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Language: en

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My name is Natalia Romik, 

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I am an architect and a Holocaust researcher. 

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For the past four years, 
I have been studying hiding places 

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where Jews sought refuge during World War II. 

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It was a very special time for me, 

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because as an exhibition designer 
I began to think about 

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how to approach such difficult exhibitions, 

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like the one here at the Deutsches Historisches Museum.  

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The exhibition language after 1945 was very different. 

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I think many visitors are shocked 
by how they were presented.  

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Not only in terms of content,  

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but also the political context of the time.  

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Today it seems almost impossible  

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to imagine displaying, for instance, 
huge SS symbols or giant swastikas on buildings

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in an exhibition about the Holocaust.  

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At the Jewish Historical Institute, 
visitors were once shown the ashes  

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of Jews murdered in the Holocaust.  

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For us, as designers, it feels entirely  

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inappropriate and deeply unethical 

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to display human remains in an exhibition.  

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But just a few years after the war, it was considered  
an extraordinary, powerful symbolic gesture.  

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Unusual, perhaps,  

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but very strong and deeply meaningful.  

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A striking example is the exhibition *Warsaw Accuses*,  

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organized in 1945, when over 80% of Warsaw lay in ruins.  

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The National Museum in Warsaw then decided  

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to create an exhibition about what was missing.  

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Not only stolen works of art,  

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paintings and sculptures,  

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but also Jewish cultural objects.  

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One fascinating section of the show  

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puts looted Jewish artifacts on display.  

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There are very few exhibitions  

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that focus so strongly on Jewish objects  

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that no longer exist 

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and will likely never be recovered.    

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The exhibition also tells the story 
of the Warsaw Reconstruction Office.  

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And what is rarely mentioned is that  

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*Warsaw Accuses* actually contributed  

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to the rebuilding of the city itself.  

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For me personally, a very special place  

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is the section about the exhibition
in the Jewish Historical Institute.  

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As we know, the Institute  

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is among the few surviving buildings  

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from the pre-war Jewish quarter.  

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The Great Synagogue on Tłomackie 
Square was blown up,  

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but the JHI remained.  

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For me, it is perhaps the most important place,  

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because every research project I begin  

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always starts there.  

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One of the exhibits  

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that draws the attention of many visitors—  

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I have seen it several times—  

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is the model of the bunker 
(of the Jewish Fighting Organization).  

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Its story ended tragically,  

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like so many of those hiding places.  

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That’s why this material witness,  

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even this model,  

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is particularly sought after
by German visitors,  

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as it shows the entire infrastructure 
of this carefully constructed hideout.  

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I know that this place,  

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which we will never see again 
because it was completely destroyed,  

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has become a symbol of Warsaw.  

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I am very glad that this symbol 
of the city is here in the museum.  

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So I warmly invite you to visit—  

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because I truly believe this is 
the best exhibition in Berlin this year.