The controversy continues over the decision made by the Mazovian Voivode, who approved the removal of the names “Radziłów” and “Jedwabne” from stones commemorating Jews deported by the Germans to the German extermination camp Treblinka II. According to the Institute of National Remembrance (IPN), “the names of these localities did not appear in the museum by accident, and their removal would lead to a distortion of the memory of Holocaust victims.” “We appeal for the plaques to remain in their current location,” the IPN states on its website.
The Memory of the Holocaust Requires Special Responsibility and Sensitivity
The Mazovian Voivode approved the removal of the names “Radziłów” and “Jedwabne” from stones commemorating Jews deported by the Germans to the German extermination camp Treblinka II. As the Institute of National Remembrance reminds, these stones, which form an integral part of the memorial site on the grounds of the former camp, are meant to recall the tragic fate of some Jewish residents of these localities.
“The voivode’s decision contradicts the opinion issued by the Institute, which emphasized: “It can be assumed with a high degree of probability that a significant group of Jews from Jedwabne, and possibly several individuals from Radziłów, were deported to the Treblinka extermination camp,”
the IPN points out on X.
The Institute of National Remembrance stresses that “the memory of the Holocaust requires special responsibility and sensitivity. Any intervention in existing memorials should be based on comprehensive and reliable historical findings, not ad hoc administrative decisions.”
“We believe that the names of these localities did not appear in the museum by accident, and their removal would lead to a distortion of the memory of the Holocaust victims. We appeal for the plaques to remain in their current location,”
the IPN statement reads.