Wender·Vista
Chełmno extermination camp
shown on ceramic, 12-inch tilePoland
in a forest clearing west of Łódź

Chełmno extermination camp

— — a place that asks to be remembered, not described.

— Where it lives

Not only on a wall.

A small tile on the nightstand catching the morning. A larger one above the fire. Yours, wherever you spend the slow hours.
— On the nightstand, a 6-inch on a walnut stand
— Among the books, a 6-inch leaning into the spines
— Beside the kettle, a 12-inch propped
— Down a quiet hall, an 18-inch floating off the wall
— Above the fire, the 24-inch in a walnut surround
— a note from the studio

“A memorial site in the forest at Chełmno nad Nerem, about 70 km west of Łódź. The first of the Nazi extermination camps, in operation from December 1941. What stands here now is a quiet clearing, a low stone monument, the ruins of the Schloss foundation, and the names. The studio offers this piece as a memorial object, not a souvenir, and asks that it be treated as such by anyone who chooses to bring it home. — from the studio

from the studio
Chełmno extermination camp
— bring it home

Chełmno extermination camp, on ceramic.

Each tile is finished by hand in our Knoxville studio. Artwork is slowly infused into the ceramic surface under high heat and pressure, and rests beneath a thin glossy finish. The colour lives in the surface, not on top of it.

What kind of piece?
One tile — square or rectangle.
How big?
the popular one — counter, shelf, nightstand
6 × 6 in · 15 cm · 1.6 lb
Surface finish
A clear glossy finish — the artwork reads as if under resin. Ideal for show-pieces and framed wall art.
How it sits
A hidden cleat — sits ¼″ proud of the wall.
$58
Hand-finished and shipped from our studio at the foot of the Smokies. On your wall in about ten days.
— size
6 × 6 in
15 cm
— weighs
1.6 lb
solid in the hand
— surface
ceramic, hand-finished
art rests beneath a thin glossy finish
— from
Knoxville, TN
our family studio, at the foot of the Smokies
— start a Coaster Set

Pick any four 4-inch tiles — National Parks you've been to, a Smokies set, the four seasons of one place. $ for a set of , cork-backed, ready to live on the table.

— about Chełmno extermination camp

The place, in three passes.

A little of what's known, in case you fall down the rabbit hole — or want to go see it yourself.
— the place

Chełmno, known in German as Kulmhof, was the first Nazi extermination camp. It operated in two phases at the village of Chełmno nad Nerem in occupied Poland, about 70 km west of Łódź. The first phase ran from 8 December 1941 to March 1943; the second ran briefly in 1944 and into January 1945. Killing was carried out almost entirely with gas vans, before the larger camps adopted fixed gas chambers. The site is preserved today as the Muzeum byłego niemieckiego Obozu Zagłady Kulmhof.

— the silence

The camp had two parts: the Schlosslager, a manor house in the village where victims were unloaded and killed, and the Waldlager, the forest camp four kilometres north in the Rzuchów woods, where bodies were buried and later burned. The manor was dynamited by retreating SS in April 1943 and rebuilt briefly in 1944. The forest site today holds mass-grave outlines marked in stone, the foundations of the field crematoria, and the central monument dedicated in 1964. The Ner River runs quietly to the east.

— informed by Yad Vashem — Chelmno
— the year

Historians estimate that at least 152,000 to 180,000 people were murdered at Chełmno, the great majority of them Jews from the Łódź Ghetto and surrounding Wartheland communities, together with about 4,300 Roma deported from the Łódź Ghetto's Zigeunerlager and several thousand Poles, Soviet POWs, and Czech Jews. Only seven prisoners are known to have survived. The trial of camp personnel was held in Bonn between 1962 and 1965; further proceedings continued into the 2000s. The museum on the site opened in 1990.

— where
Poland · Chełmno nad Nerem, Koło County, Greater Poland
— elevation
102 m · 335 ft
— position
52.1497° N · 18.7211° E
— the neighborhood

What's nearby.

A handful of named places within an hour's walk or short drive. Some we've already painted; some we will.
70 km SE
Łódź
city
14 km NE
Koło
county town
130 km W
Poznań
city
N
Chełmno extermination camp
Łódź
Koło
Poznań
— common questions

What people ask.

A few questions we get about Chełmno extermination camp — and about bringing the piece home.
— about the place

At the village of Chełmno nad Nerem in Greater Poland Voivodeship, about 70 km west of Łódź and 14 km from the town of Koło. The site is now preserved as a memorial museum.

Chełmno operated in two phases: from 8 December 1941 to March 1943, and again briefly from spring 1944 until 17 January 1945. It was the first of the Nazi extermination camps.

Historians estimate between 152,000 and 180,000 victims, the great majority Jews from the Łódź Ghetto and the wider Wartheland, together with about 4,300 Roma and several thousand others.

Almost entirely with gas vans. Victims were unloaded at the Schlosslager manor, locked into sealed trucks, and killed by engine exhaust during the drive to the forest burial site four kilometres north.

Only seven prisoners are known to have survived, including Szymon Srebrnik and Michał Podchlebnik, whose testimony shaped the historical record and appeared in Claude Lanzmann's 1985 film Shoah.

Yes. The Museum of the Former Extermination Camp Kulmhof maintains both the village site and the Waldlager in the Rzuchów forest, with the 1964 central monument and preserved foundations. Admission is free.

— about the piece in your home

Yes. The studio writes and produces this record as an act of remembrance. It is offered for descendants, educators, museums, and households who wish to keep the name of Chełmno present and visible.

For a survivor's family, a Holocaust educator, a synagogue, or a research library, yes, with a written note explaining the intent. It is not a souvenir, and we ask that it not be given as one.

A study, a hallway, a place of quiet rather than a decorative wall. Many of our memorial customers choose a Small or Medium beside a framed family photograph or a yahrzeit candle shelf.

The Small and Medium sizes are most common. The Keepsake travels well to relatives in other countries. We do not recommend the Mural format for this title.

Yes. The Dura Satin or Matte finish handles institutional lighting without glare and cleans with a damp microfibre cloth. The studio can engrave a dedication line on the back tile on request.

A soft microfibre cloth and plain water. No abrasive pads, no ammonia. The colour is sealed under the surface, not painted on top.

Yes. The piece was painted in-house by Reid Wender in the studio's quieter visual register, chosen specifically for memorial titles. Nothing in the atlas is licensed from another artist.

— if this one stayed with you

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