Inauguration of the Gerhard Richter Birkenau Exhibition Pavilion in Oświęcim

The artist's wife, Sabine Moritz-Richter, participated in the vernissage. The honorary guest of the event was Marian Turski, a historian, journalist, former prisoner of Auschwitz concentration camp, and chairman of the International Auschwitz Committee. The ceremony was moderated by Christoph Heubner, a writer and executive vice-president of the International Auschwitz Committee. Addresses to the audience were delivered by Dr. Alicja Bartuś, chairwoman of the Board of the Foundation for the International Youth Meeting Center, Marian Turski, Sabine Moritz-Richter, Janusz Chwierut, the Mayor of Oświęcim, Piotr Hertig, chair of the Foundation Council for the International Youth Meeting Center, Wolfgang Schmidt, Minister for Special Affairs and Chief of the Federal Chancellery Office, Daniela Cavallo, chairwoman of the Volkswagen works council, Krzysztof Klęczar, the voivode of Lesser Poland, architects Edwin Heinz, Marcin Susuł, and Krzysztof Strama, as well as Joanna Klęczar, the director of the International Youth Meeting Center in Oświęcim. The event was attended by many distinguished guests, including those involved in the creation of the gallery, representatives of the Polish and German government administrations, diplomats, representatives of local and regional authorities, artists, art and culture experts, journalists, educators, and friends of the International Youth Meeting Center.

In the Gerhard Richter BIRKENAU exhibition pavilion, one of the editions of the "Birkenau" series is exhibited: four abstract compositions made using a unique technique of printing on metal plates, as well as an eight-meter gray mirror and copies of four photographs taken clandestinely by members of the Sonderkommando in 1944 near the gas chamber and crematorium No. V in Birkenau.

These four photographs are considered the only photographic documents of the Holocaust. Women on the way to the gas chamber and burning of the bodies of Jewish people in Auschwitz. For Gerhard Richter, they served as the starting point and basis for creative monumental abstract works. In 2020 Gerhard Richter decided to place a special edition of his Birkenau series on permanent loan to the International Auschwitz Committee for an exhibition in Oświęcim.

The Gerhard Richter BIRKENAU exhibition pavilion was designed by Gerhard Richter and Sabine Moritz-Richter. Its concept was developed in collaboration with Christoph Heubner, the International Auschwitz Committee, the Foundation for the International Youth Meeting Center in Oświęcim, and the City of Oświęcim. The architectural project of the building by Gerhard Richter was supervised and executed by architect Edwin Heinz – GMS Architekten PartGmbB, Isny / Allgäu, and the architectural office Susuł & Strama Architekci, Oświęcim. The creation of the Gerhard Richter BIRKENAU pavilion was made possible thanks to a donation from Volkswagen AG.

Gerhard Richter is one of the most recognizable German artists. He works in painting, photography, and sculpture, often using photographs as a model for his paintings. On the day of the opening of the Gerhard Richter BIRKENAU exhibition pavilion, he celebrated his 92nd birthday.