TORONTO.- Royal Ontario Museum presents the internationally touring exhibition Auschwitz. Not long ago. Not far away. for its exclusive run in Canada from January 10, 2025, to September 1, 2025. This powerful exhibition focuses on the history and legacy of Auschwitz – the most significant site of the Holocaust.


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Auschwitz. Not long ago. Not far away. opens at ROM ahead of the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz on January 27, 1945. Created by Musealia and co-produced with the Auschwitz-Birkenau Memorial and Museum, the exhibition includes more than 500 original objects – most never before seen in Canada.

“Arriving on the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz, this groundbreaking exhibition is unprecedented both in scale and scope,” said Josh Basseches, ROM Director & CEO. “From a single discarded shoe to the searing testimony of survivors, Auschwitz. Not long ago. Not far away. provides a comprehensive look at one of the darkest moments of the 20th century. It is also, in the tradition of ROM, a call to understand the past, so that together we can shape a shared future.”

Auschwitz became a system of concentration and extermination camps in which over 1 million Jews were systematically killed alongside tens of thousands of others, including Poles, Romani, and Soviet prisoners of war.

Developed by an international panel of curators and historians, the exhibition marks the first time a collection this immense has come together to tell the story of Auschwitz. In addition to the hundreds of authentic items from the Auschwitz-Birkenau Memorial and Museum, special loans are also included from over 20 other major institutions and private collections around the world.

Piotr Cywiński, Director of the Auschwitz-Birkenau Memorial and Museum, noted, “On a universal and symbolic level, Auschwitz played a pivotal role in shaping the identity of the world after WWII. The belief that humanity must prevent the recurrence of events like the Holocaust and the resurrection of places like Auschwitz was the cornerstone of post-war political changes. These principles of respecting others and promoting peace should be in everyone’s hearts and minds as we approach the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz.”

This acclaimed exhibition explores the dual identity of the Auschwitz camp complex as a physical setting – the largest documented mass murder site in human history – and as a symbol of the borderless manifestation of hatred and human atrocity. Physical objects and archival records provide a contextual framework for the socio-political landscape in Europe before the Auschwitz camp, as well as its day-to-day environment and continued legacy, raising awareness of the machinations at work in realizing such systemic barbarism.

“At the heart of this project is the idea of bringing the history of Auschwitz, in all its complexity, to the world,” explained Luis Ferreiro, Director of Musealia. “The exhibition is a powerful opportunity to understand how such a place could have come to exist, how these events could happen, and what it means for us today. It is also a moral urgency to remember those who lost their lives at Auschwitz.”

Auschwitz. Not long ago. Not far away. was curated by world-renowned scholars Robert Jan van Pelt, Michael Berenbaum, and Paul Salmons, in collaboration with historians and curators from the Auschwitz-Birkenau Memorial and Museum, headed by Piotr Setkiewicz. Lead curator Jan van Pelt previously co-curated The Evidence Room exhibition at ROM in 2017 and is recognized as one of the leading international authorities on the history of Auschwitz.

“This exhibition is a sobering reminder of the horrific realities of the Holocaust – the lives stolen and the abominable process of systemic dehumanization – and brings into focus the necessity for us, as a society, to be ever-vigilant in upholding our perennial pledge of ‘never again,’” said Stan Cho, Minister of Tourism, Culture and Gaming. “As we mark the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz, I would like to thank ROM and its partners for bringing this important international exhibition to Ontario.”

Auschwitz. Not long ago. Not far away. runs at ROM from January 10 to September 1, 2025. The ROM presentation is part of an international tour which began in 2017 and has included stops to date in Madrid, Spain; Malmo, Sweden; and Los Angeles, Boston, and New York in the U.S.

“For our Toronto Jewish community, the Holocaust and the genocidal antisemitism that led to it touched so many of our families. We are honoured to support this remarkable exhibition, which sheds unique light on what they experienced and the lessons for all of us today. This collaboration with the ROM and other partners is an example of the power of knowledge to ensure the horrors of the past are never forgotten and never repeated,” said Ken Tanenbaum, Chair, UJA Federation of Greater Toronto.


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