Between 1941 and 1944, members of the SS and Wehrmacht, German police and local volunteer forces murdered over two million Jews, 30.000 Roma, and 17.000 psychiatric patients in the Soviet Union. The victims were either shot or asphyxiated in so-called gas vans. This exhibition uses historical documents and photographs to describe the history of this mass murder and the ways in which it has been confronted since 1945. For the first time, the full extent of the murders can be seen on a map pinpointing where they took place. Visitors can read and listen to detailed accounts of what happened in cities including Kiev and Riga.
Central to the exhibition are five photographs documenting the murder of around 1,500 men, women and children in Mizocz, eastern Poland (now Ukraine) on 14 October 1942. This section explains the stages leading to the destruction of Jewish communities and the interplay between the National Socialist leadership in Berlin and officials based in occupied Eastern Europe.
The exhibition suggests what may have motivated German men to participate in the mass murder. In addition, a series of close-up photographs of survivors along with accompanying interviews encourage visitors to consider the events from the perspective of those who were persecuted. Freestanding pillars displaying information about individual victims serve to commemorate the various groups targeted by the German policy of mass murder.
A joint exhibition of the Topography of Terror Foundation and the Foundation Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe.