Examining Body Proximity and “Sacredness” at/in Relation to Treblinka Extermination Camp

This article explores body proximity and sacredness through the lens of four items relating to Treblinka extermination camp: a gold pendant which most likely belonged to a woman murdered in the camp, dentures taken from the bodies of those who were killed, a ring taken by a survivor of the camp from the piles of belongings of Jews murdered in the gas chambers, and a blouse worn by the daughter of a woman murdered in the camp. Whilst the first two items were found during archaeological excavations at the site in 2013 and 2017, the final two now reside in the collection of the United Holocaust Memorial Museum. The piece explores how how sacrality is affected when objects have been in extremely close physical contact with the (living or dead) human body, and how the context in which they are found may affect their perceived status amongst a variety of groups.