On Monday 6 November, the International Auschwitz Committee’s 5.2-tonne sculpture of the letter B, which acts as a reminder of the secret act of defiance of Auschwitz prisoners when they deliberately inverted the letter B in the cynical inscription above the main camp gate “Work makes you free” (ARBEIT MACHT FREI), will be continuing its journey from Kassel to Oswiecim/Auschwitz and to Krakow.
The B sculpture of the International Auschwitz Committee had been standing in Kassel’s Treppenstrasse since 12 June as a symbol of resistance and encouragement. Despite the almost simultaneous start of the documenta 14, the city of Kassel agreed to the Auschwitz survivors’ request to install the sculpture, a gesture that was understood and appreciated as a gesture of support for the International Auschwitz Committee.
The sculpture was manufactured by trainees at Volkswagen in Hanover in 2013, and was inspired by the French artist Michèle Déodat. Based on their experiences, the Auschwitz survivors have inscribed their most decisive message on the sculpture: “Remember: when injustices take place, when people are discriminated against and persecuted – never remain indifferent. Indifference kills.”
Christoph Heubner, the Executive Vice President of the International Auschwitz Committee said in Berlin:
"We have received many inquiries and reactions from visitors to the documenta 14. They had discovered the sculpture on Treppenstrasse during their visit to the documenta exhibition and wanted to find out more details about the inverted B. But for the survivors the response in Kassel itself, the sincere interest and commitment, was even more important. They were very moved by the way the colleagues working for the city of Kassel gave their full backing to the statue’s installation and the design of its context. They were very pleased to see that their message had become a part of the city of Kassel and of the world-famous international art exhibition. The sculpture is now continuing its journey to Oswiecim in Poland. It will be placed in front of the worldwide notorious entrance gate to Birkenau extermination camp before continuing its journey to Krakau, where it will be on display in the grounds of the city’s Museum of Modern Art."
