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Artist Statement
I took this photograph at the Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum, housed in brick army barracks that were part of Auschwitz I. In this display case are piles of suitcases, the intimate belongings of thousands of prisoners brought to this camp by the Nazis. Most died of starvation, torture, overwork or were gassed. In the glass of the display case are the reflections of the sunlit brick wall of another barrack, which could be seen from the windows behind me. These reflections, along with the lighting, create various illusions that capture the nightmarish quality of this place.
At nearby Birkenau, the largest of the Nazi extermination camps, is a memorial plaque that reads: "Forever let this place be a cry of despair and a warning to humanity where the Nazis murdered about one and a half million men, women, and children, mainly Jews from various countries of Europe. Auschwitz-Birkenau, 1940-45." I hope this photograph helps to fulfill this charge.
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