Final Farewell

18 February 2025

You can also read our obituary published in Le Monde (in French).

It is with great sadness that we join in the immense grief felt at the loss of Marian Turski, who helped to preserve and the memory of the Jews of Poland and to make it fully alive and radiant once again.

Taken to the Lodz Ghetto in 1942, where his father and brother died, he was then deported to Auschwitz-Birkenau, and then to Buchenwald. After the war, he settled down in Warsaw. He was a Vice-President of the Jewish Historical institute Association in Poland and member of the governing board of the Association of Jews, War Veterans and Other Victims of the Second World War II, member of the International Auschwitz Council and Council of the association. Since 2009, he presided over the Council of the POLIN Museum of the History of Polish Jews which opened in 2014.

On the occasion of the 10th anniversary of the POLIN Museum, he expressed both his fear of the return of forms of barbarism in the world and his invincible hope that the work of history and remembrance carried out by those who want to keep alive the Jewish world, its material traces and its spiritual influences was one of the keys to a future of peace.

We express our gratitude for all he accomplished for the memory of the Polish Jews and mourn him deeply.

Corinne Evens, President of the AEMJP

Monique Canto-Sperber, President of the Scientific Committee of the AEMJP

Members and friends of the AEMJP

Corinne Evens – Personal Farewell, at the POLIN Museum

Feb 23, 2025

Dear Excellencies, Friends, and Companions,
Perhaps I should say “companions,” as many of us have known Marian for so many years. He has been—and will hopefully continue to be—our guide, teaching us simply how to be human.
Dear Marian,
I find it impossible to fully express in words how much you have nourished my soul. In today’s global context, where values seem to shrink like a burning candle, how will we continue to live without you? How will we find our way when demons of hatred and division are emerging everywhere? Your infinite inspiration has always helped us straighten our thoughts in these turbulent times.
You must have been heartbroken to witness humanity’s recurring slide down a destructive path, one that leads us toward the abyss.
Do we, then, need to accept this cynical world and still find the inspiration to hope, to contribute, to overcome the pitfalls with intelligence, courage, and love—never giving up?
We will miss you deeply. I want to thank you for allowing me to walk beside you and for making your dream of this museum a reality. I commit to carrying forward your values and spirit in the continuation of Polin, as best as I can.