Raymond Depardon reveals Auschwitz-Birkenau: a new exhibition at the Shoah Memorial

On Wednesday, June 25, 2025, the Shoah Memorial in Paris hosted the highly anticipated inauguration of the exhibition "Auschwitz-Birkenau vu par Raymond Depardon", in the presence of the photographer and director himself as well as Jacques Fredj and Éric de Rothschild. 

The event began, in the Edmond J. Safra auditorium, with poignant speeches before opening the open visit of this exceptional exhibition.

For the first time, these black and white photographs, taken in 1979 during a two-week stay at Auschwitz-Birkenau, are revealed to the public. Depardon had photographed a camp under the snow—a striking contrast between the immaculate whiteness of the landscape and the dark reality of the barracks and barbed wire, capturing an impression of solitude and geometric immensity, punctuated by the presence of a human fragment, like a dress or an herb.

This exhibition, free and accessible until November 9, 2025, offers a disturbing and aesthetically powerful dive into the memory of the place, revealing images never published or exhibited before. 

Discover the exhibition 

Review the speech by Raymond Depardon at the opening of the exhibition