San Sebastian (Spain). June 22, 2021 — During the opening ceremony of Auschwitz. Not long ago. Not far away that took place on June 14th at Union Station Kansas City (MO), the Director of the Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum, Dr. Piotr M. Cywiński, gave the Light of Remembrance award to Luis Ferreiro, Director of the Auschwitz exhibition, on the same date of the 81st anniversary of the arrival of the first transport of Polish prisoners to the German Nazi concentration camp.
“I can only be deeply and sincerely grateful for such recognition, which I must share with all the people who have made the exhibition project possible over so many years. I also assume it as a responsibility to continue working and bringing closer the history of Auschwitz to thousands of people around the world”, declared the Director of the exhibition after receiving the prestigious award.
“Luis Ferreiro has managed to put together the largest traveling exhibition on Auschwitz in history. It was a success in Madrid, in New York and now it’s on its way to being so in Kansas City. The number of visitors in these three cities exceeds one million and is an example of the educational potential of projects like this one, outside the Memorial itself and the former concentration camp, internationally. The exhibition constitutes one of the largest programs dedicated to the history of Auschwitz in recent decades” declared Cywiński.
“For his commitment, sensitivity and dedication, Luis is worthy of this recognition. Personally, I am proud that we are awarding someone from future generations“, concluded the director of the Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum.
‘Light of Remembrance’ highlights the idea that remembrance can illuminate our future. The highest distinction awarded by the Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum was created 10 years ago with the aim of recognizing those for their outstanding work in the field of education about Auschwitz and the Holocaust.
Ferreiro joins the list of the 5 people who have received this recognition: Władysław Bartoszewski, founder of the Auschwitz-Birkenau Foundation, Krystyna Oleksy, deputy director of the Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum and director of the International Center for Education on Auschwitz and the Holocaust, Avner Shalev, Director of Yad Vashem, Serge Klarsfeld, Holocaust survivor, historian and lawyer, recognized for having actively participated in the fight against anti-Semitism and Nazi war criminals and Sara J. Bloomfield, Director of the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum (USHMM).
The exhibition, already open at Union Station, will be in Kansas City, Missouri, until next January 22, 2022. Afterwards, the exhibition plans to visit other cities around the world to continue the work of spreading the history of the largest and most lethal German Nazi concentration camp.