Remembering Auschwitz By the Numbers
Performance Counts: March 2017
This past Sunday, we opened Remembering Auschwitz: History, Holocaust, Humanity, a unique and important exhibit that encourages visitors to explore Holocaust history and commemoration through the lens of Auschwitz. The following are some interesting facts and figures about the exhibit.
>Number of Exhibits on Display: 4 (A Town Know As Auschwitz: The Life and Death of a Community, Architecture of Murder, Loss And Beauty: Photographs by Keron Psillas and The Holocaust Memory Reconstruction Project)
>Number of Years Exhibit Has Been in the Works: 2 ½ years
>Percentage of Jewish Population in Oswiecim (the name of the town prior to Nazi occupation in 1939) in the Years Prior to the Holocaust: As high as 50%
>Number of Synagogues in Oswiecim prior to 1939: 30
>Percentage of Jewish population of Oswiecim Murdered at Auschwitz: 90%
>Year in Which Construction of Auschwitz Commenced: 1940
>Number of Camps Constructed at Auschwitz: 3 main camps (Auschwitz I, Auschwitz II – also known as Birkenau and Auschwitz III – also known as Buna and Monowitz
> Estimated Number of Inmates Murdered at Auschwitz: 1.1 million including 1 million Jews
>Number of Photos on Display By Keron Psillas: 25
>Number of Miles Photos Traveled from their Last Installation in Hollywood, Florida: 1080 miles
>Number of Collages Created as Part of the Holocaust Memory Reconstruction Project: 91
>Number of Countries of Origin of Individuals Honored Through Collages: 12
>Total attendance at Sunday’s opening: 242 people
>Number of Related Programs Planned Over the Next Three Months: 16
>Date Exhibit Ends: May 29, 2017
Of course, numbers alone do not tell the whole story, certainly not of the devastation of the Holocaust, nor the impact that we hope this exhibit will have on our visitors. It was an extraordinary experience watching families who participated in the collage making workshops gather around their plaques on display with tears in their eyes and pride in the knowledge that their family members’ stories now have permanent homes at the JMM. While it is too soon to report on the total number of visitors which will include many school group visitors, we look forward to keeping you posted.
~Deborah Cardin, Deputy Director