Description
As the location where the SS trained around 5,000 auxiliaries to assist them with the implementation of the Final Solution, Trawniki holds a unique status in the history of the Holocaust. The existence of this facility – alongside a POW camp, labour camp for Jews and unmarked killing and burial sites, including those connected to the infamous Operation Harvest Festival on November 3/4,1943 – had a considerable impact on the architecture and material culture of the region, evidence of which is still present in the contemporary landscape. As an urban and public space, Trawniki’s terrain is one that sees former camp buildings, two small memorials and a small exhibition about the Holocaust interwoven with modern factories, residences, recreational facilities and schools. It is also a space in which the living coexist with the physical remains and memories of the victims of Nazi persecution, and where a wide range of approaches have been taken to remembering, forgetting and erasing the traces and knowledge of the crimes perpetrated there. This paper outlined how recent forensic archaeological investigations at Trawniki as part of the “Trawniki: Nexus of the Final Solution” project have been confronted with several challenges posed by the multifaceted nature of this site, its material culture and memory politics. It also addressed the ethical and practical issues that have emerged in connection with Trawniki’s difficult history, evolving present and uncertain future, and the methodological refinements that have been implemented to address them.| Period | 17 Mar 2025 |
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| Event title | Dealing with Difficult Pasts: Ethics, Collections, and Public Spaces |
| Event type | Conference |
| Location | Charlottesville, United States, VirginiaShow on map |
| Degree of Recognition | International |