Avenue of Memory Trees in Oświęcim

 

Due to its history, the city of Oświęcim is a special place in the international arena. It is precisely in our city, where Hitler’s totalitarian system of hatred wanted to annihilate nations and cultures, that dialogue becomes a kind of cry for peace in the world. Oświęcim is a member of the International Association of Cities Advocates of Peace and has been awarded the title of “Messenger of Peace”.Many cities, organizations, and associations plan and implement international peace projects in Oświęcim.The city is home to institutions that carry out educational activities in the field of reconciliation, dialogue and tolerance such as International Festival of Non-Professional Films and Biennale of Photography “Loving a Man”, International Art Competition “Let’s Give the World Peace”.Since 2014, the city has been organizing meetings of experts in the field of human rights and peace under the name “Oświęcim Human Rights Forum”, which in 2018 was transformed into the Oświęcim Institute of Human Rights.

 
Currently, the City of Oświęcim is implementing a peace project called “Avenue of Memory Trees in Oświęcim”. In close distance to the former German Nazi concentrationand death camp Auschwitz-Birkenau , an avenue of trees from places in the world where the population was particularly affected by cruelty has been designed.
In our project, we reached for the symbolism of the tree as a witness of events, a sign of rebirth, hope, knowledge and wisdom, because it is present in many cultures, it is universal and universally legible message. The trees planted in the city of Oświęcim will be a living monument carrying a warning and at the same time hope for the future, as a symbol of reborn life.
 
The first was the Oak of Freedom from the Basque city of Guernica in the Avenue of Memory Trees in Oświęcim in year 2017. To this day, the Guernica Oak is a symbol of the defence of human rights and parliamentary democracy, as well as the respect for the rights of nations and freedom, resulting from the desire for peace. In 1937, the city of Guernica, for the first time in history, experienced a massive bombing of civilians. The tragedy of this Basque city was immortalized by Pablo Picasso in his famous painting “Guernica”.
 
In 2018, we planted a linden tree in our alley. The linden tree comes from the Resistance Square in the heart of the Old Town of Dachau.Resistance Square commemorates the Dachau Uprising of 28 April 1945, when concentration camp prisoners and Dachau citizens jointly recaptured the town hall from the German Nazi SS units. The uprising was bloodily suppressed by German Nazi SS units.
In 2023, more trees were planted in the Avenue.

On February 24th 2023, on the first anniversary of the Russian attack on free Ukraine, a ceremony was held to plant a chestnut tree – the symbol of city Kiev.

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In May 2023, ginkgo tree from the city of Hiroshima was planted. The seedling for Avenue of Memory Trees  comes from one of the Hibakujumoku trees – “trees that survived” the atomic attacks on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in year 1945. The mother tree of this ginkgo is 200 years old, growing in the Shukkeien Garden in Hiroshima near the epicenter of the atomic bombing. Its trunk tilted due to the shock wave after the atomic explosion, but the tree survived the fire after the bomb explosion and continues to sprout numerous shoots to this day. For the Japanese, Hibakujumoku trees are a symbol of reborn life and hope for peace.

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Further plantings are already planned in the Avenue of Memory Trees. We encourage you to follow the information channels of the City of Oświęcim, where we keep you informed about the events and celebrations.

 

How to get to Oswiecim Memorial Tree Avenue