Exhibition: Finding Treblinka

The Wiener Library’s current temporary exhibition explores the Nazi labour and extermination camps of Treblinka using the ground-breaking research of Staffordshire University archaeologist Dr Caroline Sturdy Colls and in artistic responses to the topic curated by Michael Branthwaite.

Between 800,000 and 1 million Jews, Poles and Roma from across Europe were killed during the Holocaust in the Nazi labour and extermination camps at Treblinka. Yet, the history of both camps is not well known. Few are aware of the scale of the killings that took place at the sites or the complexity and diversity of the camps’ architecture. The very few survivors and the almost total destruction of the camp by the Nazis have left a scant historical record.

Since 2007, a team of forensic archaeologists, led by Dr Caroline Sturdy Colls, have investigated the sites of both the former Treblinka extermination and labour camps. Through the team’s unique, predominantly non-invasive approach, a more accurate picture of the camps has emerged. At the same time, religious and ethical considerations surrounding their investigation have been respected. This work allowed the old gas chambers, mass graves and a large number of objects to be located. Sturdy Colls’ forensic archaeological research is therefore one of the best ways to reconstruct the events that occurred at Treblinka.

Now, for the first time in the UK, this archaeological work has been adapted and displayed at the Wiener Library, in cooperation with Caroline Sturdy Colls and Michael Branthwaite. The exhibition features specially commissioned artworks by Michael Branthwaite, Janine Goldsworthy, Dave Griffiths, Hilary Jack and Jenny Steele.