Two sides of the wall – an installation in Warsaw
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A temporary installation recalling the Jews imprisoned in the Warsaw ghetto during World War Two has been put up at the corner of Grzybowska and Żelazna Street in Warsaw. It is part of the commemoration program of the 80th anniversary of the outbreak of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising, which fell on 19 April. The installation aims to encourage passers-by to ponder over the fate of Jewish civilians during the Uprising and to acquaint themselves with the stories of those who had survived the sea of fire.
In 1940, a ghetto wall was erected in Warsaw, isolating the Jews completely from the non-Jewish population. The wall grew to become a symbol of oppression, loneliness, despair and brutal force used against defenceless people.
On 6 September, in cooperation with Saatchi & Saatchi, we presented to the residents of Warsaw the stories of hundreds of thousands of Jews imprisoned in the ghetto at the very spot where the actual ghetto wall used to run.
The installation is a symbolic wall. One side of this wall is a one-way mirror which allows you to passively observe what is happening on the other side. The other side is the actual mirror—you can see your own reflection in it, and that of other people. The same people as those who lived and died in the ghetto. We would like the Varsovians as well as tourists to get acquainted with their stories—the stories rescued from a sea of fire.
At the same spot, on the boundary of the former ghetto, you can also listen to a podcast titled "As If the Earth Has Swallowed Us Up" by journalist and writer Katarzyna Kobylarczyk. The podcast, based on the diaries of people who remained in hiding during the Uprising, is a moving literary reportage made of six episodes. It brings together the stories of six individuals struggling to survive during the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising: Stella Fidelseid, Mieczysław Baruch Goldman, Anonymous Girl from a bunker on Miła Street, Mr Maur, Łazarz Menes and Krystyna Budnicka. All of them are also protagonists of the temporary exhibition "Around Us a Sea of Fire. The Fate of Jewish Civilians During the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising", which is open to viewing at POLIN Museum until 8 January 2024.
- Creative idea and implementation – Saatchi&Saatchi
- Media campaign planners – Zenith Polska
- Project of the installation is co-financed by the City of Warsaw.
The podcasts are funded by Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway through the EEA Fund and the national budget.
