- as armed and unarmed acts meant to undermine Nazi efforts of extermination or to aid fellow prisoners (like those planned in Auschwitz by Polish resistance organizer Witold Pilecki, pictured above)
- as artistic expression that attempted to convey the anguish and brutality of camp life
- and as spiritual or cultural practices used by inmates to counter the Nazi program of isolation and dehumanization.
Obstacles to resistance cannot be overstated. The superior arms power of the SS, the brutal regimentation of camp life, the effectiveness of Nazi efforts to shatter prisoner willpower, and the certainty that defiant acts would be met with torture or death placed severe limitations on the agency of inmates.
The acts represented by texts and objects here are testimonies to the rejection of the total system of terror and annihilation set forth by the National Socialist state - individual and collective acts of will that defied Nazi attempts to destroy human dignity.
As you're examining the artifacts, keep these questions in mind:
- What role did secrecy play in the SS program of extermination, as articulated in the Auschwitz memo?
- What were the obstacles to resistance pointed out by Peczorski, Falk, and Awret?
- After examining the paintings and material objects, how would you define spiritual or cultural resistance?
- Finally, in light of the fact that many acts of organized resistance never reached their ultimate goal and that most participants were killed, why is it important to study and remember these acts?
