Exhibition "Letters to Sala: A Young Woman's Life in Nazi Labor Camps" from the Galicia Jewish Museum in Krakow (Poland) was opened in the VGJSM Tolerance Center on the 17th of April, 2012.

"In 1991, as 67-year-old Sala Garncarz Kirschner awaited triple bypass surgery, she opened a painful chapter of her past. For nearly five decades, she had not spoken of her Holocaust years. Only then, she mined her closet for her daughter, Ann's childhood “Spill and Spell” game box. Inside was a portfolio stuffed with dozens of letters and postcards. “You should have this. These are my letters from the war.” she told Ann.

That day, Ann Kirschner learned about her mother's five years in seven Nazi labor camps. Saving the letters became inextricably linked with saving her life. The letters became the people she loved. Once liberated, married and in the United States, Sala had hidden everything. By revealing over 350 pages to Ann, she ensured their survival again. The archive is a testimony to Sala's intense desire to survive, her love of life and family, and her understanding that words can give and sustain life" (Jill Vexler, Ph.D., Curator).

Director of the Vilna Gaon State Jewish Museum Markas Zingeris, Ambassador of the Republic of Poland to Lithuania Janusz Skolimowski and the curator of the exhibition from the Galicia Jewish Museum Tomasz Strug participated in the opening of the exhibition and greeted the audience.

Greetings by Director M. Zingeris and Ambassador J. Skolimowski

Moments from the opening of the exhibition