Paweł Sawicki
"I assure you that the Polish state will ensure that these places commemorate and induce not only historical reflection but also moral reflection on the human condition," emphasized Minister Sellin, who also summed up the activities of the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage related to preserving the Holocaust memory - not just at Memorial Sites on the grounds of former camps, but also through new institutions, such as the Warsaw Ghetto Museum, or financial support for the preservation of the Warsaw Jewish cemetery, among others.
During the meeting, Museum Director Dr Piotr M.A. Cywiński summed up the most important activities of the Auschwitz Memorial which had taken place since the last meeting of the Council.
Attendance at the Memorial is still very high. In 2017, it was visited by 2.1 million people. "The steady growth over the past dozen or so years is the result of an international consensus built around the significance and history of Auschwitz, as well as the role of Auschwitz in building a post-war Europe and the world. The majority of visitors are young people who visit as part of educational programs. It means that in several dozen countries, major educational programs and travel subsidy programs have been created in the last dozen or so years. These programs would not have been created without a consensus as to the importance of the Memorial. It is worth emphasizing that these programs were primarily created within the circles of the International Auschwitz Council," said Director Cywiński.
He also stressed that due to the steady number of visitors it is important to expand the infrastructure for serving visitors associated with the new Visitor Services Center. The Museum plans to raise funds for the creation of the Center from Norwegian Grants.
The Director also spoke of the exhibition “Auschwitz. Not long ago. Not far away”. It is the largest of such exhibitions devoted to the subject of Auschwitz and the Holocaust in history. Over 600 original objects are presented across an area of approximately 2,500 square meters, obtained mainly from the Auschwitz Museum Collections, but also other museums and institutions, including the Yad Vashem in Jerusalem, the Holocaust Museum in Washington and Holocaust museums in North America and Europe, as well as from private collections of Holocaust survivors.
All photos in this article: Marek Lach