The State Museum at Majdanek was created on the grounds of the former German concentration camp KL Lublin. It is the first museum of martyrdom and the oldest memorial to the victims of Nazism. The mission of the Museum is to preserve the memory and promote historical education about the German occupation in the Lublin region during World War II.
The Museum collections comprise historical items and archives connected with the operation of KL Lublin and the extermination centers in Bełz∙ec and Sobibór. The Museum prepares and creates historical exhibitions while the academic research concentrates on the history of KL Lublin, German occupation and various issues of the museum practice. The findings are presented in a number of publications. The educational programmes include a broad range of activities for young people and adults.
Since 1944, the State Museum at Majdanek had over 11 million visitors. In 2019 we commemorate the 75th anniversary of the liquidation of KL Lublin and celebrate the 75th anniversary of the Museum.
The workshop is based on a film about the testimonies of the former prisoners of the Majdanek concentration camp. Men and women talk about their life in the camp, about friendship and courage, but also about those who had to steal the last piece of bread. The testimonies also talk about the chances to survive the concentration camp and the death of closest friends.
After the film, a discussion about the meaning of simple words like: love, friendship, family and how we understand these expressions today will follow. Are there any differences between having a friend during the war and having one today or not? Why so? What does it mean to be a brave person today? And what did it mean when a person was a prisoner of a concentration camp? Can we find any similarities or not? And why?
