A beautiful new World War 2 memorial is nearing completion in Michniów in south-central Poland. Set to open in 2016, the Mausoleum of the Martyrdom of Polish Villages will pay tribute to thousands of citizens who were murdered during the German occupation of rural Poland between 1939 and 1945. Michniów, the village chosen for the memorial, suffered one of the most blood-curling act of atrocity where the entire village —a population of over 200— was massacred by the German Police over a two-day period.
The Mausoleum of the Martyrdom of Polish Villages was commissioned by the Kielce Region Countryside Museum, and is being designed and built by Polish architect and sculptor Mirosław Nizio.
Photo credit: Nizio Design International
“Mirosław Nizio and his studio Nizio Design International envisage the building as a traditional hut that incrementally deteriorates and crumbles into dust – symbolising the burning of the village,” writes architecture and design related website Dezeen.
“The building has a characteristic segmented structure. Its tissue is cut across by cracks that divide the architectural form into closed and open parts. This form is the resultant of the sculptural inspirations and thinking of the architecture's consistency with the historical narrative,” said a statement from Nizio's studio.
“The subsequent closed and open segments – there are five of the former and six of the latter - lead the visitors through the exhibition that shows the history of the pacification and presents its subsequent stages and the process of escalating repression. In parallel to the narrative the building undergoes deformation and "destruction”, which symbolically conveys the annihilation that took place here. The gaps between the subsequent closed segments, the walls and the roof boast glass architectural features.” the statement added.
The memorial will cover an area exceeding 16,200 square meters, with approximately 2,000 square meters of exhibition space.
Also see: Oradour-sur-Glane: The Village Massacred in WW2 and Preserved Since Then
Photo credit: Nizio Design International
Photo credit: Nizio Design International
Photo credit: Nizio Design International
Photo credit: Nizio Design International
Photo credit: Nizio Design International
Photo credit: Nizio Design International
Photo credit: Nizio Design International
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