WARSAW, Poland (JTA) — The memorial site on the grounds of the former Sobibor Nazi death camp will be closed to visitors during planned construction of a museum and work to protect the mass graves of camp victims.
Work on the first stage of the international project to create a memorial is set to begin Wednesday.
According to the architectural design, the area of the mass graves in the former camp containing the ashes of victims will be covered with a layer of permeable fabric known as geotextile. The area then will be covered with crushed white marble.
Poland’s rabbinical commission for Jewish cemeteries will supervise the work. The camp was built in the occupied Polish village of the same name.
The museum building, which will have usable area of more than 900 square yards, will consist of an exhibition hall with a permanent historical exhibition documenting the history of the extermination camp, as well as a lecture hall, a room for collections, a reception area and a service point for visitors, Agnieszka Kowalczyk-Nowak, a spokeswoman for the Museum at Majdanek, told JTA.
The mass grave exhibit and the shell of the museum are set to be completed by the end of 2017.
“The pace and timing of future work depends on the decision of the Steering Group, which continues to resolve some issues with the elements of commemoration,” according to Kowalczyk-Nowak.
She added that all work, including preparation of the exhibition, is set to be completed in 2019.
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