Marian Turski, who dedicated his life to preserving the memory of the Holocaust and warning against the seeds of hatred, is once again present in the place he helped to build.
A striking mural by Wilhelm Sasnal - a world-famous Polish artist from Tarnów, in southern Poland - was revealed on June 26 in the main lobby of the POLIN Museum of the History of Polish Jews.
📅 26 czerwca Marian Turski skończyłby 99 lat. Trudno uwierzyć, że nie ma go już z nami. Dziś myślimy o nim szczególnie. O jego sile, spokoju, poczuciu humoru. O obecności, która znaczyła tak wiele dla Muzeum, dla nas, dla tych, którzy go słuchali. Marian Turski – ocalały z Auschwitz i Buchenwaldu, dziennikarz, historyk, działacz społeczny, przez lata Przewodniczący Rady Muzeum POLIN – pozostawił po sobie nie tylko wspomnienia. Zostawił słowa, które poruszają i zobowiązują. „Nie bądźcie obojętni” – powtarzał. 💛 Pamiętajmy. Film z napisami: bit.ly/film-napisy #MarianTurski #NieBądźObojętny #POLIN #ŁączyNasPamięć
Opublikowany przez Muzeum Historii Żydów Polskich POLIN Środa, 25 czerwca 2025
The portrait, visible both inside and outside the building, captures Turski’s familiar, watchful expression.
“It’s a deeply moving moment for me,” said his daughter, Joanna Turska. “This is one way to extend my father’s presence. From the museum and the street, people will see him and remember.”
Zygmunt Stępiński Photo: Tomasz Gzell
Museum director Zygmunt Stępiński noted that Turski played a pivotal role in establishing the institution. “Today, Marian Turski would have turned 99,” Stępiński said. “We dreamed he would reach a hundred - he truly deserved it.”
Turski, who survived Auschwitz, often reminded audiences that “Auschwitz did not fall from the sky,” underscoring that genocide begins with indifference and small acts of exclusion. He passed away in February of this year, but his legacy remains etched in Warsaw - and in conscience.
A new mural by world-renowned Polish painter Wilhelm Sasnal, unveiled at Warsaw’s POLIN Museum on what would have been Marian Turski’s 99th birthday, honors the late Holocaust survivor and historian whose enduring warning that “Auschwitz did not fall from the sky” continues to resonate. Photo: PAP/Tomasz Gzell
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Source: Radio Poland/IAR/POLIN Museum