A Romantic View on Auschwitz ? Polish Government promises compensation payment after troublesome exhibition in Kiev
Kiev, 4 Dec 2011, It is rather not usual practice for security employees at the National Philharmonic of the Ukrainian capital Kiev to forcefully throw out their concert-goers without returning them their winter jacket beforehand. Especially so when temperatures approach -10o C. Nonetheless, during a Chopin concert venue on the evening of 3rd December, Kiev-based historian Doctor Martin Kraemer Liehn found himself thus removed from a Chopin concert. The measure was taken on orders after Dr. Kraemer Liehn had expressed concern about a problematic Auschwitz exhibit in the entrance hall. Security arrived on the scene as soon as he had asked the responsible organisers of the venue to take down a romantically-framed photograph of the Nazi death-camp Auschwitz associated to a highly misleading text about the life of Fryderyk Franciszek Chopin (1810-1849).
Dr. Kraemer Liehn later learnt from the director of the hosting State institution, Olena Mikolaivna Zenina, that she actually supervised the harsh procedure against her guest after failing herself to get the controversial exhibit off her walls. “I really tried to prevent this international scandal to become public at an earlier stage,” she told a group of protesting concert goers after the venue. “But the organizers would just not let me take down the Auschwitz exhibit.” Zenina and Dr. Kraemer Liehn were not the only witnesses to notice that something troublesome was intentionally kept within public viewing in the elitist musical institution. After the internationally sponsored high-profile musical venue, especially elder Kiev concert-goers expressed outright disgust and said upon questioning that they were “shocked with disbelief” about what they had seen on the walls of the National Philharmonic.
“Yes the Auschwitz photo was supplied to the concert organizers by the Polish Institute in Kiev”, clarified its Deputy Director Anna Lazar to the group of protesters after the concert. “But I feel deeply sorry for the mode of presentation decision-makers for this prestigious venue have chosen and kept up in the face of legitimate criticism.” Lazar promised that the Polish Institute will refund entrance fees for all concert-goers affected by the exhibition. According to Lazar the photograph had been furnished by her Institute, a Polish Government venture, with what she described as “an appropriate caption”. Nevertheless, on arriving at the site of the exposition she had noticed that this caption had actually been officially cut off by the official Ukrainian organisers. Instead, the text under the Auschwitz concentration camp informed concert-goers about Chopin being “homesick” for a “Polish nation” in 1830. In defending their decision to leave the exhibit without change the organisers hinted that they saw actually no alternative at hand to illustrate what they termed “repression” by the Russian Army in 1830.
The concert-goers who were officially promised compensation now ask the Polish Institute to direct its announced payments to support the sophisticated work of Jewish Historical Institute (ZIH), arguing that its cutting-edge memorial and scientific commitment is chronically underfunded by both Polish and German state institutions and their symbolical support definitely not enough. “Public commitment to responsible memory work on German War crimes in Eastern Europe does not go beyond mere declarations of intent in most cases”, reminds Dr. Kraemer Liehn and clarified: “Monitoring and civil intervention against neo-fascist relativistic communication strategies within the Ukrainean upper-class establishment proves to be simply indispensable these days. For me this commitment is well worth catching a cold.” he assured upon request, accepting personal excuses issued to him by the salaried security personal assuring that they had found themselves “unfortunately forced to carry out orders” given to them from above.
for official information, please contact Anna Lazar at Tel. +380 44 288 03 04 anna.lazar@msz.gov.pl, the beneficiary of the compensation case is www.jewishinstitute.org.pl