrad Adenauer Foundation. The film tells the story of the friendship between Zofia Posmysz and Marta Sawicka, which was born in Auschwitz. The screenplay for the film is based on Zofia Posmysz's literary works and the correspondence of Zofia Posmysz and Marta Sawicka.

The seminar rooms of the Youth Meeting Centre bear the names of Auschwitz prisoners who were particularly associated with the IYMC, involved in its activities, and committed to the idea of reconciliation between nations. In this way, we commemorated Tadeusz Szymański, Rene Oppenhaimer, Barbara Sadowska, Maurice Goldstein, Alfred Przybyski, Władysław Bartoszewski, Jean Amery, Heinz Galiński, and Stanisław Cięciała and Adam Jurkiewicz.

By naming the IYMC's literary café after her, we wanted to honour the memory of Zofia Posmysz, a friend of the house who was very close to us, who met with youth groups at the IYMC for many years and whose story and literary work inspired many educational projects. Mrs Zofia often stayed in our café during her stays at the IYMC. On the occasion of the café's naming, we have enriched its decoration with photos, fragments of works, quotes and books by Zofia Poszmysz.

Partner: International Auschwitz Committee

Financial support: Association for the Promotion of the International Youth Meeting Centre Oświęcim/Auschwitz, Wolfsburg e.V.

Photos: Roman Stopa, IYMC

Scroll To Top